An African American, a PhD psychologist, and a former police chief, he has an interesting perspective on police reform. Citing research from Stanford, he asserts: “Mere political party affiliation, whether you’re republican or democrat, is more powerful than the whole issue around race.” We spoke about race, romance, and the healing power of a … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 199: Peter Staley
During the pandemic we’ll air some pertinent past episodes. This one features AIDS activist Peter Staley, who, 40 years ago, encountered Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Staley didn’t much like Fauci but grew to admire him, as do all of us who are not the president. Plus a segment … Continue reading »
Movies / Television / Theater
Episode 198: F. Murray Abraham
This fine actor was first admired by many people my age as Salieri in Amadeus and those my daughter’s age as Dar Adal in Homeland. We spoke at the Friars Club about his childhood in El Paso – El Paso! – his passionate devotion to our immigrant nation, and his suprising friendship with Louis C.K. … Continue reading »
Episode 197: Paula Vogel & Daniel Alexander Jones
I expected this playwright (admired for Learning to Drive) and this writer-performer (admired for his character Jomama) to be astute about theater, and they are. They also have provocative ideas about gender. “I feel – I don’t know if you agree with this – that my gender changes every day,” says Paula, “and maybe … Continue reading »
Episode 196: Dr. Mary Travis Bassett
A remastered conversation from the vault with a former New York City health commissioner, who regarded her work as part of a broader fight for social justice, not surprising given her family history: her parents are lifelong activists who met at a demonstration against a segregated restaurant, my idea of a love story. We spoke … Continue reading »
Episode 195: Loudon Wainwright III
It is the best work that lasts, says this fine musician who’s created plenty, and history determines what that is: “Time will tell,” he says. I demur: “Time won’t tell.” It may be that only good work endures, but just a tiny portion of it will be enjoyed 100 years from now, and that selection … Continue reading »
Episode 194: Jami Floyd
The local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on WNYC, journalist Jami Floyd was biracial before that term existed: “I was very very lonely as a child because I was a biracial kid…[but] there was no biracial.” A conversation about race, refugees, and a Raggedy Ann turned Raggedy Andy – not a metaphor – at … Continue reading »
Episode 193: Jack Kleinsinger
During his 45 years producing the concert series Highlights in Jazz, he has gotten to know many brilliant musicians. Dizzy Gillespie once came by the house and played for his cat. But is jazz, if not dead then relegated to a museum piece? The future of an art form: at BMCC-Tribeca Performing Arts Center … Continue reading »
Episode 192: Miriam Horn
Observe the world with “the precision of a poet and the imagination of a scientist,” urges the writer and environmental advocate Miriam Horn, citing Nabokov. She is describing not just how to see but how to be. Her other philosophical advice: live like the Ponderosa pine. Is this metaphor or pantheism? A conversation at the … Continue reading »
Episode 191: Chieh Huang
Some silicon valley companies make grandiose claims, but Chieh Huang, founder of the online retailer Boxed, is more modest: ”We’re not changing the world by selling toilet paper.” But perhaps he is – not with the products he sells but through the benefits he offers his workers. He calls Boxed, “a new-school tech company … Continue reading »
Episode 190: NSangou Njikam
The children of immigrants can be embarrassed by their parents’ ties to their homeland: “Speak English, Mama. We’re Americans now.” Freedom means shedding the oppressive past. But playwright NSangou Njikam sought freedom by embracing his history, tracing his roots to Cameroon, and taking an African name. Two historical contexts, two routes to the same goal. … Continue reading »
Episode 189: Francine Prose part two
Blindfold a child, put a bat in her hand, and promise her candy, a lot of candy. What could go wrong? Nothing, says the author of the darkly delightful Mister Monkey, in a deft defense of pinatas. Plus: what to do when a neighbor has automatic weapons, poetry from Bob Holman who was entirely … Continue reading »