PPT, Episode Six
For more than 20 years, sex columnist Dan Savage has made an international name with his advice column and podcast, Savage Love, and founded the It Gets Better Project to reach out to LGBT youth. A writer, editor, and playwright, Savage stars in MTV’s Savage U. Person: Caroline Matilda Place: The front porch of a...
Samantha Bee
Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee got her start in comedy in children’s theatre, where she worked with future husband and fellow Daily Show reporter Jason Jones. The founder of sketch group The Atomic Fireballs, Bee is the author of I Know I Am, But What Are You. Person: Her mother Place: A jungle hotel in...
R.L. Stine
Horror writer R.L. Stine, a.k.a. Jovial Bob Stine, is the author of the hugely popular Goosebumps and Fear Street series, which have sold millions of copies. Educated at Ohio State, Stine has also written dozens of joke books, novels, and short stories. Person: Mad Magazine illustrator Will Elder Place: A creepy pile of stones behind...
Ed Koch
Former New York City Mayor and Congressman — and, it should be noted, famed cinephile — Ed Koch spent three terms running the Big Apple and another eight years in the House of Representatives. Since leaving office, he has worked as a political reformer, commentator, actor, People’s Court judge, author, columnist and movie critic. Person:...
Rickie Lee Jones
Musician Rickie Lee Jones has excelled across many genres since she burst onto the national radar as the Best New Artist at the 1980 Grammy Awards. With more than 15 albums to her credit, Jones has parlayed her distinctive voice into a lasting and varied career, often singing and writing about the small-town poverty and...
John Hockenberry
Journalist and author John Hockenberry has been covering hotspots around the globe and the U.S. for more than three decades. He has reported for NPR, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and various other outlets and written two nonfiction books. He currently hosts The Takeaway at WNYC and has won several Emmy and Peabody awards....
Michael Pollan
Noted author Michael Pollan is the leading voice on food production and safety. A professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and several other books and articles helped to illuminate the often terrifying and secretive world of agribusiness. His principles are: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Person: Henry David...
Susie Essman
Susie Essman’s person is her late grandmother. A stand-up comedian, actor and author, Essman is best known for portraying the acerbic Susie Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Essman has appeared in several films and television shows, including her distinctive voice work in Crank Yankers, American Dad, and Bolt. When not on the road, she lives...
Dave Cowens
Dave Cowens’ thing is a statue of his former teammate, Larry Bird. Cowens, a basketball Hall of Famer, attended Florida State before winning two NBA titles with the Boston Celtics. The 1971 Rookie of the Year and a seven-time all-star, Cowens also picked up the 1973 MVP. A commanding front-court presence, Cowens later coached the...
Jane Smiley
Born in Los Angeles, novelist Jane Smiley holds a PhD from Iowa State University, where she taught until 1996. She is the author of The Age of Grief, The Greenlanders, Ordinary Love and Good Will, A Thousand Acres, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, Moo, Horse Heaven, Good Faith, Ten Days in the Hills,...
Dick Cavett
Talk show legend Dick Cavett is PPT’s initial guest. Currently a blogger for the New York Times, Cavett wrote for The Tonight Show before his eponymous show appeared on several networks, including ABC from 1968 to 1975 and PBS from 1977 to 1982. An author, Cavett has also made frequent guest appearances and appeared on...
