He is an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, having been the paper’s Rome bureau chief, White House correspondent, restaurant critic, and more. During our conversation at JCC Manhattan, he describes meeting two long-time idols: one was a bit of a let down, one was entirely satisfying. Hear what happens when youthful dreams … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 126: Ken Ludwig
His plays, including Lend Me a Tenor, have been performed in 30 countries and 20 languages. When we spoke at Princeton’s McCarter Theater, he asserted that comedy is as important and serious as drama, which gave me a chance to quote Coleridge – “The true comic is the blossom of the nettle.” – something … Continue reading »
Episode 125: Azar Nafisi
Born in Tehran and educated in Switzerland and the University of Oklahoma, thus setting some kind of record for cultural contrast, she taught English literature at Tehran University and is now a fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Like millions of admirers, I first heard of her with the publication of … Continue reading »
Episode 124: Yancey Strickler
The cofounder and CEO of Kickstarter, he sees his enterprise as a kind of narrative: “It’s not a marketing plan, it’s not a branding layout…it’s a story of them, a story of the individual coming to this thing and why they’re trying to make this thing happen.” We spoke at the Brooklyn Historical Society, … Continue reading »
Episode 123: Dr. Thomas Farley
The commissioner of health for New York City under Mayor Bloomberg, he battled cigarettes, transfats, and the fifty gallon vats of cola traditionally sold at movie theaters. He is the author of Saving Gotham and recently became the health commissioner of Philadelphia. We convened at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health with musician Kevin … Continue reading »
Episode 122: Trevor Nunn
The former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he also has a celebrated career in the commercial theater, having staged both Cats and Les Mis. We spoke in a dressing room at Theatre for a New Audience, right after he led a rehearsal of Pericles, where he asserted that Shakespeare is like Picasso in … Continue reading »
Episode 121: Danai Gurira
TV fans know her as an actor – Mochinne on The Walking Dead. Theater goers know her as a playwright: her Eclipsed, starring Lupita Nyong’o, is on Broadway. Moose hunters know her as… no! They don’t know her at all. She hunts no moose. But she spoke with wit and insight when we met … Continue reading »
Episode 120: Gregory Crewdson
Photographer Gregory Crewdson takes pictures much the way a director makes movies: working with a crew, including a DP, and never touching a camera. The results are haunting and beautiful. We convened at Planthouse Gallery with musical guest Paul Grimstad. PERSON: his father, Frank Crewdson PLACE: Upper Goose Pond THING: a Fender Stratocaster guitar … Continue reading »
Episode 119: Joseph O’Neill
His novels include the much admired Netherland, and The Dog, long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. We spoke at the American Irish Historical Society, where we were joined by the splendid musicans Eamon O’Leary and Stephanie Coleman who put down their instruments during the conversational part of the program. People are so considerate. PERSON: Seamus Heaney … Continue reading »
Episode 118: Leandra Medine
Her website, Man Repeller, offers witty and insightful ideas about fashion, not just as what we wear but as who we are: clothing as a window onto the larger culture. Although who’d want a window made of cotton? The rain would soak through, and you couldn’t see out. Metaphors: they only take you so … Continue reading »
Episode 117: Warren Leight and Julie Martin
The writer-producers of Law and Order SVU describe the pains and pleasures of shooting in New York – mostly pleasures… no, pains… no, pleasures derives from pains – and make this astute observation: it’s not just that an actor shapes a character but that playing a character transforms the actor herself. In this case it … Continue reading »
Episode 116: David Adjaye
He has designed both elegant private houses (Alexander McQueen’s) and grand public spaces (the Nobel Peace Prize Center in Oslo). While he was working on the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture, he was often asked: will it look African American? But what does that mean? Does Renzo Piano’s Times building look newspapery? … Continue reading »