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The Leonard Lopate Show

Wednesday, December 28, 2005
  • Unlocking the Past

    Attorney and author Brandt Goldstein looks back at a group of Yale Law students that waged a battle against the US government in the early 1990s. Ray Brescia, one of the students involved, joins him to discuss the case. Then, Zadie Smith tells us about her new novel, On Beauty. Next, John Berendt (author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) turns his attention to Venice with The City of Falling Angels. Finally, Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon’s first wife, tells us what it was like being married to a Beatle from 1962 to 1969.

Storming the Court

In 1992 300 Haitians who had already been granted political asylum in the US were detained at Guantanamo Bay. They had committed no crimes, and were not given any information about when they would be released. Law professor Harold Koh, who is now the dean of Yale Law School, led a group of students in a legal battle with the US government to free those refugees. Brandt Goldstein, author of Storming the Court, and Ray Brescia, one of the law students involved in the proceedings, join us.

Music: A Civil Action # 2, 1, 4

On Beauty

Zadie Smith, author of the highly-acclaimed White Teeth, tells us about her third novel: On Beauty.

Music: Soundtrack from ‘Feast of July’ # 4, 7

The City of Falling Angels

10 years after capturing the spirit of Savannah in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt turns his attention to Venice with The City of Falling Angels.

Music: Vivaldi – Concerto RV 576

John

Cynthia Lennon met John Lennon at the Liverpool College of Art when she was 18 years old. They married in 1962, and their son Julian was born the next year. In 1969 they were divorced. She tells us what it was like living with one of the biggest rock stars in history in her new book: John.

Music: Beatles – All My Loving, I’ll Follow The Sun, I’m A Loser, I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party

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.

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?