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March 2005
Love and War
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Today on Underreported, more about child soldiers. In trouble spots all over the world, children are being abducted and forced to fight in wars. Then, Ross Gregory Douthat discusses his disillusionment with Harvard in Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class. Novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz tells us about The White Rose--an updated take on Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier set in New York City. And, Jeanne Guillemin lays out a new history of biological weapons.
Going Both Ways
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
What's it like to be a transgendered person in the educational system? Today, Leonard talks to Kevin Jennings of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and Adam, a transperson who is currently finishing up his senior year at a local highschool. Then, find out about the evolution of the press corps in Washington, D.C. over the last 70 years. We'll also look back at the Upper West Side in the 1970s. Plus, a discussion on the political and safety issues involved in having men and women train together in college-level basketball.
Don't Go There
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Is there anyplace that a humorist shouldn't go? Terry Jones, a founding member of Monty Python, takes aim at Bush, Blair, and the war on terror. He finds the war in Iraq both horrifying and hilarious. Then, a look at the post-9/11 world from a Christian perspective: writer Anne Lamott tells how she uses her faith to cope with her political frustrations. Plus, Steve Erickson shares his new novel, Our Ecstatic Days. Then, find out about the ethics behind the right-to-die controversy that's been the top story in the news.
Battle Grounds
Monday, March 28, 2005
Today, open phones. Is there anyplace that political humor shouldn't go? Call in and tell Leonard your thoughts about the boundaries of good taste.Then, Ian McEwan discusses his latest novel, Saturday. And we’ll hear from Ernestine Bradley, wife of Bill Bradley, about how growing up in wartime Germany has affected her adult life in America. Finally, Patricia O'Toole sheds some light on a darker aspect of Theodore Roosevelt’s life—his struggle to stay important and relevant after he left the White House.
Spring in the Air
Friday, March 25, 2005
Every year, Leonard Lopate plays some of his favorite Gospel songs in honor of Good Friday and Easter. Then, playwright Austin Pendleton and actor John Judd tell us about the new procuction Orson’s Shadow. Dr. Peter Green, from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, tells about a little-known, though fairly common, ailment: celiac disease. Finally, on our weekly Please Explain feature we delve into the science and history of making honey.
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Dangerous Liaisons
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Our regular Thursday feature, Underreported, looks into the world of the street gang Mara Salvatrucha. Next, choreographer Stephen Petronio reflects on his career, from 1990 to the present, with a production of his vintage works. Then, Kate Valk and Suzzy Roche discuss the Wooster Group’s new production of the Faustian tale House/Lights. And we’ll get an update on how the Euro is faring, and we'll take a look at some of the most pressing challenges currently facing the European Union.
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Out of This World
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Jeffrey Sachs details plans to end extreme poverty throughout the world in 20 years. Then, filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter and wine importer Neal Rosenthal look at the state of wine production in the new global economy in "Mondovino." We'll hear from Jonathan Lethem (author of Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude) about growing up in Brooklyn and becoming a writer. Next, M.G. Lord tells us what it was like having a rocket scientist for a father. And George Pendle continues on the same theme with a look at the otherworldly life of rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons.
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Fear Factors
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Corey Robin looks at the long relationship between fear and politics in Fear: The History of a Political Idea. For most runners, marathons are the ultimate test of strength and endurance. But Dean Karnazes tells us about his quest to push those limits with ultra marathons: races of 50 or 100 miles in extreme conditions. Then, Gareth Armstrong tells us about his one-man show, Shylock—the story of The Merchant of Venice told from the point of view of Shylock’s best friend Tubal. And Gene Wilder makes sense of the highs and lows of his life in his new memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger.
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Harsh Medicine
Monday, March 21, 2005
Paul von Zielbauer uncovers some unsettling cases of neglect and mistreatment in New York’s prisons in a three-part series on prison health care for the New York Times. Then, James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams tell us about their roles in a new Broadway production of On Golden Pond. Next we’ll hear from three generations of jazz musicians in the same family: Roy Haynes, Craig Haynes, and Marcus Gilmore. Finally, Rabbi Nosson Scherman discusses his work editing the most comprehensive English translation of the Talmud ever completed.
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Rites of Spring
Friday, March 18, 2005
Gerard Lordahl, the director of the Open Space Greening Program, helps get us inspired for spring gardening. Then, Chris Scruggs performs selections from his new rockabilly album, Honky Tonkin’ Lifestyle. Next, Melissa Errico and Ted Chapin join us for a preview of Wall to Wall Stephen Sondheim at Symphony Space. And in our regular Please Explain feature, we’ll ask two medical experts to answer our questions about asthma.
