WNYC Studios’ “Death, Sex, & Money” Invites Past Guests to Interview Their Dream Guests
(New York, NY – September 14, 2016) – Beginning today, Death, Sex & Money, WNYC Studios’ podcast about life’s more difficult topics, is kicking off a special guest-hosted series. Four fan favorites who have previously appeared on the show will take a seat in the host chair and interview their dream guests.
For this series, the hosts of each episode engage with the people they are particularly curious about and who they want to know better. Sesame Street’s Sonia Manzano speaks with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor about growing up in the South Bronx; comedian Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show, Don’t Think Twice) talks stand-up with up-and-comer Tim Dillon; and actress Ellen Burstyn discusses self-confidence with activist Gloria Steinem.
The fourth host is Diane Gill Morris, who appeared on Death, Sex & Money last year to discuss raising two autistic sons. Morris interviews Maria Caldwell, the mother of an autistic teenager who has experienced a violent interaction with law enforcement, and Officer Robert Zink of St. Paul, Minnesota, who works with the autistic community and is a father of two autistic sons.
The series schedule is as follows:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 – Sonia Manzano and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Manzano played the character “Maria” on Sesame Street for 44 years. In conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the two discuss their lives growing up in the South Bronx, where money was tight, their parents' relationships were troubled, and both of their fathers struggled with alcoholism. Plus, Manzano and the Justice talk about the Justice's career as a lawyer and district court judge, and her more recent work as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 – Chris Gethard and Tim Dillon
Comedian and TV show/podcast host Chris Gethard describes his guest Tim Dillon as “either the smartest maniac or craziest genius I know in the comedy world.” Currently an up-and-coming comic in New York City, Dillon delves into the hustle of stand-up and into specific details of his personal life: drug usage as a teenager, his failed child acting career, his mother’s schizophrenia, his time in the mortgage industry ahead of the 2008 financial crash, and dating today after coming out in his mid-20s.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 – Diane Gill Morris, Officer Rob Zink, and Maria Caldwell
When Diane Gill Morris first appeared on Death, Sex & Money last year, she described her worries about her autistic son, Kenny, being safe in the world “when I can’t explain to him all the intricacies involved in what it means to be young and black in America.” In this episode, she speaks with Maria Caldwell, the mother of an autistic teenager of color who last year had a violent interaction with the Metro Transit police in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also speaks with St. Paul police officer Robert Zink, father of two autistic sons, who trains officers on how to interact with autistic people.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 – Ellen Burstyn and Gloria Steinem
To wrap up the series, celebrated actress Ellen Burstyn interviews legendary activist Gloria Steinem. Over the course of the conversation, Steinem touches on the source of her confidence, growing old, her first marriage, and how she’s learned to deal with her regrets.
Death, Sex & Money is available on http://www.wnyc.org/shows/deathsexmoney/, iTunes, and all other places where podcasts may be downloaded.
ABOUT WNYC STUDIOS
WNYC Studios is the premier producer of on-demand and broadcast audio. Born from the team that created some of the most critically acclaimed and popular podcasts of the last decade, WNYC Studios is leading the new golden age in audio with high-quality storytelling that informs, inspires, and delights millions of intellectually curious and highly engaged listeners across digital, mobile, and broadcast platforms. WNYC Studios creates some of the most beloved audio series, including Radiolab, 2 Dope Queens, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, Note to Self, On the Media, The Takeaway, and Studio 360. Their programs include personal narratives, deep journalism, interviews that reveal, and smart entertainment as varied and intimate as the human voice itself. For more information, visit http://wnycstudios.wnyc.org.
