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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, August 04, 2005
  • John Wayne in "The Island In The Sky"
    John Wayne in "The Island In The Sky"

    Strategies for the Future

    Today on our Underreported feature, we’ll look at the latest news from Colombia. It's been torn by civil war for decades, but there may be new prospects for peace. Then, Gretchen Wayne describes the process of restoring two of her father-in-law’s lost films to DVD: "The High and the Mighty" and "Island in the Sky." David Schwartz, chief film curator of the Museum of the Moving Image, and director Peter Bogdanovich pay tribute to the films of Raoul Walsh. And we’ll take a look into how the U.S. military is reorganizing its foreign bases in the post-Cold War world.

Prospects for Peace

Columbia has been embroiled in four decades of civil war. In 2004, the UN humanitarian affairs chief determined that Colombia was the worst humanitarian crisis in the western hemisphere. Today on our Underreported feature, Mark L. Schneider of International Crisis Group tells us what he thinks the prospects for peace are.

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

The High and the Mighty

Gretchen Wayne, John Wayne’s daughter-in-law, tells us about the DVD of two of the Duke’s lost films from the 1950s: “The High and the Mighty” and “Island in the Sky.” “The High and the Mighty” was last seen on CBS in September 1979, while “Island in the Sky” hasn’t been shown in over 40 years.

Music
Gretchen Wayne: theme from “Bridge on the River Kwai” and “Introduction” from “Captain Horatio Hornblower” composed by Robert Farnon and preformed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Raoul Walsh

David Schwartz, chief film curator of the Museum of the Moving Image, and director Peter Bogdanovich pay tribute to the films of Raoul Walsh. The first retrospective of the filmmaker’s work in New York in 30 years is playing at the Museum of the Moving Image until August 21st.

» More on the Raoul Walsh retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image

Music:
David Schwartz: “Lonesome Dove – Suite” by Basil Poledouris

Military Basing Strategies

Last week, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan agreed to continue allowing the United States to use their bases for operations in Afghanistan. But Uzbekistan, which borders Afghanistan and was a much more strategic base for refueling and transferring goods, has given the US six months to evacuate their base there. We’ll find out from James R. McDonough, who just finished serving on the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) Commission, and Carl Conetta, the co-director of the Project on Defense Alternatives, what these base negotiations mean for US military strategy. And we’ll find out how the Pentagon is rethinking the its global military basing system in a post Cold War world.

» More on James R. McDonough
» More on Carl Conetta

Music:
James R. McDonough: “Heat” performed by Kronos Quartet and “Always Forever Now” performed by Passengers from the motion picture soundtrack, “Heat”

Patrick Swayze

The Leonard Lopate Show

Patrick Swayze mixed grace with athleticism in his movies – and rose to stardom with roles in “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost.” He died just recently after a battle with pancreatic cancer. And you can hear his interview with Leonard Lopate from July 16, 2002, when he came by to discuss appearing in the film, “Green Dragon.”

The Silver Anniversary of the Silver Palate

The Leonard Lopate Show

Sheila Lukins was one half of a partnership that helped popularize gourmet cooking throughout America – first, through their gourmet food shop in New York City and then with the cookbook, The Silver Palate, which remains one of the top-selling cookbooks of all time. She collaborated on 2 other cookbooks that simplified gourmet cooking for the home cook. She died recently from brain cancer at the age of 66, and you can listen to her 2007 conversation with Leonard Lopate and her business partner Julee Rosso about the 25th Anniversary of the publication of The Silver Palate.

Dominick Dunne

The Leonard Lopate Show

Dominick Dunne was a famous novelist and Hollywood producer. But he may be best remembered for covering trials of the rich and famous – from Claus von Bulow to O. J. Simpson. He died just recently at the age of 83. But you can still hear his interview with Leonard from November 23, 2001, when he was discussing crimes, trials, and punishments.

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.

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?