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The Leonard Lopate Show

Thursday, November 29, 2007
  • Brussels, Belgium (mambo1935/flickr)
    Brussels, Belgium (mambo1935/flickr)

    A Country With No Government

    Belgium has been without a government since June. We discuss how that's affecting the ethnically divided country, and whether Belgians can expect to see a new government anytime soon. Also: a look at the events that shaped America's earliest years. The life of filmmaker Otto Preminger. And celebrated sculptor Martin Puryear!

    We want your favorite holiday cookie recipe! On Dec. 11, we're hosting a Christmas cookie recipe swap. Dig up your favorite recipe and submit here.

Martin Puryear, Thicket

Sculptor Martin Puryear at MoMA

Sculptor Martin Puryear is one of America’s most celebrated contemporary artists. John Elderfield curated the current survey of Martin Puryear’s work, now at MoMA until January 14, 2008.

Slideshow of Martin Puryear's work
Website for the Martin Puryear exhibition now at MoMA

The Events that Shaped the Formation of America

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis looks at the events that shaped the United States’s earliest years, from Valley Forge to the Louisiana Purchase. Ellis’s new book is American Creation.

Event: Joseph Ellis will be in conversation with Richard Brookhiser
Thursday, November 29 at 6:30 pm
New York Historical Society
170 Central Park West (at 77th Street)
To purchase tickets and for more information, call (212) 868-4444

American Creation is available for purchase at amazon.com

The Life of Filmmaker Otto Preminger

Viennese-born filmmaker Otto Preminger (Porgy and Bess, Exodus, among others) earned a reputation for being temperamental and even abusive. But he had a surprisingly gentle side too. Foster Hirsch’s new biography is Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would Be King.

Event: Foster Hirsch will be in conversation with Margo Jefferson and Robert Kimball
Friday, November 30 at 7 pm
Lincoln Triangle Barnes & Noble
1972 Broadway (at 66th Street)

Otto Preminger is available for purchase at amazon.com

Otto Preminger retrospective at Film Forum, January 2-17

Update on Riots in France

After two nights of deadly rioting in Paris’s suburbs earlier this week, the situation seems to have calmed down for now. Michael Deibert, Paris correspondent for the Inter Press Service, tells us more about what caused the riots, and whether we can expect more.

Underreported: Why Belgium Has No Government

Belgium has been without a government since June. And there’s a movement afoot to split Belgium apart, into the Dutch-speaking Flanders region and French-speaking Wallonia. Journalist Robert Lane Greene of the Economist joins us for today’s Underreported.

Robert Lane Greene’s recent articles

Stairway to Health

Researchers in England recently posted cheery signs in a shopping mall encouraging shoppers to take the stairs instead of the escalator…and it worked. Dr. Francis Eves of the University of Birmingham explains how making stairwells look more inviting increases usage.

Gov. Sarah Palin and Alaska Politics

The Leonard Lopate Show

August 08, 2008
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is Sen. John McCain’s VP running mate. To find out more about Gov. Palin and Alaska politics, check out our States of the Union: Alaska segment from Aug. 8, 2008.

Sen. Joe Biden on the Lopate Show

The Leonard Lopate Show

Sen. Obama has chosen Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be his running mate. To find out more about his personal and political life, listen to Leonard’s Aug. 2007 interview with Sen. Biden. At the time, the Senator from Delaware was still a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Barack Obama, Circa 2004

The Leonard Lopate Show

As the Democratic Convention is underway in Denver, listen to 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.

John McCain in 2000

The Leonard Lopate Show

Sen. John McCain spoke with Leonard in September 2000 about his memoir, Faith of My Fathers. He discussed his family's naval background, his time in POW camps, as well as his own presidential ambitions for the 2000 election.

States of the Union

The Leonard Lopate Show

Why is New York a blue state, Wyoming a red, and Ohio a shade of purple? Looking ahead to Election Day 2008, Leonard talks to journalists, scholars, and activists from each of the 50 states to find out what motivates voters from Maine to California.

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?