On Demand
The Leonard Lopate Show
-
Love and War in AfghanistanLove and War
Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits share some of the interviews they conducted with ordinary men and women in northern Afghanistan for a new book, Love and War in Afghanistan. Next, Kenneth Ackerman tells us about the life of William “Boss” Tweed, the man who made New York politics almost synonymous with political corruption and graft after the Civil War. Then, Thomas Dyja describes his new novel—a look at a spate of lynchings in Tennessee in 1918. And in our weekly Please Explain feature, we look into the history of games, and why we play them.
Life in Afghanistan
Alex Klaits and Gulchin Gulmamadova-Klaits spent their honeymoon interviewing hundreds of ordinary men and women in northern Afghanistan in the spring of 2004. They’ve compiled 14 of these oral histories for a new book on what everyday life is like in a country so ravaged by war: Love and War in Afghanistan.
Events:
Alex and Gulchin readinfg and signing books
Friday June 3 at 6:30PM
Bluestockings Bookstore
172 Allen Street at Rivington
Music:
“Knuddlemaus” by Ulrich Schauss
“Pole Tricks” by Japancakes
Boss Tweed
William “Boss” Tweed was never mayor of NYC. But he managed to assume almost total control of the city's politics and fortunes in the late 1800s by serving as NYC's Superintendent of Public Works, County Supervisor, State Senator, chairman of the city's Democratic Party Central Committee, supervisor of the County Court House, and head of Tammany Hall...all at the same time. In a Boss Tweed, historian Kenneth Ackerman explains that although Tweed stole millions from NYC, he earned a reputation for honesty because he always kept his word when it cane to spreading the money around to his followers.
Music:
Sweet Sixteenths, William H. Krell, William Albright, and William Bolcom: “Mississippi Rag: Two-Step” / “Gladiolus Rag”
The Moon in Our Hands
Thomas Dyja, author of Play for a Kingdom, tells us about his new novel, The Moon in Our Hands. The book is based on the real life of Walter White—a young black man who was light-skinned enough to pass as white—who went to Tennessee in 1918 to investigate lynchings for the NAACP.
Music:
Soundtrack to a Family Thing, music by Charles Gross: “Slow Train Comin’” / “First Frost”
Games People Play
Professors Patricia Seed and Tony Elam teach a course on “History Through Games” at Rice University. They’ll take us on a guided tour of games through the ages, and look at why we play them in the first place, in our weekly Please Explain feature.
» Please Explain series
Music:
Soundtrack to Sonatine, music by Joe Hisaishi
- About This Program »
- Staff Bios »
- Contact Us »
- Guest Hosts »
- Guest Picks »
- Latest Show »
- Tapes & Transcripts »
- Show Archive »
Features & Series
Podcast
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to the Podcast
Shop at Amazon!
Leonard Lopate Show picks
Start your Amazon shopping on WNYC.org and a portion of your total purchase goes to WNYC.
More
Bill Richardson on Diplomacy
The Leonard Lopate Show
New Mexico governor Bill Richardson will be joining Obama’s cabinet as Commerce Secretary. You can hear him talk about his experience in foreign policy and diplomacy on the Lopate Show in April 2007.
Plaxico Burress on the Lopate Show
The Leonard Lopate Show
NY Giants star Plaxico Burress is in the headlines this week for his self-inflicted gunshot wound. You can hear him on the Leonard Lopate Show in July 2008 talk about his life on and off the football field, and what it was like to win the 2007 Super Bowl.
Tom Daschle on Fixing America’s Health Care System
The Leonard Lopate Show
Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle has accepted President-Elect Barack Obama’s offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. You can hear Tom Daschle talk about his prescriptions for fixing American’s health care crisis on the Leonard Lopate Show in March 2008.
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.
- Comments [3]
Guest Picks
The Leonard Lopate Show
Find out surprising facts about some recent guests on the Leonard Lopate Show. Check out our Guest Picks section! Did you know that football star Herschel Walker loves Judge Judy, Laurie Anderson is a big fan of agility training for dogs, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi likes Johnny Depp?
