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Lani Guinier

Bill Thompson
Photo: John Mathew Smith

In 1993, the term “woke” had not been invented yet. But a prominent law professor nominated for a high position in the US government Saw her nomination done in by what we would now know as “anti-woke” sentiment.

Her name was Lani Guinier. President Bill Clinton nominated her to be assistant attorney general for civil rights.

That’s, of course, when closer scrutiny of her past writings began. And, she says, that’s when the misrepresentations of her writings began.

Guinier was a strong advocate of voting rights, and a strong believer that all minority voices should be heard in a democracy.

Ultimately, her voice was drowned out by her critics’ voices, and President Clinton withdrew her nomination.

I met her the following year, when she was on a book tour. So here now, from 1994, Lani Guinier.

Lani Guinier died last year. She was 71.

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Holly Near

Bill Thompson
Photo: Donna A. Korones

Holly Near was just 8 years old when she first performed in public. And in a career that has now spanned over 50 yearse, Near has established herself as a folk music legend.

Actually, she calls herself a troubadour.

And she’s a talented actress, appearing in episodes of The Mod Squad, All in The Family, and The Partridge family, as well as on Broadway in the musical “Hair.”

Near is also a member of the LGBTQ community, at a strong supporter of gay rights for many decades.

I met her in 1990, when she published an autobiography called Fire in The Rain, Singer in The Storm.

So here now, from 1990, Holly Near.

Holly Near will be 74 in June, and still performs regularly.

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Bob Dorian

Bill Thompson

Ever since there have been movies in America — that’s over a hundred years now — people have been putting together their lists of their favorite movies. Their favorite classic movies.

Some 30 years ago Bob Dorian, the longtime host on American Movie Classics (now known simply as AMC) assembled a list of the greatest “classic” movies.

Now these weren necessarily ‘t classic” in the sense that we typically think of classic movies, but they were movies that were timeless and important in their own way.

I had a chance to talk with Bob Dorian in 1990 when that book came out. So here now from 1990. Let’s talk some old movies with Bob Dorian

Bob Dorian died in 2019. He was 85.

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Pearl Harbor Remembered

Bill Thompson

On a quiet Sunday in early December, millions of Americans went about their usual routines.

Folks went to church. Children played out in the yard. Teenagers went to movies. Families went to dinner. People listen to football games on the radio.

And then everything changed.

On the radio came the horrible news that the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii had been attacked by forces from Japan

And just like that, America was plunged into World War II.

Back in 1991 as the nation was preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, I took the opportunity to ask anyone I interviewed that year who was old enough to remember, where they were and what they were doing on that day.

You’re about to hear from men and women who on December 7th 1941 were children or teenagers or young men and women, but who later became major figures in American culture and society. Journalists broadcasters, actors, mystery, writers, military leaders and sports heroes.

You are also going to hear some words and terms and songs that by today’s standards are rude, offensive, and unacceptable. We were a nation that had just been punched hard in the face and our anger was fresh and raw.

Don Shula

Bill Thompson

Last week the National Football League and its fans lost a truly iconic figure, Don Shula, the all-time winningest NFL coach, died at the age of 90.

I met Don Shula in 1995, just a few months before the start of what would be his final season coaching in the NFL. He had written a book on coaching and leadership, along with Ken Blanchard, the prolific author who [s best known for his book “The One Minute Manager.”

Here now, from 1995, Don Shula and Ken Blanchard:

To this day, the 1972 Miami Dolphins team that Don Shula coached is still the only team that’s ever put together a perfect, undefeated season.

Gennifer Flowers

Bill Thompson

In recent years it’s Donald Trump’s extramarital Affairs that have captured all the media attention. But thirty years ago, there was someone else who was all over the headlines, for her claims of an extramarital affair with a then-presidential candidate.

In January 1992 Gennifer flowers came forward with her story of a long-time affair with then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, who was running for president.

But as she explained in a 1995 book, flowers may never have brought her allegations public, if not for media articles the out of her, including a story in the supermarket tabloid the star.

I met her in 1995 when she was doing a book tour. So here now, from 1995, Gennifer flowers.

Gennifer Flowers is 71 now.

Terri Irwin

Bill Thompson
Photo: Eva Rinaldi

In the ’90s and early 2000s, one of the most popular TV personalities in the world was Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.

He happily and enthusiastically introduced his viewers to some of the world’s most exotic, and dangerous, wildlife.

Ultimately it was a fatal encounter with a stingray that prematurely ended his life in 2006. Steve was just 44.

Photo: Richard Giles

The following year his widow Terri published a book called Steve And Me. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 2007, Terri Irwin,

Terri Irwin and the couple’s two children continue to operate Australia Zoo.

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Winnie Smith

Bill Thompson

Memorial Day is an occasion to pause and honor those who have given their lives in military service.

But we can also remember those who went to war to save lives.

In 1963, a 21-year old student nurse named winning Smith joined the Army, and in 1966 was sent to Vietnam, where the war was escalating. She was there until 1967,

But it wasn’t until years later that she realized that she, like many of the servicemen she treated, or suffering from PTSD.

I met her in 1992, to talk about her book called “American Daughter Gone to War.”

So here now, from 1992, Winnie Smith.

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Short Takes

Bill Thompson

February is, of course, the shortest month of the year. So it occurred to me it might be an appropriate time to share some of my shortest interviews with you.

Normally, I would get 15 to 20 minutes or more with a given celebrity or VIP. But occasionally, because of the constraints of their schedules, I might only get two minutes, or three, or four.

So here now are some of those short takes:

Gtammy-winner Patti LaBelle, literary giants Kurt Vonnegut and John Irving, Oscar-winning actress Kathleen Turner, and Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick.

Grace George Corrigan

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow is January 28, and if you are old enough, you undoubtedly have a clear memory of exactly where you were 35 years agp, on January 28, 1986.

That was the day of that horrible tragedy, the explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger.

Among the crew members was teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, who had won a nationwide competition to become the first teacher in space.

Watching the liftoff in person that day was Christa McAuliffe’s mother, Grace George Corrigan.

A few years later, Corrigan wrote a book about her daughter, and that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1993, Grace George Corrigan.

Christa’s father died in 1990,

Grce George Corrigan died in 2018 at athe age of 94.

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