Month: September 2024

The 92 Personalities of Truddi Chase

Bill Thompson

The medical term is “dissociative identity disorder.” It’s more popularly known as multiple personalities.

A woman named Truddi Chase became the public face of the disorder in the late 1980s when she wrote an autobiography in which she described the 92 distinct personalities she carried.

She said it was the product of sustained childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. She eventually came to refer to her personalities as “The Troops.”

Get your copy of Troops for Truddi Chase’s book

Her book, which became a bestseller, was called When Rabbit Howls. Chase’s co-author was her hypnotherapist, Dr. Robert Phillips.

He was with her the day I first met The Troops.

So here now, from 1987, Dr. Robert Phillips and the Troops for Truddi Chase.

Truddi Chase died in 2010. She was 74.

Janis Ian: First Musical Guest When “SNL” Premiered in 1975

Bill Thompson

Tomorrow night, September 28, is the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.” It is, in fact, the start of the iconic show’s 50th season.

The show premiered on October 11, 1975. The first guest host was comedian George Carlin, and the show featured two musical guests, Billy Preston and Janis Ian.

She was 24 at the time, but had already established herself as a talented singer-songwriter.

Get your copy of Janis Ian’s book

At a time when her high school classmates were studying for exams, Janis Ian was giving concerts, and appearing on major TV shows.

I met her in 2008, when she wrote a memoir, a book named after her first big hit – Society’s Child.

So here now, from 2008, Janis Ian.

Janis Ian is 72 now. Her latest studio album was released in 2022.

John Kasich And His Plea: Stand For Something

Bill Thompson

Whatever happened to honesty, Integrity, and accountability?

And not just among our politicians, but our sports heroes, our entertainers, and all leaders.

Longtime Ohio politician John Kasich recognized years ago that the country is in a battle, of sorts, to reclaim personal responsibility.

Get your copy of John Kasich’s book

It was a message that Kasich put forward in a 2006 book he called Stand For Something.

The conversation you’re about to hear took place that spring, six years after his first run for president, and four years before he ran for governor of Ohio.

So here now, from 2006, John Kasich.

John Kasich is now 72. He lives in Ohio.

Historian Deborah Lipstadt Takes on Holocaust Deniers

Bill Thompson

For the better part of four decades historian Deborah Lipstadt has been combating Holocaust denial.

She has found that there is a sizeable share of people, both in the United States and elsewhere, who are convinced the Holocaust never happened

Some have even offered so-called “proof” it Was a hoax.

Get your copy of Deborah Lipstadt’s book

In 1993 Lipstadt put her findings in a book she called Denying The Holocaust. That’s when she and I talked about it.

So here no0w, from 1993, Deborah Lipstadt .

Deborah Lipstadt is 77 now. For the last two years she has served as a special U.S. envoy against anti-Semitism

In 2023 Time magazine named Lipstadt one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

C-SPAN Founder Brian Lamb on Where History and Literature Intersect

Bill Thompson
Photo by C-SPAN

The journalist who founded C-SPAN in the 1970s retired last month after leading the network for 47 years.

To many viewers, Brian Lamb was C-SPAN. His quiet and intelligent demeanor helped set the tone for the cable outlet dedicated to bringing the workings of the federal government into American homes.

And for 15 years, from 1989 to 2004, Brian Lamb was also host of the popular weekly C-SPAN show “Booknotes.”

Each show featured a prominent writer of nonfiction, and each was allowed on the show only once, meaning Lamb tapered 800 shows with 800 authors.

Get your copy of Brian Lamb’s book

About halfway through the show’s run, Lamb and his staff collected highlights from many of those interviews in a book called – appropriately enough – Booknotes.

That’s when I had the chance to spend a few minutes with him.

So here now, from 1997. Brian Lamb.

Brian Lamb will be 83 next month. He lives in Virginia. .

Historian Allan Lichtman on Why Presidential Campaigns Don’t Matter

Bill Thompson

Kamala Harris is going to be our next president. So says the historian who has correctly predicted every presidential election except one since 1984.

American University professor Allan Lichtman,along with a noted expert in earthquake prediction, came up with a method of forecasting elections that Lichtman calls “the 13 keys.”

He explained them in his 1990 book Thirteen Keys to the Presidency. I talked with him when that book was first published.

