As a child, he loved the Coney Island Aquarium but, “as with all good things, eventually one develops very complicated feelings.” Is the aquarium a benign collection of wonders or a shameful treasure-house of imperialism? And either way, how’s the gift shop? A conversation at the Princeton Public Library with the classicist and author … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 225: Suzan-Lori Parks
Every dramatic movie but nearly no straight play uses musical underscoring. This celebrated playwright has astute ideas about why that is. Plus, what she did instead of going drinking with James Baldwin. A conversation at Signature Theatre with music from – yes! – Suzan-Lori Parks and the band. Person: James Baldwin Place: Fort Knox … Continue reading »
Episode 224: Adi Shamir-Baron
“I love peonies, but wait a second, they’re fake; I hate them.” An architectural historian considers the contradictions of artificial flowers and the unnatural nature of Central Park. A conversation at the Bard Graduate Center about the “fake” – her word – and the real, with music from Amiri and Rahiem Taylor. Photo by … Continue reading »
Episode 223: Anna Quindlen
A novelist and Pulitzer-winning columnist, when she was in college she babysat Maggie Haberman, who grew up to be a terrific political reporter. A torch is passed, a head is spinning: mine. Plus music from the splendid quartet Ethel; some other part of my body is awhirl. PERSON: Charles Dickens PLACE: 229 West 43 … Continue reading »
Episode 222: Harriet Washington
Decades ago she was aiming for med school until she read the college catalogs. “Some of them were polite and said, ‘Not accepting negro students at this time,’” she recalls. “I guess come back in twenty years.” I’d have plunged into rage and despair; she became a first-rate science writer. A conversation at Columbia … Continue reading »
Episode 221: Eugene Jarecki
His new documentary, The King, sees Elvis Presley as a symbol of the rise and fall of America. So where does that leave Col. Parker, Elvis’s manager, widely disparaged for exploiting Elvis? “We deserve what we get,” says Jarecki, referring both to democracy and rock’n’roll. But do we? I didn’t vote for Trump. A … Continue reading »
Episode 220: Martin Hayes, Howard Wolfson
Is a musical performance akin to a political speech? Yes. And no. Two friends, an Irish fiddle player and an American political strategist, consider the question at the Irish Arts Center. With music from, well yes, of course, Martin Hayes. We’re not boneheads. Photo by Anthony Mulcahy. PERSON: Hillary Clinton PLACE: Lake Shore Drive … Continue reading »
Episode 219: Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr
She has been fighting HIV-AIDS around the world for 3 decades and believes that her patients and their supporters offer broader lessons: “People who are affected by cancer, for example, have learned a lot from the HIV movement.” Broader still, the public health efforts she champions are a model for democratic governance – egalitarian, … Continue reading »
Episode 218: Dr. Lucy Kalanithi
When a beloved spouse dies, we confront profound questions and also mundane matters. “Do you keep wearing your ring? When do you take it off?” asks Dr. Lucy Kalanithi, widow of Dr. Paul Kalanithi who wrote When Breath Becomes Air. She faces both with grace and insight. A surprisingly hopeful – joyful – conversation … Continue reading »
Episode 217: Edmund White
Much admired for his his autobiographical novels, including A Boy’s Own Story, and his work on French literature and culture, he is unashamed of his youthful craving for fame, noting: “If you say it in French, ‘gloire,’ it sounds better.” Well, sure: what doesn’t? A conversation at La Maison Française with music from Rich Jenkins. PERSON: … Continue reading »
Episode 216: Michael Bierut
The graphics he created for the Jets, BAM, Hillary Clinton et al are not merely decorative but can bring order out of chaos. He cites his mentor Massimo Vignelli’s designs for the MTA: “We can come up with a system of doing signs to pull this whole unruly crazy system together so no one ever … Continue reading »
Episode 215: Randy Weston
This great jazz pianist has been making modern music for most of his 92 years, but he denies it, quoting Duke Ellington: “There’s no such thing as modern music.” He reconciled this paradox in our conversation at the piano at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center. We spoke, he played, and then: birthday cake! … Continue reading »