Bill Thompson – Now I've Heard Everything

The Power of Liberalism: Insights from Robert Reich’s 2004 Book

February 12, 2025Bill Thompson

Are you a liberal?

For several decades now that word has carried a negative connotation, largely through the efforts of conservatives.

But some 20 years ago one of the country’s most prominent liberals, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, wrote that most Americans probably are liberal.

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His 2004 book was called Reason, It was subtitled Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America.

Robert Reich and I talked about his book in the spring of 2004, just as the presidential campaign that year was heating up . But listen to how timely and relevant the things we talked about 20 years ago still sound today.

So here now from 2004, Robert Reich..

Robert Rice is 78 now. He blogs at robertreich.org.

Nikki Giovanni’s Different Perspective On American Icon Rosa Parks

February 10, 2025Bill Thompson

The powerful story of Rosa Parks and her act of civil disobedience is so often reduced to just a headline,It’s often easy to forget the three-dimensional person she was.

It was with that in mind that the poet Nikki Giovanni set out to write a different kind of Rosa Parks book. Her 2005 book Rosa is nominally a children’s book, but one that readers of any age will find Illuminating.

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I spoke with Nikki Giovanni about her book just a few weeks after Rosa Parks passed away at age 92.

So here now from 2005 Nikki Giovanni.

Nikki Giovanni died this past December, at age 81.

Iconic Tunes and Timeless Performances: The Legacy of Pete Seeger

February 7, 2025Bill Thompson

One of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century was a man who often needed nothing more than a banjo and a strong voice to entertain an audience.

Pete Seeger was born in New York City in 1919. He was performing by the 1930s, and by the 1940s he was a major radio personality.

His political views in the 1950s ultimately got him blacklisted, but in the 1960s he revived his reputation and grew in popularity once more.

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Well into the 1990s Pete Seeger was still drawing huge crowds of all ages.

His songs, including “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?” “If I Had a Hammer,” and “Turn, Turn, Turn” are still very popular today.

In the summer of 1993 I had the rare chance to spend some time one-on-one with this legendary figure.

So here now from 1993 Pete Seeger.

When Pete Seeger died in 2014 at the age of 94, President Barack Obama called him “America’s tuning fork.”

Hiding in Plain Sight: Edith Hahn Beer’s Holocaust Survival Story

February 3, 2025Bill Thompson

Have you ever heard the phrase “hiding in plain sight”?

At the age of 25, an Austrian Jewish woman named Edith Hahn and her mother were sent to the Jewish ghetto in Vienna by the Nazi regime.

Two years later she was moved to work in a German factory – and never saw her mother again.

But a Christian friend gave Edith copies of her own identification papers, With which she was able to return to Vienna – and ultimately travelled to Munich.

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Carefully concealing her true identity, Edith Hahn volunteered as a German Red Cross nurse.

And that’s where she met a Nazi party member, who married her – even after she revealed to him her Jewish identity.

Their daughter Angela was born in a Nazi Hospital. Their marriage ended soon after the war, and so did Edith’s lifesaving charade.

She lived the rest of her life in Israel and London. And in 1999 told her story in a book called The Nazi Officer’s Wife.

It was a book that her daughter Angela had urged her to write, soon after Edith’s letters were sold at auction and ultimately donated to the Holocaust Museum in Washington.

I met them both when Edith’s book was published. So here now, from 1999 Edith Hahn Beer and her daughter Angela.

Edith Hahn Beer died in 2009. ten years after our interview. She was 95.

How The “Gotcha”Culture is Destroying American Politics

January 31, 2025Bill Thompson

American politics has become a minefield of “gotcha ”.

The media do it to politicians, politicians do it to each other, even the media do it to each other.

And it’s eroding our entire system, says one man who was once a participant.

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Washington DC attorney Lanny Davis was formerly special counsel to President Bill Clinton, but has also represented other politicians, billionaires, and a wide range of other clients.

In 2006 Davis wrote a book that he called Scandal: How Gotcha Politics Is Destroying America.

He and I sat down for a conversation about the book in his k Street office in August of 2006.

