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The Leonard Lopate Show

Friday, October 05, 2007
  • Showtime's "Weeds"
    Showtime's "Weeds"

    Thinking Outside the Box

    Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk discusses his new collection of essays, Other Colors. Then the creators of Showtime's "Weeds" and HBO's "The Wire" share the secrets of television success. And on today's Please Explain, we'll take a bite out of apples.

True Colors

In his first book since winning the Nobel Prize in 2006, Orhan Pamuk has proven that his reflections on life and work can be as richly imagined and vividly recounted as any of his fiction. The essays in Other Colors cover everything from getting mugged in New York to surviving an earthquake in his native Istanbul, from pondering Dostoyevsky to giving up smoking.

Purchase Other Colors: Essays and a Story at amazon.com.



Events: Orhan Pamuk and Salman Rushdie will be speaking
Friday, October 5 at 7 pm
The Highline Ballroom
431 West 16th Street
This event is sold out, but tickets may be available at Festival Headquarters.

Orhan Pamuk will be signing copies of his book
Saturday, October 6 at 5:00 pm
The New Yorker Festival Headquarters at the Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street
The event is free and open to the public.

Visit The New Yorker Festival website for more information about both events.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

If you watch a program from David Simon or Jenji Kohan, you'll never think of television as "the boob tube" again. She's the creator and executive producer of the Showtime series "Weeds" about a suburban widow who becomes a pot dealer, and he's the creator of the HBO's "The Wire", a gritty police drama set in Baltimore. They'll explain how they write and what happens from script to screen.

Event: Jenji Kohan and David Simon will be part of a panel discussion titled "Outside the Box: Television Masterminds"
Saturday, October 6th at 10:00 am
The French Institute/Alliance Française
55 East 59th Street

Tickets are $25. Call 1.877.391.0545 or visit Ticketmaster.com to purchase.

Visit The New Yorker Festival website for more information.

Weigh in: What's your favorite television show?

Apples at a farm stand

Please Explain: Apples

We'll get straight to the core of autumn's favorite fruit on today's Please Explain. Send your questions on all things apple-related to Steve Clarke of Prospect Hill Orchards and Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, author of A is for Apple, Apple Trees, and An Apple a Day.

Call us at 212-433-WNYC or post your questions and comments here.

Weigh in: What's your favorite apple recipe?

What type of apple to you like best?

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.