The Leonard Lopate Show

The Bin Laden Family

Mohamed bin Laden started as a bricklayer for an American oil company in the 1930s; he went on to build a family fortune as the official construction company of the Saudi Royal family. He also fathered 54 children, one of whom is Osama bin Laden. Pulitzer Prize-winner Steve Coll writes about the rags-to-riches bin Laden story in a new book, The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century.

Event: Steve Coll will be speaking and signing books
Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30 pm
Lincoln Square Barnes & Noble
1972 Broadway (at 66th Street)

Listen to Steve Coll talk about the history of the CIA in Afghanistan (Lopate Show, March 2004)

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Kurt Vonnegut in Retrospect

Kurt Vonnegut’s son, Mark Vonnegut, talks about his father’s life and work. Armageddon in Retrospect is a new collection of twelve unpublished writings of Kurt Vonnegut on war and peace.

Event: Mark Vonnegut will be speaking and signing books
Tuesday, April 1 at 7 pm
Tribeca Barnes & Noble
97 Warren Street (at Greenwich Street)

Listen to Kurt Vonnegut talk about A Man Without a Country on the Lopate Show in September 2005

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How to Save Money on Education

College tuition is getting more and more expensive. Neil Siegel, author of Don’t Save For College, Save Yourself, shares some tips on how to save money on your child’s education.

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American Unity

It’s time to move beyond partisan politics, says Joseph Nilats, senior fellow at the American Unity Project. He has some ideas on how the U.S. electorate can become more unified.

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Dream Presidential Candidates

Have Obama, McCain, or Clinton ever popped up in your dreams? A new blog project, the Metaphysical Poll, publishes readers’ dreams about the current crop of presidential candidates. Writer and Metaphysical Poll founder Sheila Heti tells us about some of the dreams, and whether she thinks we can read anything meaningful into the candidates’ cameos in dreams.

Read about and submit candidate dreams at the Metaphysical Poll website
More about Sheila Heti

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Political Projections: Political Idealism in Hollywood

Politics is often a dirty business. But many Americans still yearn for political idealism. Tune in to our latest Political Projections on Tuesday, April 1st, when we look into how idealistic politicians have been depicted in film over the years. Joseph McBride is Assistant Professor of cinema at San Francisco State University and author of Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success. Kerry Tymchuk has worked for the past 11 years as State Director for United States Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. He also worked for six years as Director of Speechwriting and Counsel to then-US Senate Republican Leader Bob Dole.

Also, you can watch the films we’ve selected and weigh in on the conversation by posting your reactions below. We may incorporate your comments into the on air discussion.

The three films are:

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1938) – Frank Capra’s classic comedy-drama came at a time when Americans were growing weary with government. Jimmy Stewart plays the quintessential good-natured hero who tries to overcomes backroom Senate politics.

"State of the Union" (1948) – Frank Capra directed this story of an aircraft tycoon who is coerced into seeking the Republican presidential nomination. After being corrupted by Washington power brokers, he recognizes his dishonesty and publicly apologizes to the nation.

"The American President" (1995) – Rob Reiner directed this earnest and idealistic story about an unabashedly liberal Democratic President who’s faced with Republican smear tactics and a conflict between his public and personal life.

View complete Political Projections schedule

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