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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, December 11, 2003
  • Paula Poundstone
    Paula Poundstone

    On the Road Again

    Comedian Paula Poundstone has staying power: her honest, off-kilter humor has pulled her through some serious controversy, and she’s still hitting the stand-up trail while many other comedians from the comedy-crazy 1980s have probably been reduced to performing at children’s birthday parties. She joins us to talk about her latest engagement at Joe’s Pub. Then Carol Bergman, MacKay Wolff, and Iain Levine discuss international humanitarian work. Plus, explorations of the lives and work of two literary legends: Oxford historian R.F. Foster on Irish poet W.B. Yeats, and Fred Kaplan on Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain).

Paula Poundstone

Comedian Paula Poundstone has staying power: her honest, off-kilter humor has pulled her through some serious controversy, and she’s still hitting the stand-up trail while many other comedians from the comedy-crazy 1980s have probably been reduced to performing at children’s birthday parties. Paula Poundstone is at Joe’s Pub on Friday, Dec 12, 2003 at 7:00 pm. For more information, go to joespub.com.

  • Music: Jump Start and Jazz Two Ballets by Wynton Marsalis “Boogie Woogie Stomp” “Slow Drag”
  • Carol Bergman, MacKay Wolff and Iain Levine

    Carol Bergman, editor of the new essay collection called Another Day in Paradise: International Humanitarian Workers Tell Their Stories, is joined by contributors MacKay Wolff and Iain Levine.

  • Readings:
    12/16: UN Bookstore from 1-3 pm
    12/17: Housing Works Used Book Café, for a panel discussion and signing, at 7 pm
    1/14: Barnes & Noble, Union Square, at 7 pm, for a panel discussion and signing
  • Music: Die Hard Soundtrack composer Michael Kamen
  • R.F. Foster

    Oxford historian R.F. Foster has written a second volume to his comprehensive biography of poet W.B. Yeats. This latest is called W. B. Yeats, a Life: II: The Arch-Poet, 1915-1939, and it focuses on Yeats’s work during a tumultuous time in Irish history.

  • Events: R.F. Foster will be at the Glucksman Ireland House (1 Washington Mews; part of NYU) for a talk tonight and signing at 7 pm; for info call 212-998-3950
  • Music: Bax Symphony No. 1 “In the Faery Hills” “The Garden of Fand”
  • Fred Kaplan

    Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, once said: "I think we never become really & genuinely our entire & honest selves until we are dead - and not then until we have been dead years & years." Fred Kaplan talks about The Singular Mark Twain, his new biography of Samuel Clemens.

  • Music: Sweet Sixteenths: A Ragtime Concert “Scott Joplin: Glorious Rag”
  • Tributes: Jeanne-Claude

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    Jeanne-Claude created environmental works of art with her husband and fellow-conspirator/collaborator Christo. Together, they wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont-Neuf in Paris, and created The Gates, with billowy orange drapes, in Central Park. Jeanne-Claude just died at the age of 74. You can hear Leonard Lopate’s last interview with them both, from July 19, 1999.

    Let’s Go Swimming!

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, bacterial, viral, and parasitic organisms found in recreational water in the United States sicken thousands of people every year, and even result in deaths. We’ll speak with chemist and industrial hygienist Monona Rossol about the protozoa, amoebas and other things that love to go swimming with us. Monona is also founder and President of Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety.

    Frank McCourt

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    Frank McCourt has been a guest many times on this show over the years, starting in 1996 for the memoir, Angela’s Ashes, that would earn him a Pulitzer Prize. Fame came to him late in life, after he’d retired at the age of 65 from teaching English and creative writing at public schools here in New York. He was a sweet, eloquent man who spoke with grace and humility; he just died at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer. You can hear him speaking with Leonard Lopate for his Survival Kit in 2000, and in 2005, for his memoir, Teacher Man.

    Science and Faith

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    Earlier this week, Pres. Obama announced that he plans to nominate geneticist Dr. Francis Collins to lead the National Institutes of Health. You can listen to Leonard’s 2006 conversation with Dr. Collins about how he reconciles his personal faith with his professional scientific knowledge.

    FDA to Regulate Tobacco?

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    May 14, 2009
    Congress is getting ready to a vote on whether to make tobacco subject to FDA regulation. You can listen to a segment we did in May about the bill and what it would mean for the cigarette companies.

    Our 3-ingredient Challenge wins a James Beard Award

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    On May 3, the Lopate Show won its third James Beard Award for our 3-ingredient challenge. In August, we asked our listeners to call in and name 3 ingredients and then challenged New York chef and 3-ingredient expert Rozanne Gold to whip up a recipe! You can listen to the 3-ingredient challenge and get some inspiration for simple, delicious, and unexpected dishes.

    Leonard is on Facebook

    Now Leonard is on Facebook! We’re posting photos, status updates, links to notable interviews, and lots more. Check it out.

    Barack Obama, Circa 2004

    The Leonard Lopate Show

    Listen to President-Elect Barack Obama on the Leonard Lopate Show in November 2004. He had recently won a seat in the U.S. Senate, and only a few months before, his rousing speech during the 2004 Democratic National Convention catapulted him into the national spotlight.