Born in America, the daughter of immigrants, writer Gish Jen recalls that, “When we were growing up, people would often say: your father is very Chinese.” Not just a little Chinese – very Chinese. What did they mean by that? She answers astutely, with reference to her father’s unlikely memoir, the Tianamen Square tank … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 163: Kevin Locke
This Lakota musician is a universalist, alert to the commonalities among religions, nations, people. In our conversation at the New York Baha’i Center, he notes that nearly every culture has some kind of flute and some form of fasting. Is the latter a protest against the former? Certainly not. He himself is a flute player … Continue reading »
Episode 162: Frances Beinecke
A past president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, she has a chilling awareness of the harm that can be done by nincompoops in power, and yet she is surprisingly optimistic. We spoke at Planthouse Gallery about Rachel Carson, climate change, and the terrifying, if unlikely, prospect of being on a spaceship with Peter … Continue reading »
Episode 161: George Vecsey
The brilliant editor Maxwell Perkins carved Thomas Wolfe’s crate of pages – 333,000 words! – into Look Homeward, Angel. George Vecsey, much admired former sports columnist for the Times, thinks Perkins cut too much, by 100,000 words. Most readers side with Perkins. (And by “most readers,” I mean me.) Plus, he describes the men’s … Continue reading »
Episode 10: Samantha Bee
We spoke a few years ago for one of our first episodes, when she was a correspondent for The Daily Show, before she created her own show, Full Frontal, and before we could even imagine a President Trump, who makes us so desperately need Full Frontal and powerful mind-numbing drugs. Smart, funny, and humane, she … Continue reading »
Episode 160: Stephen Dubner
Before Freakonomics, before he set out as a journalist, Stephen Dubner abandoned a promising career as a musician because, “I didn’t want to be doing something that I felt required adoration to give me validation.” But surely every writer wants readers who value his work, so what’s the difference? An artist’s relationship with his … Continue reading »
Episode 159: David Ives
Our friends provide kindness, but we are also drawn to harsher souls with “big personalities” and small social skills whose rigor makes us better people. And by “we,” I mean playwright David Ives. A conversation at Classic Stage Company about tenderness and severity with the author of Venus in Fur and CSC’s current production, … Continue reading »
Episode 158: Gale Brewer
Can local government protect us from the enormities perpetrated by the White House? Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer is not entirely comforting, but it is encouraging to hear a public official who is competent, honorable, knowledgeable, respected by (and respectful of) her constituents – qualities not conspicuous around the Oval Office. It’s also nice … Continue reading »
Episode 157: Peter Yarrow
Best known for his work with Peter, Paul and Mary, he has much to say about music as a political force, but his most surprising comment was this: even when writing songs, he thinks visually, in shapes not sounds. And he has great stories about “the most feared person in Greenwich Village” and Mary … Continue reading »
Episode 156: Max Krohn
Among life’s most liberating experiences is finding yourself unambiguously wrong: your mind is cleared of cant, and the world is transformed. (This requires the wit to perceive your error and the courage to acknowledge it, apparently not presidential qualities.) Max Krohn, a cofounder of SparkNotes and OKCupid, had such an experience as an undergrad … Continue reading »
Episode 155: Sharon Salzberg
Is meditation fundamentally conservative, a spiritual tranquilizer that helps us accept what we’d do better to oppose? Meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg demurs. Used properly, these techniques can help us gain the clarity and calm to take action. Plus a paean to the Statue of Liberty as a quasi-Hindu deity and anti-Trump emblem. And music from Max … Continue reading »
Episode 154: Maya Lin
At 22, she designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; she’s since created the stirring Wavefield at Storm King and is currently working on the Smith College library. So, artist or architect? “There are architects that make art, and then I think there are artists who make architecture,” she says, “and I would sort of see myself … Continue reading »