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The Leonard Lopate Show Archive

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May 2005

Lost Legacies

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Yaroslav Trofimov shares his experiences reporting on Islamic culture from Baghdad to Timbuktu. Then, Nancy Greenspan discusses her new biography of scientist Max Born. Next, Roxana Robinson joins us with a look at her short story collection, A Perfect Stranger. And Dr. Donny George, director of the Iraq Museum, describes the museum’s significance, and looks at what was lost during the war.


Tense Relations

Monday, May 30, 2005

David Harris studies the significance of the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran with a new in-depth look at the roles played by militant Islamists, Ayatollah Khomeini, the shah, and President Carter. Next, Les Standiford looks back at the legacy of industrial giants Andrew Carnegie and Henry Clay Frick. Then, Gillen D’Arcy Wood discusses Hosack’s Folly, his new historical novel set in 1820s New York. Finally, Michael Sledge examines the history of how the American military has buried and honored dead soldiers.


Uncommon Sense

Friday, May 27, 2005

Historian Caroline Elkins uncovers a disturbing history of British-run prison and work camps in Kenya after WWII in Imperial Reckoning. Then, Irwin and Debi Unger outline the history of an American dynasty: The Guggenheims. Next, producer Bill Bryan and bowlers Wayne Webb and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. discuss a new documentary on the sport: “A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.” Finally, Martin Lindstrom explores ways that companies can expand their future marketing strategies to target all five senses of consumers—instead of focusing only on sight and sound.


Unhealthy Situations

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Gertrude Garway and Sandra Krause discuss their efforts to improve the reproductive health and rights of refugee women. Then, Jill Quadagno examines why the US has no national health insurance in One Nation Uninsured. Elizabeth Swados draws a portrait of her struggle with depression in an illustrated memoir: My Depression. Finally, Mercedes Ruehl describes her one-woman show about Peggy Guggenheim: Woman Before a Glass.


Passion and Politics

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

The Nation's circulation has increased a striking 71 percent since the election of George Bush in 2000. Victor Navasky, the magazine’s editor since 1978, gives us his perspective on America's current political climate. Then, David S. Reynolds tells us about his new biography of one of America’s most controversial historical figures: John Brown, Abolitionist. We’ll get a preview of this year’s UnParade from curator Elise Bernhardt and boombox orchestra composer Phil Kline. Finally, Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin reveal the highs and lows of Robert Oppenheimer’s life.


Counterfeited Interests

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Medical journalist Katherine Eban investigates America’s counterfeit drug trade in Dangerous Doses. Then, Michael Finkel recounts the strange turn his life took when, after being fired from the New York Times Magazine for falsifying information, he discovered that a man accused of murder had stolen his identity. Finally, Linda Greenhouse takes an in-depth look at the life and career of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun.


Cruel World

Monday, May 23, 2005

Reporter Aaron Glantz tells us how he’s seen Iraqi public opinion towards the US change since he first went to Iraq in 2003. Then, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough joins us with a history of one very significant year in US history: 1776. Finally, Lynn H. Nicholas looks at the impact that WWII and the Nazi occupation had on the children of Europe in Cruel World.


Powerful Reactions

Friday, May 20, 2005

Diana Preston traces the development of nuclear power, from Marie Curie to Hiroshima, in Before the Fallout. Then, we’ll look at why we blush, hiccup, and feel ticklish on our regular Friday feature, Please Explain.


Feeding Passions

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Chef Mario Batali shares some recipes from his latest cookbook of simple Italian recipes. And actor Claire Bloom and director Robert Scanlan tell us about their upcoming dramatic reading of Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis.


Words Fail Me

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Word maven Patricia T. O’Conner celebrates some of the weirder configurations of the English language. Then, filmmaker Peter Raymont and General Romeo Dallaire revisit the horrors of the Rwandan genocide with a new documentary: "Shake Hands with the Devil."


Under Pressure

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Foreign correspondent Jasper Becker examines the current nuclear standoff in North Korea. Then, Pulitzer Prize-winner Stacy Schiff, author of Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov), tells us about her latest book: A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America.


Larger Than Life

Monday, May 16, 2005

We’ll talk to the creator and executive producer of "Everybody Loves Raymond." After nine years and 12 Emmys, the final episode airs tonight. Then, Fred Newman tells us how he creates sound effects with his mouth. Diane Johnson takes us on a tour of the Left Bank neighborhood St.-Germain. And Francine du Plessix Gray shares her memoir about her larger than life parents: Them.


