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The Leonard Lopate Show

Monday, August 04, 2008
  • Taking Chances

    Hold on to your lucky charms, because Leonard Mlodinow believes that randomness and chance play a greater role in our everyday lives than we may think. Also, our Underappreciated summer reading series looks at arguably the best Catalan novel of all time. And the poetry of major Filipino writer José Garcia Villa. Plus, Congresswoman Diana DeGette on her fight against the Bush administration's politicization of science.

Stem Cells and the White House

In August 2001, President George W. Bush effectively banned research on human embryonic stem cells. Since then, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, of Colorado’s First Congressional District, has fought the ban, as well as the general politicization of science and sex by the Bush administration and the religious right. Her new book is Sex, Science, and Stem Cells.

Event: Diana DeGette will be speaking and signing books
Tuesday, August 5 at 7 pm
Upper West Side Barnes & Noble
2289 Broadway (at 82nd Street)

Underappreciated: Mercè Rodoreda

We continue our Underappreciated summer reading series with a look at Mercè Rodoreda, who wrote The Time of the Doves in exile after Franco's regime began to suppress her native Catalan language and culture. A powerful story of a young shopkeeper living through the Spanish civil war, it’s considered by many to be the best Catalan novel of all time. Author Sandra Cisneros tells us why it should be more widely read.

The Poetry of José Garcia Villa

Known as the “Pope of Greenwich Village,” Filipino writer José Garcia Villa was the only Asian poet among the literary giants of 1940s New York. John Edwin Cowen and Luis H. Francia discuss Doveglion, the centennial edition of Villa’s collected poetry.

Event: John Edwin Cowen and Luis H. Francia will be speaking and signing books
Wednesday, August 6 at 6 pm
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas (near West 10th Street)

Random Rules

It’s quintessentially human to think that success or failure can be attributed to a clear and obvious cause. But Leonard Mlodinow believes that randomness and chance play a more profound role than we like to think. His new book is The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives.

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.

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.

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.