This expert on affordable housing asks challenging questions: “Would you want greater-density boxy buildings to replace brownstones in Park Slope, and if not, where do we put them?” Now my head hurts. In a good way. Produced with Open House New York. Photo: Ben Helmer. Continue reading »
Author Archives: Randy Cohen
488: Eduardo Vilaro
“I am Juan de Pareja,” says this choreographer (center) about the subject of his new piece, the Afro-Spanish painter enslaved by Velázquez. Multiple personalities? No. One artist fascinated by the life of another. We celebrate Vilaro’s fifteen years as artistic director of Ballet Hispánico. Music: Ahmed Alom (left). Continue reading »
487 Ann Goldstein
The esteemed translator of Elena Ferrante and Pier Paolo Pasolini says of her work, “It’s an impossible task, but it has to be done.” And she does it wonderfully. But she won’t touch poetry: even more impossible. Presented with Rizzoli Bookstore, Europa Editions, Words Without Borders. Continue reading »
486: Michael Henry Adams
When Europeans take one of his tours, do they seek the Harlem of today or of the Harlem Renaissance? “They’ve got a kind of fable of Harlem,” says this preservationist, and then he goes to work and reconciles the present with the past. Produced with Open House New York. Continue reading »
485: Len Elmore
“I had dreams of playing basketball then going to law school and doing what Perry Mason did.” Those dreams came true. The Knicks. Harvard Law. The Brooklyn DA’s office. And now he teaches at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies, a co-producer of this episode. (I had dreams that I could fly. I can’t.) Photo: Lou Rocco. Continue reading »
484: Rachel Wax
The gender balance in her profession is disheartening, she says, “It has one of the smallest percentages of women. I mean the ratio is astounding.” U.S. Senator? Catholic priest? Not quite that bad. She is a magician. But things are improving. Produced with KGB Bar’s Red Room. Continue reading »
483: Robin Steinberg, David Feige
They spent much of their professional lives as public defenders in the Bronx, working in an unjust system, and its flaws persist. Discouraged? Nah. “If you’re trying to solve a problem you can solve in your lifetime, you’re thinking too small.” Continue reading »
482: Pádraig Ó Tuama
Poet, theologian, host of the On Being Studios podcast Poetry Unbound, he has a favorite pencil but is not a fanatic: “I use anything to get the idea down. I have written with pens and pencils; I have written on the back of sick bags on airplanes.” Computers. Cellphones. No crayon, but he’s not above it. … Continue reading »
481: Adrian Benepe
The president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is proud that it is a treasure for the entire city and maybe even prouder of its ties to its local community: “The neighborhood is deep into us, and we’re deep into the neighborhood.” Like roots. Or vines. Or some other sort of metaphoric floral something. Continue reading »
480: Ian Niederhoffer
Music offers more than aesthetic pleasure, asserts this conductor: “Music has the power to transport its audiences to a time that no longer exists.” A gentler time, without covid or attack drones or Elon Musk. He’s founded a chamber orchestra, Parlando, on that belief. Continue reading »
479: David Leonhardt
Writer of “The Morning” newsletter for The New York Times and author of Ours Was the Shining Future, he admires A. Philip Randolph, who championed this idea: “Collective action around labor and workers is the most powerful vehicle for changing this country.” The echoes and implications of social class. Continue reading »
478: Joan Kron
I’m against nose jobs for ordinary noses (like mine), but this journalist, who’s covered cosmetic surgery for decades, is less judgmental: “I believe everybody is free to do what they want with their body.” Incidentally, she’s just turned 96 and looks fabulous. Continue reading »