Month: October 2023

Ghosts, Zombies, and Vampires — Why We Love ‘Em

Bill Thompson

Do you like being scared? That Is, do you enjoy horror movies, scary books, thriller TV shows?

What is it about the thrill of fear that we enjoy?

A few years ago, an English professor named Walter Kendrick decided to investigate. He wanted to know why, over the last couple of centuries, our taste in entertainment had taken a dark turn

The result was his 1991 book called The Thrill of Fear. And if you are a fan of ghosts, ghouls, zombies, and vampires, stick with us.

I spoke with him a couple of days before Halloween in 1991. So here now, from 1991, Walter Kendrick.

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William Peter Blatty

Lorraine Warren

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Peggielene Bartels: The Woman Who Became A King

Bill Thompson

When you were a kid, did you ever have that fantasy that you were actually a prince or princess but nobody knew it?

In 2008, a telephone call to a woman who is a secretary living in suburban Washington. DC brought that fantasy to reality for her.

Her name is Peggielene Bartels, and in 2008 when her uncle passed away, she was notified that she had been chosen as the new king of the town of Otuam in her native Ghana.

Suddenly facing a dizzying array of new responsibilities, King Peggy, as she became known, embraced the new role and assumed leadership of her community.

In 2012 she told her story in a book called King Peggy and that’s when I had the chance to meet her. So here now from 2012. King Peggy.

King Peggy still works at the embassy of Ghana in Washington, and still lives in the suburbs. She is 70.

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Wangari Maathai

Wilma Mankiller

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How We Misunderstand And Undervalue The Human Breast

Bill Thompson

The popular actress Suzanne Somers recently became the latest high profile victim of breast cancer.

The CDC estimates that 42,000 women will die from the disease this year. So will a few hundred men.

October is, of course, Breast Cancer Awareness month. But a book that was written several years ago reminds us of how little we actually know about the human breast.

In 2012, acclaimed author and journalist Florence Williams researched and wrote a definitive volume called Breasts. A Natural And Unnatural History

And you’re going to be startled by how much we don’t know about the human breast.

So here now from 2012. Florence Williams

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Lynn Redgrave

Jackie Collins

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Red Auerbach Reveals Secrets of Building a Celtics Dynasty

Bill Thompson
Photo by Steve Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com}

Perhaps no one in modern North American sports history was as successful at building a dynasty as the legendary Red Auerbach.

First as head coach, then as president and general manager of the Boston Celtics, Auerbach racked up16 championships over a 29-year span.

A brilliant strategist on the court, Auerbach was just as brilliant in the front office as he built a franchise that not only attracted and kept the top talent in the league, but also attracted and kept millions of fans all over the world.

In 1991 Auerbach wrote a book called MBA: Management by Auerbach. And that’s when I had a few minutes with the man. So here now from 1991 Red Auerbach.

Red Auerbach died in 2006, at age 89.

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Wilt Chamberlain

Walt Frazier

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Ariel Sharon And The Burden of Leadership

Bill Thompson

Israel and Hamas are at war. It’s the latest chapter in a long history of cconflict and struggle for the Jewish state

One who participated in many of those struggles and conflicts was Ariel Sharon.

I met him in the fall of 1989, when he published his autobiography, called Warrior.
So here now, from 1989, Ariel Sharon.

He was there in 1948 at the formation of the Israeli army,and rose steadily in the ranks in the years that followed.

Among the battles he saw: the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1967 Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, and the Yom-Kippur War of 1973.

In the 1982 Lebanon War Sharon was Israel’s Minister of Defense.

And he served as prime minister of Israel from 2001 to 2006

Ariel Sharon died in 2014 just days before his 86th birthday.

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Colin Powell

Leah Rabin

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From the White House to the Teenage House: Liz Carpenter’s Unplanned Parenthood

Bill Thompson
Jenkins Garrett with Liz Carpenter in UTA Library’s Special Collections, 1987

Imagine this scenario: you have lived a full life as a war correspondent, an aide to a president, a press secretary to a First Lady, and a leader in important social movements.

And just as you have retired to what should have been a comfortable life you are suddenly thrust into being a parent again.

That is what really happened to Liz Carpenter, once a key figure in the Lyndon Johnson administration in the 1960s.

But when her brother died in 1993, his three unruly teenagers came to live with Liz Carpenter. And she found herself, at age 73, a mother once again.

In her 1994 book Unplanned Parenthood Carpenter describes the unique challenges she faced. But she also had some wise and insightful thoughts about those Generation X people she was raising, and their peers.

So here now, from 1994, Liz Carpenter.

Liz Carpenter died in 2010. She was 89.

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Benjamin Spock

Betty Friedan

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Leslie Nielsen: The Doctor of Comedy Who Made “Airplane!” Fly

Bill Thompson

Do you remember the very first time you saw the movie “Airplane”?

Even if you have never seen it, however, everyone knows its most famous lines.

At the time the movie was released in 1980, Leslie Nielsen had already been an established dramatic actor for decades.

But “Airplane” literally changed the entire course of his career, propelling him into comedy. The television series “Police Squad” was followed by the movie “Naked Gun”| and its sequels.

And by 1993, Nielsen had a book called Leslie Nielsen’s The Naked Truth. And that’s when I first met him.

So here now, from 19933, Leslie Nielsen:

Leslie Nielsen died in 2010. He was 84.

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Carl Reiner

Mel Blanc

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Sister Souljah’s Tale of Urban Life

Bill Thompson

From her earliest days growing up in New York City and later in New Jersey, Sister Souljah was an activist.

Surrounded by the poverty and despair of an urban neighborhood, Sister Souljah made it her mission to try to change things.

She became a strong voice for change, through writing, film, and music.

In 1999,she wrote her first novel, a book called The Coldest Winter Ever. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1999. Sister Souljah.

Sister Souljah will be 60 next month.

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bell hooks

Alice Walker

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From Drummer to Author: Jacob Slichter’s Rock & Roll Journey/

Bill Thompson

If you really want to know what it’s like to be a rock star, just ask one. But you are not likely to get a more honest answer then you will from Jacob Slichter, drummer for the band Semisonic.

Slichter’s 2004 book So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star was widely praised for its frank – some would say brutally honest – assessment of the music industry.

Semisonic was formed in 1995, and over the next decade saw the good, the bad, and the really, really ugly of the music business.

Jacob and I talked about his book one fine midsummer day. So here now from 2004 Jacob Slichter.

Jacob Slichter is 62 now. He and Semisonic still perform publicly.

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Darlene Love

Derek Taylor

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Richard Dawkins on Evolution, Creationism, and the Blind Watchmaker

Bill Thompson
Photo by Steve Jurvetson

Were Adam and Eve real? Or is the story of creation found in Genesis just a myth?

British evolutionary biology professor Richard Dawkins is a prominent figure in the worlds of science and atheism, known for his eloquent writings on evolution and his critique of religious beliefs.

In early 1988 I had the chance to interview Dawkins about his bestselling book The Blind Watchmaker and how it challenged the traditional view of a divine creator.

So here now, from 1988. Richard Dawkins.

Richard Dawkins is now 82.

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James Watson

Jane Goodall

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