Get your copy of Allan Lichtman’s book

As you listen to this interview, you have to put yourself back in 1990, less than halfway through George H.W. Bush’s term. And listen as Lichtman hints that Bush may already be set up to lose in ;92 – an election two and a half years in the future.

Sol here now, from 1990, Allan Lichtman.

By the way, the only election Lichtman got wrong in the last 40 years was the 2000 Bush v. Gore contest. Lichtman did correctly predicted that Al Gore would win the popular vote.

Allan Lichtman is 77 now. He has taught at American University.since 1973.

Mariette Harley’s Story: Turning Personal Tragedy into a Message of Hope

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gotfryd, Bernard

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, as designated by the World Health Organization.

Each year hundreds of thousands of people take their own lives, leaving behind family and friends who may feel the impact for the rest of their lives.

It was in the summer of 1963 that young actress Mariette Harley lost her father to suicide, a tragedy that has colored her life ever since.

Get your copy of Mariette Hartley’s book

But even she wasn’t fully aware of just how deeply it had affected her until the 1980s. And it inspired her to write a book that became a bestseller, called Breaking The Silence.

I met her in the fall of 1991 to talk about her book.

So here now, from 1991, Mariette Harley.

Mariette Harley.is now 84. She is currently spokesperson for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which she founded.

Margaret Whiting, America’s Post-War Singing Sensation

Bill Thompson

In the years immediately following World War II, one of America’s most popular entertainers was a young singer named Margaret Whiting.

She was born into an entertainment family. Her father, Richard Whiting, was the guy who wrote “Hooray for Hollywood,” “Ain’t We Got Fun” and many other hits.

Margaret’s sister was a popular singer and actress, and her aunt was a recording artist in the 1920s.

Little Margaret was “discovered,” you might say. at age seven by Johnny Mercer, who was one of the co-founders of Capitol Records.

Get your copy of Margaret Whiting’s book

She had her first million selling record at age 20 And within a decade was among the country’s most popular singers.

She was a star on radio, on television, – even had a TV series of her own for a short time.

In 1987, the then-63-year-old Margaret Whiting wrote her autobiography, a book named after one of her most popular songs: It Might As Well Be Spring.

In the mid to late ‘80s America was still grappling with the AIDS epidemic, a faltering economy, the Reagan revolution, and an ongoing evolution of pop music.

In a moment, Margaret Whiting.

So here now, from 1987, Margaret Whiting.

Margaret Whiting died in 2011. She was 86.

What Does The First Family Eat? The Scoop From Former WH Chef Henry Haller

Bill Thompson

No matter who wins the presidential election in November, new occupants will be moving into the White House next January.

And beyond the issues of policy and politics will be food. The White House employs a staff to prepare meals for the president and their family.

For 21 years, starting in 1966, through five administrations, Swiss-born Henry Haller was the White House executive chef .

Get your copy of Henry Haller’s book

In that role Haller had to learn the “right way” to prepare First Families’ favorite dishes, and to keep track of their culinary likes and dislikes.

Not to mention preparing huge meals for major White House events.

After his retirement in 1987 Haller wrote a book that was part memoir, part cookbook. He called it simply The White House Family Cookbook.

In a moment, my 1987 conversation with Henry Haller.

Henry Haller died in 2020.at the age of 97.

How Marvin Miller Changed The Game of Baseball, And Then Some

Bill Thompson

Today is Labor Day, and I wanted to share with you an interview I did more than 30 years ago with one of the most influential labor leaders of our time

In 1966, Marvin Miller – an economist by training – was elected executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.

By the time he retired 16 years later, Miller had helped transform not just the players association but the entire professional sports industry.

Curt Flood

Miller negotiated the players’ first-ever collective bargaining agreement with team owners in 1968.

And it was Miller’s leadership, and the courage of St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood, that brought an end to the longtime “reserve clause” that effectively let owners treat players as properties to be bought and sold.

Get your copy of Marvin Miller’s book

It’s largely because of Marvin Miller that the concept of free agency now exists in not just baseball, but across professional sports.

Red Barber once said Marvin Miller was one of the two or three most important people in all of baseball history.

Miller wrote a book in 1991, called A Whole Different Ballgame. That’s when I got a few minutes with this icon of labor.

So here now, from 1991, Marvin Miller.

Marin Miller died in 2012 at the age of 95. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame seven years later.