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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, June 30, 2005
  • The ruins of Banda Aceh after the tsunami (USAID)
    The ruins of Banda Aceh after the tsunami (USAID)

    After Effects

    Guest host Jeffrey Toobin fills in for Leonard today. It’s been six months since the tsunami killed thousands in Southeast Asia. In our weekly Underreported feature, we’ll find out how different communities are dealing with the aftermath. Next, Harper’s contributor Ken Silverstein discusses pork barrel spending in an article for the July issue of the magazine. And New Yorker staff writer George Packer looks at the consequences of one individual soldier’s death in Iraq.

Tsunami Update

It’s been six months since the tsunami devastated areas around the Indian Ocean. In our weekly Underreported feature, we look into some of the efforts being made to revive communities in the hardest hit areas, and find out why some indigenous tribes still remain in grave danger. We'll be speaking with Miriam Ross from Survival International and Lynne Jones of International Medical Corps.

» More on Survival International
» More on International Medical Corps
» Underreported series

Music: “Tomorrow” by Amp and “Poor Leno” by Royksopp

The Great American Pork Barrel

Harper’s contributor Ken Silverstein examines pork barrel spending and the corruption of the congressional appropriations process in last November’s Foreign Operations bill. His article, "The Great American Pork Barrel," appears in the July issue of Harper’s.

Music: “Betty’s Lament/Isan” and “Fallout/Euphone”

A Soldier's Father

In the current issue of The New Yorker, George Packer writes about the death of one 22-year-old soldier, Kurt Frosheiser, in Iraq in 2003. He tells us about how Kurt’s death affected his father and his fellow soldiers, and what it says about death during war.

Music: “Hours” soundtrack, composed by Philip Glass; tracks “Something She has to do” and “For your own benefit”

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.