Ma Nishtana is the pen name of Shais Rison, a 30-year-old, fifth-generation, African-American, Orthodox Jew. A writer and film-maker, he is prominent among Jews of Color. Asked if he identifies more as an African-American or a Jew, he once said: “When I walk down the street, nobody says, ‘Hey, look at that Jewish guy.’” PERSON: … Continue reading »
Monthly Archives: May 2013
Episode 24: Maria Bamford
She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s called a standup comic, but is she? She doesn’t tell jokes, she tells stories. And she doesn’t so much tell them as perform them, as a gifted actor might. Randy and Maria met by email when he wrote the Ethicist column for the Times, and she wanted to discuss the … Continue reading »
Episode 23: David Nasaw
A history professor at the CUNY graduate center, David Nasaw knows his two-fisted titans of 20th C. America. He’s written much praised biographies of William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Carnegie and, most recently, Joseph P. Kennedy. By the way: not a bootlegger. Kennedy. Well, Nasaw isn’t either. As far as we know. But he is a … Continue reading »
Episode 22: Jody Williams
Jody Williams calls herself an average woman, but the Nobel Committee saw it differently when they awarded her the 1997 Peace Prize for her work toward the clearing and banning of land mines. This extraordinary ordinary woman more convincingly asserts that change is achieved by grassroots activism, from the ground up not from the top … Continue reading »
Episode 21: Jack Hitt
Jack Hitt began in journalism as editor of the Paper Clip, his Charleston, SC, grade-school literary magazine. He has since risen or, depending on your perspective, fallen to writing for Harpers and the NY Times and presenting great pieces on “This American Life.” His newest book is Bunch of Amateurs. This podcast was recorded in … Continue reading »