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On Demand

The Leonard Lopate Show

Monday, August 14, 2006
  • Google map (greenlost/flickr)
    Google map (greenlost/flickr)

    Seeking Direction

    On today’s show, guest host Jonathan Capehart talks to actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith about her life in the arts. Then, Wendy Kann describes trying to come to terms with her childhood in colonial Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). And comedy legend Tommy Chong meditates on drugs, civil liberties, and his time in federal prison. Plus: we'll ask how Google Maps and MapQuest work on Please Explain.

Advice for Young Actors and Playwrights

Anna Deavere Smith shares some words of wisdom for aspiring actors and playwrights in Letters to a Young Artist.

Available for purchase at amazon.com

Growing Up in Rhodesia

In Casting with a Fragile Thread, Wendy Kann describes struggling to make peace with her childhood home of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) after her youngest sister, Lauren, was killed in Zambia.

Available for purchase at amazon.com

Tommy Chong’s Meditations from the Joint

In 2003, agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided Tommy Chong’s home in California. In The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint, the comedy legend shares his thoughts on drugs, civil liberties, and his time in federal prison.

Available for purchase at amazon.com


Events: Tommy Chong will be signing books
Monday, August 14 at 7 pm
Chelsea Barnes & Noble
675 Sixth Avenue at 22nd Street

Please Explain: Navigation Technology

Ever wonder how GPS, Mapquest, and Google Maps work? On today's Please Explain, Richard Langley, a Professor of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering at the University of New Brunswick, and Joe Francica, Vice Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the online locations technology publication Directions Magazine, explore the science and tecnology of navigation.

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.