In her 22 years as a federal judge, she became best known to civilians like me for striking down New York City’s stop-and-frisk policy. And now she can be known for this: she was gym-mates with Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Great legal minds on the treadmill. Not a figure of speech. PERSON: Ruth Bader Ginsburg … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 210: Woodie King
A veteran of 60 years in the theater, he makes a counterintuitive – and sadly convincing – point: colorblind casting can mean more parts for white actors. On the one hand, every role should be open to every actor: you needn’t be a Dane to play Hamlet. On the other, an all-white Raisin in … Continue reading »
Episode 209: William Kennedy
The going price of a vote in the thirties? $5. How did they know you voted their way? By sandpapering the voting-both curtain so they could see through it. Forget it, Jake, it’s Albany. Tales of political corruption from the author of Ironweed and more. PERSON: Dan O’Connell PLACE: Times Union Building THING: the … Continue reading »
Episode 208: André Aciman
We all deceive ourselves, says the author of Call Me By Your Name, who provides a hierarchy of self-deception. “The most glaring one, the most painful one, is to imagine yourself being loved by some people who absolutely hate you.” How many really love you? Maybe 50%. “That’s a good number.” Hard truths and … Continue reading »
Episode 207: Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez
A face transplant is disturbing in a way that a kidney or heart transplant is not. Is it because our face is so key to our identity? Nobody has thought more about this than surgeon Eduardo Rodriguez, an authority on the procedure. Plus music from Solange Prat and Gregorio Uribe. Surgery and song. PERSON: … Continue reading »
Episode 206: Arin Arbus & Jeffrey Horowitz
He is the founder of Theatre for a New Audience where she has directed many plays including the current Winter’s Tale. They both assert that much of the meaning of a text resides in the very sound of the words. Thus a Swedish translation of Shakespeare conveys meaning even to a non-Swedish speaker. I’m … Continue reading »
Episode 205: Rainn Wilson, part two
When he was an acting student at NYU, “I didn’t hear word one about faith,” he says, but he and his fellow students found an almost religious meaning in theater. Making a spiritual life through work, religion, and political engagement – a conversation at the NY Baha’i Center. With music from Kevin Nathaniel Hylton. … Continue reading »
Episode 204: Rainn Wilson, part one
Beloved as Dwight Schrute in The Office, he was raised a Baha’i but abandoned those teachings at a moment of spiritual crisis. “The main reason I left the Baha’i faith,” he says “ was ‘cause I wanted to have sex with my girlfriend and not feel guilty about it.” Eventually the prodigal son returned. A very funny … Continue reading »
Episode 5: R.L. Stine
Best known as the creator of the Goosebumps books, a mighty empire of YA horror, R. L. Stine began as a humor writer, and sees interesting connections between laughter and fear. “It’s like writing punch lines; every chapter has some kind of surprising cliffhanger ending.” We spoke several years ago – he was one of … Continue reading »
Episode 203: Michael Rauch & Ian Olympio
Mentor and mentee in a Writers Guild program that pairs veteran and novice TV writers, they agree that Annie Hall is not a “manic pixie dreamgirl” (although Michael is not sure what that is) and that it would be a horrible idea to remake the movie that bears her name. Unless the new Annie … Continue reading »
Episode 202: Gail Simmons
Food should not be comforting. “That’s the goal of an easy chair,” says food writer Gail Simmons, a judge on Top Chef, quoting her mentor, Jeffrey Steingarten. The culinary arts, like any other, should be challenging. Which breaks the heart of my mashed potatoes even as it raises another question: is cooking really an … Continue reading »
Episode 201: Fiasco Theater
Most of us live without fame; the world simply ignores us. Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld of Fiasco Theater assert that obscurity offers real rewards; a meaningful artistic life depends on it. When artists say that sort of thing, they’re generally rationalizing, but this time I believe them. How to have friends, family, and … Continue reading »