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 »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
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 »
Episode 214: Azza Karam and Carl Murrell
When a religious group is distinctly sexist, why don’t women abandon it? Savvy answers from Azza Karam, a Muslim at the U.N. Population Council, and Carl Murrell, who represents the U.S. Baha’i community at the U.N. Both work for women’s equality as an expression of their religious beliefs. Faith and Feminism. Person: Malala Yousafzai … Continue reading »
Episode 213: Mandë Holford, Mercer R. Brugler
The 19th century biologist Ernst Haechel had flamboyantly false ideas about race but discovered thousands of species and coined the terms ecology, phylum, and stem cell. How do we reconcile his errors and his contributions? A conversation with two marine scientists at the American Museum of Natural History about being wrong. Music from Robert Duncan … Continue reading »
Episode 212: Noah Emmerich
Admired for his portrayal of FBI agent Stan Beeman on The Americans, Noah Emmerich didn’t intend to be an actor. He was a history major, studying the Constitution and headed for law school when something happened. A cheap tease, but a great story. Music from the Gregorio Uribe Trio, a great band. PERSON: Ron … Continue reading »