Come Rain Or Come Shine
Thursday, March 17, 2005
In this week’s Underreported feature we’ll look at a movement that’s just starting to gain attention in America: West African hip-hop. The Senegalese group Daara J joins us for a live performance. Next, Amitava Kumar tells us about his unique perspective on Hindu-Muslim relations. He’s a Hindu man who married a Muslim woman, and when the violent riots between Hindus and Muslims broke out in Gujarat in 2002, he traveled to India to interview people on both sides of the conflict in order to gain some insight on why people with so much of a shared cultural past were killing one another. Then, curator Barbara Stratyner tells us about a new exhibit on Harold Arlen at the New York Public Library. The exhibit explores Arlen’s many contributions to American music: he helped integrate blues and jazz into traditional theatre music, and wrote such classic songs as "Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather," and "It's Only a Paper Moon." Finally, Daniel Anker tells us about his new documentary, “Imaginary Witness,” on Hollywood’s role in helping to shape the public's understanding of the Holocaust. He’s joined by Martin Starger, the producer of “Sophie’s Choice, and historian Annette Insdorf, to talk about the challenges of using film to convey the horrors of the Holocaust without trivializing them.
Examined Lives
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Word maven Patricia T. (Woe is I) O’Conner explores some of the strange irregularities of the English language. Then, Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno tells us about his new biography of E.E. Cummings—an in-depth look at the poet’s life drawn from diary entries, records of visits with psychoanalysts, and autobiographical writings. In her latest novel, March, Geraldine Brooks fleshes out the life of the absent father from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Finally, Kurt Eichenwald—a senior writer and investigative reporter at The New York Times—offers a blow-by-blow account of the implosion of Enron: Conspiracy of Fools.
Revolutionary Thinking
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
In many mosques, women aren't allowed to enter through the front door and pray in the main sanctuary. When Asra Nomani did just that at her hometown mosque in West Virginia, she received death threats. Now she's fighting to establish an Islamic Bill of Rights for Women. Next, Richard Foreman. For 37 years, he’s intrigued and bewildered audiences with his avant-garde theatre pieces. Now, at the pinnacle of his career, he tells us about his latest, and perhaps last, theater installment: The Gods are Pounding my Head! (aka Lumberjack Messiah). Then, Frank Delaney considers the importance of storytelling in his new novel, Ireland. And, journalist Roy Rowan gives a firsthand account of the 1949 Chinese Revolution: Chasing the Dragon.
Leaving a Legacy
Monday, March 14, 2005
We'll talk to Ethiopian music legend Mulatu Astatke, and Russ Gershon, the director of the Either/Orchestra, about Ethiopia's fascinating musical tradition. In the 1960s and 1970s, the music scene in Addis Ababa was one of the richest in the world. But in the 1980s, political forces banned vinyl recordings and pushed musicians underground. Next, Marilynne Robinson tells us about her long-waited new novel, Gilead. Her first work of fiction since Housekeeping, which won a PEN/Hemingway Award in 1982, Gilead takes the form of a letter from an ailing 76-year-old preacher to his young son in Iowa in 1956. Then, Bret Wood and Richard Koszarski look back at the earliest days of film with a new four-DVD collection of Edison’s movies, "Edison: The Invention of the Movies." Finally, writer Adrian Wojnarowski and coach Bob Hurley look at back at the struggles, and unlikely successes, of the 2003-2004 season of a troubled high school basketball team: The Miracle of St. Anthony.
Role Reversal
Friday, March 11, 2005
For the past 20 years, Leonard's been asking tough, insightful questions on his show. But today, he turns the reins over to veteran broadcaster Tom Brokaw, and takes a turn answering questions for a change. Next, translator Gregory Rabassa pays tribute to the literary contributions Clarisse Lispector made to Brazilian writing. Then, director Chris Wedge joins us for a look at his latest animated flick, "Robots." Finally, on our regular Friday feature, Please Explain, we'll start preparing for spring by finding out the best ways to get things really clean.
One Year Later
Thursday, March 10, 2005
It's been a year since Haiti's former president, Jean Bertrand-Aristide, was ousted from power. The political situation remains unstable, and this week’s Underreported feature looks at the major social and economic problems Haiti has grappled with over the past 12 months. Next, documentary filmmakers Craig and Brent Renaud follow the lives of two couples on the streets of New York City as they struggle to feed their drug habits and stay together in "Dope Sick Love." Then, Rattawut Lapcharoensap joins us for a look at Sightseeing, his new collection of short stories set mostly in modern-day Thailand. And, as part of Leonard's 20th Anniversary celebration, we invite Al Franken back to the show. His live talk show for Air America Radio airs at the same time as The Leonard Lopate Show. And while some might think it folly to interview the competition, Leonard has always been fond of Al Franken, and welcomes the chance to swap some radio stories.
