Faith Salie

Faith is a regular contributor to CBS Sunday Morning and NPR’s Wait Wait...Don’t Tell Me!

She’s also a panelist on the BBC America series, “Would You Rather…?” with Graham Norton.  She was the host of Bravo’s The Approval Matrix and of the Planet Green series Treehugger TV.  She’s appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The O’Reilly Factor, Anderson, CNN, HLN, Bravo, VH1, and she’s written for Slate.com, O, The Oprah Magazine, and CNN.com.  She hosted PRI's Fair Game with Faith Salie for its 300-episode run. 

She’s probably the only Rhodes scholar who does stand-up comedy.  Faith is on a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine collectable trading card that is worth hundreds of cents.

Shows:

Faith Salie appears in the following:

Faith Salie's One-Woman Show

Monday, November 22, 2021

Author, journalist, and contributor to NPR's 'Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me' Faith Salie discusses her new one-woman show, 'Approval Junkie.'

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Raising Kids in an Era of Anger

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

How gendered messaging affects kids and why we need to raise boys to be more empathetic. 

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Addicted to Approval

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Are you an approval junkie? 

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What's the Difference Between "Rap" and "Hip Hop"?

Monday, May 20, 2013

In this second installment of our musical mysteries series, Soundcheck contributor Faith Salie attempts to discern rap from hip hop. She talks with Duke University professor Mark Anthony Neal about the difference between the two terms -- which, as it turns out, is fairly complex. 

"When we talk about hip hop, we're talking about a larger cultural experience," says Neal. "Rap music is part of that larger aspect of hip hop culture, but it's also the part of the culture that's perhaps most visible and most well known to the average person."

Salie and Neal discuss the origins of the terms and how they've evolved over time. And, Neal tells us which categories artists like Will Smith, KRS-One, Nas and Eminem fall into. 

How do you define the terms "rap" and "hip hop"? Leave a comment below. 

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The Music Your Parents Raised You On

Monday, April 15, 2013

Inspired by contributor Faith Salie's discovery about the music she listened to as a child, we ask our listeners to call up their folks to find out how they chose music they grew up w...

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Creed from 'The Office;' Lady Live; When Accents Disappear

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

In this episode: As the popular sitcom The Office comes to a close, we talk with actor and musician Creed Bratton, who portrays the delightfully creepy character Creed on the show — and in real life is a former member of the ‘60s band The Grass Roots. 

Plus: Singers Terri Walker and Nicole Wray front the new classically soulful band Lady. The duo joins us to sing a stripped down set in the studio.

And: Contributor Faith Salie delves into a puzzling musical mystery: Why accents seem to disappear in song.

Solving Your Musical Mysteries: Why Do Accents Disappear When We Sing?

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Contributor Faith Salie volunteers to get to the bottom of your unanswered musical questions. Such as: Why do accents seem to disappear in song?  We hear from three experts: Bill Bee...

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The Songs Of The Parents Shall Be Visited Upon The Children

Friday, April 05, 2013

Contributor Faith Salie finds out the truth about the music she listened to as a kid.

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Lie Lady Lie: National Grammar Day and Music

Monday, March 04, 2013

Recently, our regular contributor Faith Salie took to the Soundcheck blog to air her grievances about bad grammar in music. From Paula Cole to Eric Clapton to Leonard Cohen, it turns out that musicians can be rather careless when it comes to grammatical rules and their song lyrics. We talk with Faith, as well as Mignon Fogerty -- founder of the Grammar Girl website and podcast -- about examples of poor grammar in music. Plus, our listeners chime in with their favorite... er, least favorite... examples as well. 

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When Bad Grammar Happens To (Mostly) Good Music

Friday, February 15, 2013

We each have songs that, to our particular ear, sound like nails on a chalkboard. And some songs should be deconstructed on a chalkboard…for bad grammar. I’m not talking about slang, colloquialisms, or innovative language. I’m not being punctilious about making sure you don’t end a lyric line with a preposition. In fact, the first dance song at my wedding reception was “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” I think it would have lost a little something if it were “To You It’d Be So Nice To Come Home.” Nobody wants to sound sort of like Yoda.

What I’m talking about is crappy syntax. Artistic license is one thing, language mangling is another. Bad grammar is jarring; it takes me out of the flow of the song.

Here’s how I define unnecessarily bad grammar in a song: when it wouldn’t change the rhyme scheme to use the correct word or when the syntax results from being lyrically lazy.

Like this, from the Paula Cole song “I Don’t Wanna Wait”:

"So open up your morning light / And say a little prayer for I"

That lyric makes me say a prayer for the objective case.

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Schoolhouse Rock: Educational Mac 'N Cheese

Thursday, February 07, 2013

"I honestly don’t remember watching Saturday morning cartoons when I was kid," Faith Salie says, "but I do remember Schoolhouse Rock. Conduct a poll of 35-45 year-olds, and I guarante...

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Lolly Lolly Lolly, 'Schoolhouse Rock' At 40

Thursday, January 31, 2013

With Schoolhouse Rock turning 40 this month, Soundcheck contributor reflects on the lasting impact and charm of the beloved children's cartoon. Have you used lessons learned from Scho...
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Hitting A Musical Red Light

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Has this ever happened to you? Things are going great in a relationship. And then, you find out that your significant other loves music that you hate. Or doesn't understand your taste...

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What Are Your Musical 'Red Lights'?

Monday, January 14, 2013

Have you ever heard music that your significant other loved but you hated? Or that they couldn't stand, but meant something to you? Tell us your musical "red flags" that may send up a...
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We Wish You A Creepy Christmas

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

contributor Faith Salie joins us to share her own feelings about creepy holiday classics that deserve a perhaps more scrutinous listen.

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Matthew Dear, Whiskey Talk, Creepy Christmas Songs

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Today on Soundcheck, creepy Christmas songs with Faith Salie, electronic pop from Matthew Dear and a bit of whiskey.

'Free To Be' Anything You Want To Be (Almost)

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Part two of our three-part series on "Free to Be... You and Me" looks at the album's gender-neutral messaging and its limitations.

 

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The Name Game: When It's You They're Singing About

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Songs that mention you by name have a funny way of sticking around. Contributor Faith Salie talks about songs that mention her by name (actually, by noun) -- plus, we hear from the pe...

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Dolly Parton For Musician In Chief

Friday, October 12, 2012

Over the next few weeks, Soundcheck is looking for our first Musician In Chief. Special guests nominate musicians and make a case for why that artist should become commander in chief. So far, Keith Richards and Patti Smith have been nominated. Today, we turn to CBS Sunday Morning contributor Faith Salie for her pick, Dolly Parton.

START THE CONVERSATION: Who do you think should become the first "Musician In Chief"? Fill out THIS questionnaire into our comments section, or email your response to soundcheck@wnyc.org

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Hitting The High Notes Aboard 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Soundcheck bullpen contributor Faith Salie recounts her time as a singing mutant on Star Trek.

 

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