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On Demand

The Leonard Lopate Show

Monday, December 22, 2008
  • Woman eating in a restaurant

    Old-Time Eats

    A 1935 WPA project assigned out-of-work writers to report on American regional cuisine. Find out what Americans were eating in the 1930s - from fish fries to chitlin feasts! Also, Philip Glass on a new box set retrospective of his music. Hear the history of scrapbooking in America. Plus: a look at the Great Books movement in postwar America.

    We want your recipes for holiday punches and nogs! On Mon. Dec. 29, we're hosting a punch and nog recipe swap. Check it out!

    ....Also, now you can befriend Leonard on Facebook!

Great Books for All Americans

In post-war America, the Great Books movement, door-to-door book sales, and the Encyclopedia Britannica aimed to bring high culture to the masses. We look into whether it succeeded, and how it shaped modern ideas of literature. Alex Beam is author of A Great Idea at the Time.

Philip Glass

Philip Glass: The Glass Box

Philip Glass, one of the most influential modern composers, is often described as a minimalist – but he prefers to call himself of a composer of “music with repetitive structures." He talks about a new box set retrospective of his work called "The Glass Box."

Scrapbooking American History

Designer and art critic Jessica Helfand writes: “To read another person's scrapbook is to acquire a body of knowledge about an entirely different time and place." We look into the history of scrapbooking, and what it reveals about changes in American cultural life. Ms. Helfand’s recent book is Scrapbooks: An American History.

Check out WNYC's Art.Cult project on Facebook as a new incarnation of scrapbooking!

Slideshow of images from Scrapbooks

American Food in the 1930s

Find out what Americans were eating in the 1930s...from fish fries to chitlin feasts and Brunswick stew! Pat Willard tells us about a 1935 WPA project, which assigned out-of-work writers to report on American regional cuisine. Her new book is America Eats!.

Weigh in: Do you know what were you, your parents, or your grandparents were eating in the U.S. in the 1930s?

Tributes: Kate McGarrigle

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Folk singer Kate McGarrigle, who gained acclaim for a series of projects with her sister Anna, died Monday, Jan. 18, from a rare form of cancer. She left behind a family of talented musicians, including her sister, son Rufus Wainwright, and daughter Martha Wainwright. McGarrigle appeared on The Leonard Lopate show with her sister in December 2005, ahead of their holiday show at Carnegie Hall.

Monona Rossol on 50 Million Chemicals

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On September 7, 2009, scientists working for the Chemical Abstract Service (which assigns identification numbers to all new chemicals) entered the 50-millionth chemical substance into their Registry. Chemist and industrial hygienist Monona Rossol, President and Founder of Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, took a look at what all these new substances are, where they are coming from, and how they affect our health. Rossol also responded to listener comments and questions. You can read her answers here.

Alan Alda on What Makes Us Human

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Barbara Demick on Ordinary Lives in North Korea

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Lucien Castaing-Taylor on "Sweetgrass"

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Michael Pollan on Food in 2010

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Atul Gawande on The Checklist Manifesto

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Christopher Kimball on Surviving Holiday Cooking Disasters

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Lidia Bastianich on Cooks from the Heart of Italy

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Neil deGrasse Tyson on Pluto

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National Book Award Winners

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A number of this year’s National Book Award winners have appeared on The Leonard Lopate Show. Click here to see the list!

Our 3-ingredient Challenge wins a James Beard Award

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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.