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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, May 31, 2007
  • Actress/producer Elizabeth Shue and actor/producer Andrew Shue  at the premiere of "Gracie" (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
    Actors/producers Elizabeth Shue and Andrew Shue at the premiere of "Gracie" (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

    Siblings and Support

    Elisabeth Shue and her brother Andrew Shue talk about their new film, "Gracie," based loosely on Elisabeth’s real-life experiences as the only girl on an all-boys high school soccer team in New Jersey in the 1970s. Later, Steve Geng tells us about his criminal past, and its affect on his relationship with his late sister, New Yorker contributor Veronica Geng. Plus, Bruce Dern looks back on his life in Hollywood. And we start the show with two Underreported features on the complexities of resettling refugees.

Underreported: Repatriation or Resettlement for Bhutanese Refugees?

106,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in Nepal for 16 years. Now, the US has offered to resettle 60,000 of them, which has given hope to the refugees, but has also increased tensions in the camps. Refugees who insist on repatriation to Bhutan as the only acceptable solution have been threatening and intimidating those who support resettlement in the US. Bill Frelick is refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch, which just issued a new report called "Last Hope: The Need for Durable Solutions for Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal and India."

Underreported: Sudanese Refugees in Israel

Over the past couple of years, more than 200 Sudanese refugees have fled to Israel via Egypt to escape the ongoing violence in Sudan. Since Sudan is technically an enemy state to Israel, many of the refugees have been languishing in Israeli prisons while the government decides how to proceed. We ask about the uncertain legal status of the refugees, and find out what's happening to them in the meantime. Michael Kagan, an American lawyer based in Cairo, Egypt, is adjunct faculty at Tel Aviv University's Refugee Rights Clinic. He regularly consults on Sudanese and other refugee cases in Israel.

Soccer Shues

Before Elisabeth Shue was an acclaimed actress, she was an aspiring high school soccer star. She joins her brother Andrew Shue to talk about "Gracie," their new film based loosely on Elisabeth’s experiences playing on an all-boys soccer team in New Jersey in the 1970s.

Thick as Thieves

In Thick as Thieves, Steve Geng explores his relationship with his sister, the New Yorker writer and editor Veronica Geng. The siblings were bound to each other by their childhood, even as her literary career took off and he became involved in crime, eventually going to jail and battling addiction.

Thick as Thieves is available for purchase at amazon.com

Bruce Dern on Hollywood

In Things I’ve Said, But Probably Shouldn’t Have, actor Bruce Dern looks back over his career in Hollywood, working with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, and Jane Fonda. And he explains why he turned down roles in "The Godfather" and "Gandhi."

Things I’ve Said, But Probably Shouldn’t Have is available for purchase at amazon.com

Events: Bruce Dern will be speaking with Leonard
Thursday, May 31 at 8:15 pm
The 92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue, at 92nd Street
For tickets, visit the 92nd Street Y website or call 212-415-5500.

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?