Eddie Vedder Discusses Music and War Veterans with Author Mark Wilkerson

This weekend, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder takes over Pearl Jam Radio to unveil Part One of his conversation with Mark Wilkerson, author of “Pearl Jam Twenty” and “The Life of Pete Townshend.”

During the special, Vedder and Wilkerson play some of their favorite songs and dive into topics ranging from their shared love of The Who to the heart-wrenching story behind Mark’s brand new book, “Tomas Young’s War.” It explores the tragic but inspiring story of a paralyzed Iraq War veteran who has spent the last decade battling his injuries and speaking out against America’s blood thirst.

The issue of how this country treats its veterans is important to Vedder, who said he is disappointed that no presidential candidate has brought up the topic during the recent debates.

“Whether it’s been Republican and Democratic debates, I’ve heard a lot of talk about a lot of things, I can’t think of one time, and maybe I missed it, but I can’t think of one time that they’ve brought up how they’re going to address the situation with how we treat our veterans,” Vedder said. “It’s been conspicuously silent on that end, and yet we’ve heard inflated rhetoric about how we will eradicate problems by blowing people off the face of the earth.”

“Eddie Vedder: In Conversation with author Mark Wilkerson (Part One)” airs on Pearl Jam Radio on Friday, April 15, at 7pm ET; Saturday, April 16, at 9am ET; Sunday, April 17, at 11am and 8pm ET; and Monday, April 18, at 5pm ET.