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The Leonard Lopate Show
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Warner Home VideoThe Wrong Man for the Job
Ron Suskind discloses some explosive news about the Bush administration and the US intelligence community; and discusses how Americans are struggling to restore their country’s moral authority. Also, Dick Meyer on why Americans hate themselves (and each other). Plus, on this month’s installment of our yearlong film series, Political Projections, we look at how Hollywood has depicted candidates who are far from ideal.
American Self-Loathing
Dick Meyer contends that, despite living in a time of national prosperity and relative peace, Americans are morally and existentially tired. In Why We Hate Us: American Discontent in the New Millennium, he diagnoses the problem and offers suggestions on how we can turn the tide of self-hate.
How the US Lost its Moral Authority
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind explores how America lost its moral authority, leaving it acutely vulnerable to nuclear terrorism, in The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism. The book also includes a number of explosive disclosures about the Bush administration and the US intelligence community.
Political Projections: The Wrong Man for the Job
Not all political candidates are created equal. Sometimes, the most successful ones are those who have taken part in the shady deals, compromise, and hypocrisy that have become too common in American politics. Joining Leonard to discuss how Hollywood has depicted far-from-ideal candidates are Connie Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist at The Cleveland Plain Dealer; and top media/campaign consultant Bill Hillsman, founder and president of North Woods Advertising.
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.
Films we’ll discuss:
“The Best Man” (1964): Gore Vidal adapted his Broadway play, a biting and bitter political satire about the smear politics involved in a presidential election, for the silver screen. It stars Henry Fonda as a liberal do-good presidential candidate.
“The Candidate” (1972): Robert Redford stars in this satirical exploration of the machinations and manipulations of media-age political campaigns. Its cynical look at what a candidate will say to get elected is still relevant today.
“Bob Roberts” (1992): Tim Robbins starred in and directed this satire disguised as a documentary about a conservative Senate candidate who, beneath the surface, is actually a textbook case of cynicism and contempt.
EVENT! A Leonard Lopate Show FREE screening of “The Candidate”
Monday, August 4 at 7 pm
At the NEW Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, Brooklyn
16 Main Street (at Water Street)
RSVP to projections@wnyc.org
Check out pictures of the new Galapagos Art Space
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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.
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The Leonard Lopate Show
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The Leonard Lopate Show
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The Leonard Lopate Show
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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.
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