Art and Enigma

Friday, May 13, 2005

Eugene B. Bergman tells us about the life and work of the eccentric Renaissance man Jean Shepherd—he wrote several books, hosted a radio talk show in New York, and wrote the screenplay of "A Christmas Story." And in honor of Friday the Thirteenth, we take a detailed look at superstitions in our regular Please Explain feature.


Unraveling the Past

Thursday, May 12, 2005

New Yorker staff writer Kevin Krajick tells us what we can learn from studying mummified bodies. Then, we’ll talk to Ahmed Kathrada about the 26 years he spent as a political prisoner with Nelson Mandela during our weekly Underreported feature.


The Fabric of Life

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Alvin and Larry Ubell, the self-appointed “Gurus of How-To,” tackle the nuts and bolts of home repair. Then, jazz legend George Wein relives his 50-year career in Myself Among Others. Curator Matilda McQuaid and textile engineer Patricia Wilson describe the new "Extreme Textiles" exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt. And Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan tell the true story of a Hollywood blonde turned Catholic nun who left the comforts of Beverly Hills for a life of service in a notorious Tijuana prison.


From the Ground Up

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, food critic Gael Greene, and restaurant consultant Clark Wolf pay tribute to James Beard on the 102nd anniversary of his birth. Then, we’ll hear about the quest to bring ballroom dancing to NYC public schools, as portrayed in the new documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom.” Colm Feore tells us about playing Cassius in the current Broadway production of Julius Caesar. Finally, Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and James Stewart Polshek discuss whether or not 40 years of landmarks regulation have benefited New York City.


Art and Soul

Monday, May 09, 2005

Are the media turning our elections into freak shows? Alexandra Pelosi and Matt Taibbi offer some insight on the real story behind the red state-blue state drama. Then, Michelle Feynman shares some of the personal letters of her Nobel Prize-winning father, Richard Feynman. We’ll hear about a new exhibit that examines the way religious fundamentalism has influenced the art of the American South. And we’ll talk to jazz pianist Patricia Barber.


Epic Battles

Friday, May 06, 2005

Ridley Scott, director of "Gladiator," tells us about his latest epic "Kingdom of Heaven." Philip Caputo revisits the Kent State shootings. Then, filmmaker Gregg Araki and author Scott Heim discuss adapting the book "Mysterious Skin" into a new film. And on in our regular Please Explain feature, we take a look at cancer. We’ll find out how the disease works, and how treatments like chemotherapy can be used to combat it.


The Bottom Line

Thursday, May 05, 2005

In this week’s Underreported feature, Avis Jones-DeWeever from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research offers some perspective on the recent Census Bureau findings on the earning gap between men and women, and between white women and minorities. Next, sportswriter Ben Green joins Harlem Globetrotters Eathan O’Bryant and Dr. John Kline for a look at the team’s past and present. Then, we’ll open up the phones and get your thoughts on whether the media is overly saturated with celebrity coverage. And we’ll end with a panel discussion about the business of publishing, and how the roles of editors and literary agents are changing.


Moving Portraits

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Terry McDermott profiles the 9/11 hijackers in Perfect Soldiers. Then, Meinhardt Raabe looks back at his role as the Munchkin coroner in the "Wizard of Oz." Next, we’ll speak to Judith Jamison, the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Finally, Pat Choate criticizes what he sees as a growing trend of intellectual property piracy in Hot Property.


Power Plays

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Tony Blair has come under fire in Great Britain for his support of the war in Iraq. On Thursday, Britons will decide whether the Labour Party remains in power. Today, we’ll look at the issues at stake, and discuss what a change in government might mean for us on this side of the Atlantic. Then, James Zug describes the life and adventures of the 18th century explorer James Ledyard. Writer-director Paul Haggis—who wrote "Million Dollar Baby"—tells us about his new film "Crash." And Bill Irwin and Mireille Enos discuss their starring roles in the revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.


Inside the Wire

Monday, May 02, 2005

Erik Saar, a former sergeant at Guantanamo, blows the top on interrogation operations there. Rebecca Goldstein contemplates the philosophical implications of Kurt Gödel's mathematics. Stephen Elliott explores the sometimes fine line between affection and abuse in his new novel, Happy Baby. And Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the current mayor of Hiroshima, discusses nuclear disarmament.