So here now, from 2006, Lanny Davis.

Lanny Davis is 79 now.

Maureen Dowd’s satirical Take on The Gender Politics of Our Time

January 29, 2025Bill Thompson

Are men necessary?

No, I’m not asking the question, I’m merely repeating the title of the 2005 book by the renowned New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

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In a witty, often tongue-in-cheek examination of the sexual politics of the day, Dowd explains many of the perplexities of male-female relationships , which seems especially relevant in today’s world where politicians define us as men or women, period.

I met Maureen Dowd just before Christmas 2005 to talk about her book.

So here now, from 2005, Maureen Dowd.

Maureen Dowd turned 73 a couple of weeks ago. She’s been with the New York Times since 1983.

His Secret To Success? Happiness. Sports Mogul Ted Leonsis

January 27, 2025January 27, 2025Bill Thompson

If you’re in business, entrepreneur or as the head of a major corporation, which comes first, business success, or happiness?

Actually, happiness has to come first if you want the success to follow, says a very successful and happy businessman and billionaire sports mogul.

Ted Leonsis was one of the early top executives at America online helping build that to the huge platform that it was.

Later he became owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, along with a huge regional sports network.

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But would any of that have been possible if he didn’t have an underlying foundation of personal happiness?

Not likely, Leonsis says. In his 2010 book The Business of Happiness he explains how happiness begets business success.

I met with him one February afternoon in his office in Washington, DC, where, by the way, he still maintains an AOL email address.

So here now, from 2010, Ted Leonsis.

Ted Leonsis turned 68 earlier this month.

Going Beyond The Stereotype: A Sons Memoir of His Father, The Accused Spy

January 24, 2025Bill Thompson

In the late 1940s and early ‘50s America was caught up in a “red scare.” The nation was gripped by fears of Communism, communist spies, communist infiltration.

One of those accused was a State Department official, who had actually helped form the United Nations. His name was Alger Hiss.

The accusation was that Hiss had spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. By the time the accusations came to light, the statute of limitations on espionage had expired. But Hiss was then charged with perjury, for lying about his alleged communist ties.

One of the chief Congressional investigators in the case was a young Congressman named Richard M. Nixon. The Hiss case propelled Nixon to national notoriety.

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And 75 years ago this week, January 1950, Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury and sentenced to prison, still maintaining his innocence.

Hiss’s son Tony was not even yet a teenager when his father went to prison, but by the time Alger Hiss was freed, their relationship had taken a dramatic, and positive turn.

In 1999 Tony Hiss wrote a memoir of his relationship with his father, called The View From Alger’s Window.

So here now, from 1999 Tony Hiss.

Alger Hiss died in 1996 at the age of 92.

A Longtime Broadcasters Secret to Happiness: Be Thankful

January 22, 2025Bill Thompson

Have you counted your blessings today?

If you haven’t, maybe you should. It might be good for your health.

So says longtime TV journalist Deborah Norville.

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Get your copy of Deborah Norville’s book

In 2007, the “Inside Edition” anchor wrote a book about gratitude, thankfulness, and how they can actually change not just your attitude, but your very health.

So here now, from 2007, Deborah Norville.

Deborah Norville is now 66.

In March she will mark 30 yeasras anchor of “Inside Edition.”

With One True Voice: A Popular Comedian’s Life With Puppets

January 20, 2025Bill Thompson

Have you ever tried to throw your voice like a professional ventriloquist? It’s not as easy as it looks.

Have you ever tried stand-up comedy? That is a lot harder than it looks.

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And can you entertain an audience with your music? Don’t have to tell you how hard that is.

But now meet Taylor Mason, who for the last 40 + years has been a triple threat, a successful comedian, ventriloquist, and musician. He has entertained audiences everywhere.

Taylor Mason was the winner of Star Search in 1991. To put that in perspective, Drew Carey, Norm Macdonald, and Sinbad also competed in various years on Star Search but they never won.

I’ve known Taylor Mason since we were in high school together, so I of course jumped at the chance to interview him for Now I’ve Heard Everything.