His research on the neuroscience of aesthetics suggests that people crave the human touch. “If they think something is made by a person, they like it more; if they think it’s made by a machine they don’t like it.” He does not mention Twinkies. Or the late Joan Rivers. Presented with the Viñoly Foundation.
This scholar says, “What made American fashion different is that it was to be wearable, comfortable, practical.” But not on the red carpet at the Oscars, she did not add. We spoke in conjunction with her exhibition Art X Fashion currently at the Museum at FIT.
Ma Nishtana is the pen name of Shais Rison, a 30-year-old, fifth-generation, African-American, Orthodox Jew. A writer and film-maker, he is prominent among Jews of Color. Asked if he identifies more as an African-American or a Jew, he once said: “When I walk down the street, nobody says, ‘Hey, look at that Jewish guy.’” PERSON: … Continue reading »
She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s called a standup comic, but is she? She doesn’t tell jokes, she tells stories. And she doesn’t so much tell them as perform them, as a gifted actor might. Randy and Maria met by email when he wrote the Ethicist column for the Times, and she wanted to discuss the … Continue reading »
A history professor at the CUNY graduate center, David Nasaw knows his two-fisted titans of 20th C. America. He’s written much praised biographies of William Randolph Hearst, Andrew Carnegie and, most recently, Joseph P. Kennedy. By the way: not a bootlegger. Kennedy. Well, Nasaw isn’t either. As far as we know. But he is a … Continue reading »
Jody Williams calls herself an average woman, but the Nobel Committee saw it differently when they awarded her the 1997 Peace Prize for her work toward the clearing and banning of land mines. This extraordinary ordinary woman more convincingly asserts that change is achieved by grassroots activism, from the ground up not from the top … Continue reading »
Jack Hitt began in journalism as editor of the Paper Clip, his Charleston, SC, grade-school literary magazine. He has since risen or, depending on your perspective, fallen to writing for Harpers and the NY Times and presenting great pieces on “This American Life.” His newest book is Bunch of Amateurs. This podcast was recorded in … Continue reading »
Philippe Petit entered the consciousness of many New Yorkers on August 7, 1974, when he walked—danced!—on a high wire he’d secretly strung between the towers of the World Trade Center, an incredible feat revisited in the 2008 documentary Man on Wire. Philippe joins Randy to talk about his passion for knots, also captured in his … Continue reading »
Bruce Feiler’s Walking the Bible was the first of his four consecutive New York Times best sellers. He has been the subject of a Jay Leno joke and a Jeopardy! Question—our nation’s highest honors— and his face appears on a postage stamp in the Grenadines, if there actually is such a place. We spoke in … Continue reading »
It is silly to ask a novelist what her books are about, but Meg Wolitzer once wrote, “Sometimes they’re about marriage. Families. Sex. Desire. Parents and children.” That pretty much covers what it is to be human. Omitting only handguns. We admire her deftness with language, in her fiction and also: she devises crossword puzzles. If … Continue reading »
Judy Collins began her 50-year career at age 13, performing a Mozart piano concerto. She recorded her first album, Maid Of Constant Sorrow, in 1961. She provided Bill and Hillary Clinton with a name for their daughter, but that is not a routine part of her act. Her new CD/DVD project was recorded live at … Continue reading »
Born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Kansas City, where Orthodox Jews were thin on the ground, Ed Asner is an Army veteran, athlete, political progressive and much admired actor. Best known to people Randy’s age as Lou Grant, a new generation discovered him as the voice of Carl Frederickson in the animated feature Up. … Continue reading »
One of America’s most beloved illustrators, Maira Kalman has drawn for children, with Max Stravinsky, the poet-dog; for adults, in the New Yorker; and for dancers, who share qualities of both, in creating sets for Mark Morris. She’s illustrated the new edition of The Elements of Style, been a “visual columnist” for the New York … Continue reading »
James Shapiro is a Shakespeare scholar at Columbia University. His newest book is Contested Will. PERSON: Ulysses S. Grant PLACE: A book warehouse on Long Island THING: A stone wall in Vermont Continue reading »