Competitive Edges
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Alvin and Larry Ubell, the self-appointed "Gurus of How-To," answer home repair questions at 212-267-WNYC. Then, Jake Morrissey examines the intense rivalry between two seventeenth-century Italian architects who transformed the architecture of Rome: Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. Mark Obmascik joins us next with some insight into the intense nature of bird watchers. And we continue our celebration of Leonard’s 20th Anniversary with historian Ron Chernow. We’ll talk about the nature of writing history, and we’ll think a bit about the history of the show.
The Power of Smell
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, joins us along with special guests Chef Daniel Boulud and Dr. Marcia Pelchat from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, for a special on-air “smell” test or jelly beans, coffee, and cheese. They’ll be exploring the relationship between smell and taste, in order to find out what the nose can tell us about the flavors of food. Then, food writer Ed Levine extols the virtues and variety of pizza in America—from New York, to Chicago, to Arizona. Next, Jonathan Wilson focuses on the theme of men in trouble with his short story collection, An Ambulance is On the Way. Finally, we continue our celebration of Leonard's 20th Anniversary at WNYC. Each day this week, Leonard interviews one of his favorite guests. Today, Sarah Jessica Parker reflects on her accomplishments so far, and looks ahead to her plans for the future.
Rites of Passage
Monday, March 07, 2005
John-Peter Pham, a former Vatican diplomat and aide, explains how popes are chosen, and looks ahead to the process of choosing the first pope of the 21st century. Sue Erikson Bloland reveals that even though her father was the famous 1950s child psychologist Erik Erikson, her childhood was very unhappy. Her memoir In the Shadow of Fame describes how her father's professional drive to understand children put him at a disadvantage with his own daughter. Then, we'll hear from Tim Guest about his unusual childhood growing up in various communes under the guidance of the famous Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. In My Life in Orange, he looks back at the neglect he experienced as his mother focused on forwarding the guru's message. Finally, we kick off a week of celebration in honor of Leonard's 20th Anniversary at WNYC. Each day this week, Leonard will interview one of his favorite guests. Today we'll hear from Art Spiegelman, who wrote Maus while listening to The Leonard Lopate Show!
Testing Boundaries
Friday, March 04, 2005
Award-winning journalist Sean Naylor details what went wrong during Operation Anaconda—the 2002 battle in Afghanistan that he argues could have destroyed Al Qaeda and captured Osama bin Laden. Then, Emily Auerbach, an English professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, challenges the common characterizations of Jane Austen as a demure writer hung up on etiquette and 19th century niceties. She argues that the real Jane Austen was confident, clever, and extremely hard-working. In Robert Antoni's latest novel, three childhood friends reconnect in New York City and decide to return home together for the Trinidadian Carnival. Against the backdrop of the festival, the three friends find themselves navigating the boundaries of race, class, and sexuality. And in this week’s Please Explain feature, we enter into the strange territory of black holes, and try to piece together a portrait of these mysterious regions of space.
War, Women, and Children
Thursday, March 03, 2005
In today’s Underreported segment, we look at the recruitment of child soldiers in Nepal. Many children are being abducted and forced to fight in the war. We'll find out why children are being pressed into service, and explore what effect this could have on an entire generation of young Nepalis. Next, playwright Donald Margulies discusses his new play, Brooklyn Boy--a look at the everyday trials of a middle-aged Jewish man. Then, Ed Hotaling revisits the world of horse racing at the turn of the century, when black jockeys dominated the sport. In his latest book, Wink, he focuses on the successes and struggles of one especially talented jockey: Jimmy Winkfield. Finally, Patrick Radden Keefe uncovers the secretive world of global intelligence-gathering technology systems.
The Crisis
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
David Harris studies the significance of the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran with a new in-depth look at the roles played by militant Islamists, Ayatollah Khomeini, the shah, and President Carter. Next, we'll hear from Marianne Greenwood and Sabriye Tenberken--two explorers who are being honored with 2005 Women of Discovery Awards. Then, Pearl Abraham tells us about The Seventh Beggar, her new novel about the struggles of a modern Chasid family. Finally, journalist Lucian Reed describes his experiences embedded with a Marine unit in Iraq.
The Heart of the Matter
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Two documentary filmmakers look at the personal tolls of the war in Iraq. Raney Aronson, producer of the Frontline documentary "The Soldier’s Heart," is joined by Michael Tucker, producer/director of "Gunner Palace," and soldier Jon Powers. Then, New York singer/songwriter Ruth Gerson shares her brand of blues-infused folk music during a live in-studio performance. In The Orientalist, Tom Reiss unravels the complicated lattice of cultures and religions in the Caucasus and Middle East by focusing on the story of Lev Nussimbaum--a Jewish man born in the Caucasus during the Russian Revolution who posed as a Muslim Prince. And James B. Stewart, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and former Wall Street Journal editor, shares his behind-the-scenes profile of the recent troubles at Disney.
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