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The Leonard Lopate Show
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Russell SimmonsSuccess Stories
Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons talks about balancing material success with spiritual convictions. Then, Jack O’Brien talks about directing Puccini’s Il Trittico at the Metropolitan Opera. Plus, a look at some surprising and unorthodox new trends in knitting. And Jack Kemp talks about the political legacy of his mentor, the late Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Russell Simmons on Success and Spirituality
Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Records, helped transform hip-hop from a New York subculture to an international phenomenon. He talks about balancing business and spirituality in Do You!. Plus, he tells us about his call to ban three ubiquitous racial and sexist epithets from rap, and weighs in on the Don Imus controversy.
Do You! is available for purchase at amazon.com
Events: Russell Simmons will be speaking and signing booksWednesday, April 25 at 6 pm
The Hue-Man Bookstore
2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, between 124th and 125th Streets
From Stoppard to Puccini
Jack O’Brien, director of Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia, talks about his latest project: directing Puccini’s three one-act operas Il Trittico at the Metropolitan Opera.

Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting
Knitting has emerged from the home and taken a place in museums and galleries worldwide, while interactive knitting performances have been staged in public places like the London Underground. Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting, an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design, showcases some of knitting's unorthodox reformers. Curator David McFadden joins us along with artists Dave Cole and Janet Echelman.
Making War to Keep Peace
Jeane J. Kirkpatrick served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1981 to 1985, and was a member of the National Security Council during the Reagan administration. In Making War to Keep Peace, her last book before her death in 2006, she shared her thoughts on post-Cold War US foreign policy, and the war in Iraq. Jack Kemp talks about the book, and about the political legacy of his mentor.
Making War to Keep Peace is available for purchase at amazon.com
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National Book Award Winners
The Leonard Lopate Show
A number of this year’s National Book Award winners have appeared on The Leonard Lopate Show. Click here to see the list!
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.
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The Leonard Lopate Show
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Please Explain: Eco-Labels
The Leonard Lopate Show
Your broccoli, shampoo, and air conditioner might bear labels declaring them to be organic, cruelty-free, or energy efficient, but what do those labels mean and are they true? Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Project Director for Consumer Reports' GreenerChoices.org and Consumers Union’s Senior Scientist for Policy Initiatives, and Dara O'Rourke, founder and CEO of GoodGuide.com, took a look at what eco-labels indicate, how standards are set, and what they mean for consumers and manufacturers around the world.
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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.