Celebrated for his use of light, this architect is moved by that from distant stars: “Those photons are around us—we can’t see them—but they are fundamentally carrying the history of the universe.” We spoke at 7 World Trade Center, a building he worked on, through the generosity of Silverstein Properties.
The heirs of deceased playwrights can be finicky about new productions—Samuel Beckett, Arthur Miller—but the head of the Mint Theater has a different experience. “What I tend to run into from estates is, ‘Really? You’re interested in that old play? Great!’” How to revive neglected plays.
Lev Grossman is a journalist, the book critic at Time Magazine, and a novelist, best known for the three books in The Magicians series which he decribes as, in part, Harry Potter for adults. We spoke at the Brooklyn Historical Society accompanied by Mamie Minch. PERSON: J.K. Rowling PLACE: Oxford University THING: his antidepressants … Continue reading »
This splendid actor is perhaps best known for her performances in Wit and Angels in America and now has recurring roles on The Affair, The Americans, and House of Cards. We spoke at the National Black Theater, an event produced with Epic Theater Ensemble, featuring original music from the cast of Shakespeare Remix: Hamlet & … Continue reading »
In 1985, he became the youngest world chess champion in history at the age of 5. OK, he was 22, and it was an extraordinary achievement. He subsequently emerged as a vigorous anti-Putin activist and now heads the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. A conversation on computers, chess, secret codes, and Russian foreign policy. Plus … Continue reading »
Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, director of the Heart Failure Program at L.I. Jewish Medical Center, is that rare combination: a physician who is both skilled at his profession and able to reflect on it eloquently, as he does in two books, Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation, and Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician. We spoke at … Continue reading »
Like many people, I became a fan with I Kissed a Girl, a song that is both witty and warm, qualities that seldom coincide. At a time when the music business has squeezed out the middle, offering only massive stadium concerts or total oblivion, she’s resourcefully built a musical life — crowd-funding an album, touring with … Continue reading »
Much enjoyed for his appearances as a judge on the Food Network program “Chopped,” chef Marc Murphy has cooked at Le Miraville in Paris, Louis XV in Monte Carlo and Le Cirque in New York and is now the chef and owner of Landmarc among other restaurants. During our conversation, he proposed lowering the … Continue reading »
The Tony-winning director of Raisin in the Sun, he was the artistic director of Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and has directed at Washington’s Arena Stage, Boston’s Huntington and Chicago’s Goodman. Among his film and TV credits are a remake of Steel Magnolias and a musical built on the work of Tupac Skakur. I’m almost certain these are two … Continue reading »
During our first season, I was fortunate to have Annette Gordon-Reed on the show. Born in Livingston, Texas, in 1958, she teaches both law and history at Harvard. Her book The Hemingses of Monticello won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize. The day before we were to record, her person, the writer Christopher Hitchens, died after a … Continue reading »
A Harvard law professor, he is known both for his legal work and his staunch defense of Israel. Among clients – Leona Helmsley, Mike Tyson, Michael Milken, Claus von Bulow, O.J. Simpson. I met him last summer at a gamelan concert. Yes, that old Indonesian meet-cute. We spoke on stage at JCC Manhattan, joined by … Continue reading »
During her tenure as food critic for the New York Times, she ate as many as four restaurant meals per day. But not in the same sitting. That would have been silly. She once tasted all 1,196 products in Bloomingdale’s food department – not a bar bet, an article. And a darn fine one. We … Continue reading »
The lead theater critic of the Times talks about the fantasy metropolis he’s searched for since he arrived in New York and offers his thoughts on innovation, grand gestures, and Gloria Vanderbilt. Person: Gloria Vanderbilt PLACE: London’s National Theater THING: a framed hundred dollar bill RANDY’S THING: his first Emmy Continue reading »
The guests on this episode are spouses. He is one of Ireland’s leading poets, the winner of the Pulitzer prize, and has written lyrics for Warren Zevon. She is a novelist whose 2012 Admission was made into a movie starring Tina Fey. I’m the shallow guy who went right for the celebrity connections. We … Continue reading »