For years Ruth Reichl worked in disguise, accumulating a bigger wig collection than Diana Ross. Her photo was said to command big money — nothing to do with the Witness Protection Program, everything to do with her power as a restaurant critic: chefs were anxious to know she was at their table. And that’s only … Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
Episode 78: Sean & Chris Kelly
Two generations of humor writers. Sean was a founding editor of the National Lampoon; His son Chris was the head writer on Bill Maher’s first series. Plus a bonus segment from Daniel Radosh and Tim Carvell, recorded when they wrote for Jon Stewart. PERSON: musician Steve Goodman PLACE: the Grave of Wilfred H. Hell (not here) … Continue reading »
Episode 77: Eric Fischl
Eric Fischl came to fame in the New York art world of the nineteen-eighties (well yeah, not the eighteen-eighties) – in every era a cultural ecosystem inhabited by artists, art lovers, galleries, museums, and critics. This remixed episode includes a bonus segment from art-critic power couple Roberta Smith (New York Times) and Jerry Saltz (New York … Continue reading »
Episode 76: Robert Mankoff
He is the former cartoon editor of the New Yorker, whose own cartoon, captioned, “How about never – is never good for you?” is the magazine’s most frequently reprinted. He might be tired of talking about his greatest hit, but I think it places him among the immortals Photo: Davina Pardo PERSON: his mother, Mollie … Continue reading »
Episode 75: Theresa Rebeck
No one moves more gracefully between Hollywood and New York. Out west, she wrote for NYPD Blue, among many TV shows, before creating her own, Smash. Back east, her plays include Mauritius, Seminar, and the Pulitzer finalist Omnium Gatherum. She won the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, which isn’t really between Hollywood … Continue reading »
Episode 74: Annabelle Gurwitch
Annabelle Gurwitch came to broad attention as a comic performer on the TBS television series “Dinner and a Movie.” I believe she played Dinner. Or perhaps Movie. She has since written several books, most recently I See You Made an Effort, a humorous look at turning fifty. PERSON: Robin Shlein PLACE: Camp Blue Star THING: … Continue reading »
Episode 73: Martin Chalfie
In 2008, he shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work with green fluorescent protein. Its best known application? “It’s the reason they give in the movie for why Bruce Banner, when he gets angry, turns into the Hulk and becomes green.” Is it any wonder he’s proud? PERSON: Osamu Shimomura PLACE: Cambridge Molecular … Continue reading »
Episode 72: Jerry Saltz and Roberta Smith
Roberta Smith is the senior art critic for the New York Times; her husband, Jerry Saltz, is the senior art critic for New York magazine. They stride across the art world like colossi or perhaps colusses, depending on your preference—astute, eloquent, wedded colussi. They joined us for a rare joint appearance on stage at the … Continue reading »
Episode 70: Emanuel Ax
Pianist Emanuel Ax was born in Ukraine and lived in Warsaw and Winnipeg before arriving in New York, where he studied at Julliard and later at Columbia, earning a BA not in music but in French. One sign of his esteem as a performer is the roster of colleagues who’ve regularly performed with him, including … Continue reading »
Episode 69: Griffin Dunne
He is the son of the the writer Dominick Dunne and the nephew of two more writers, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. That’s not really an accomplishment; it’s an accident of birth, like being French, only better, but it would have seemed coy, somehow, not to mention it. I first became aware of him … Continue reading »
Episode 67: Andrew W. K.
Hard rocker and host of the Cartoon Network show “Destroy Build Destroy,” he is our first guest to have a hit record and to give a motivational speech at Yale. Best known for his songs It’s Time to Party, Party Hard and Party ‘Til You Puke, he has elevated the party from ephemeral fun to … Continue reading »
Episode 66: Diana Reiss
A member of the psychology department at Hunter College, Diana Reiss is an expert in dolphin cognition who has conducted ingenious experiments to demonstrate that these creatures recognize themselves in mirrors: that they are self-aware. She is, incidentally, our first guest to postpone her visit until she returned from a marine mammal conference which, I … Continue reading »