Bill Thompson – Page 15 – Now I've Heard Everything

Commentator Kevin Phillips on The American History We Get Wrong

October 14, 2024October 17, 2024Bill Thompson

Back in 1976 the U.S. celebrated the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence – the Bicentennial.

In about a year and a half, we’ll be marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. It’s called the “semiquincentennial,” or sestercentennial.

Either way, we may be wrong – 1776 was not necessarily the great historical focal point we’ve all been taught that it was.

So said noted political commentator Kevin Phillips in a 2012 book he called 1775.

The time leading up the actual Declaration may be more pivotal, in the long run, than the actual document itself, in spite of the famous painting of the signing on July 4th. That, too, is a myth, says Phillips.

How do we keep 1776 in proper perspective?

Kevin Phillips died in 2023. He was 82.

Here now, from 2012, Kevin Phillips.

Rebuilding The Navy: Former Sec. John Lehman

October 11, 2024October 6, 2024Bill Thompson

John F. Lehman Jr., Secretary of the Navy

After Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president in 1981, one of his eary appointments was to name a new Secretary of the Navy, who was tasked with rebuilding a demoralized and under-equipped Navy.

He chose a 38-year-old Naval Reserve aviator named John Lehman. No stranger to Washington, Lehman had served on the National Security Council staff under Henry Kissinger during the Nixon administration.

Lehman served as Secretary until his resignation in spring 1987. And the following year he wrote a book called Command of the Seas.

And on top of all of his public service , Lehman is also a first cousin once removed of Princess Grace of Monaco.

I spoke with him when his book was published in the early weeks of 1989.

So here now, from 1989, John Lehman.

John Lehman is 82 now. He’s chairman of the Princess Grace Foundation USA. He lives in Pennsylvania and New York.

Ultra Violet: Her Life With Andy Warhol

October 9, 2024October 6, 2024Bill Thompson

Pop art icon Andy Warhol once said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Don’t know about you but I can think of lots of people on social media who have proven that to be true.

Famous For 15 Minutes is also the title of a 1988 book by French-American artist and actress Isabelle Dufresne,one of Andy Warhol’s “superstars” who went by the name Ultra Violet.

Dufresne was introduced to Warhol in 1963 by Salvador Dali. She spent the next several years at Warhol’s Factory before they went their separate ways in the 1970s.

I met Ultra Violet when she was on her book tour about a year and a half after Warhol’s death.

So here now, from 1988, Ultra Violet.

Isabelle Dufresne, Ultra Violet, died in 2014 at the age of 78.

Brad Meltzer Once Imagined a Leaky Supreme Court

October 7, 2024October 6, 2024Bill Thompson

It’s the first Monday in October, the day that traditionally the United States Supreme Court returns to work after its summer recess.

Behind the scenes at the high court are a few dozen law clerks, the young lawyers who do much of the work that ultimately is reflected in Supreme Court rulings.

It was his fascination with the largely unrecognized power of those clerks that inspired thriller writer Brad Meltzer’s first novel, published 27 years ago, a book he called The Tenth Justice.

Building on that simple premise of “what if?” Meltzer imagined what could happen if a Supreme Court clerk inadvertently leaked a decision before its official release.

This was the first of many interviews I’ve had with Brad as his popularity has exploded,

So h3ere now, from 1997, Brad Meltzer.

Brad Meltzer is 54 now. He lives in Florida.

The Lou Dobbs Vision For American Populism

October 4, 2024September 28, 2024Bill Thompson

What has happened to the idea that the American people are the ones in charge of their own country?

According to longtime cable news personality Lou Dobbs, American populism has been replaced by a network of elites in government and business.

Dobbs wrote about it in his 2007 book Independents Day. I met him that November, just about a year before the 2008 election – and Dobbs spared neither side his criticism.

So here now, from 2007, Lou Dobbs.

Lou Dobbs died this past July. He was 78.

A Lifetime Defending Reproductive Rights: Kate Michelman Tells Her Story

October 2, 2024September 28, 2024Bill Thompson

Reproductive rights have never been a more volatile and divisive issue than they are right now.

After the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v Wade decision many states have enacted, or restored, strict anti-abortion laws. It’s become a major campaign issue in the 2024 presidential contest.

And much of this was forecast nearly 20 years ago by Kate Michelman, the longtime head of NARAL, the pro-choice organization founded by feminist icon Betty Friedan.

Michelman retired from NARAL in 2004, and two years later published a memoir, called With Liberty and Justice For All.I had the chance to speak with her when she was on a book tour.

So here now, from 2006, Kate Michelman.

Kate Michelman is now 82. NARAL is now known as Reproductive Freedom for All.

The 92 Personalities of Truddi Chase

September 30, 2024September 28, 2024Bill 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

September 27, 2024September 22, 2024Bill 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.

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

September 25, 2024September 21, 2024Bill 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.

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

September 23, 2024September 21, 2024Bill 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.