Author: Bill Thompson

Erin Brockovich: The Power of Persistence/

Bill Thompson
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In 1993, a single mother with no legal training, no experikence as an attorney, helped bring a major corporation to its knees.

Erin Brockovich joined attorney Ed Masry in suing Pacific Gas & Electric, which was accused of poisoning the water supply in a small California town called Hinkley.

Soon, Hollywood heard about the story, and it was turned into a major Motion Picture in 2000, starring Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich.

Get your copy of Erin Brockovich’s book

In 2001, Brockovich wrote a book about her experience. That’s when I met her.

So here, from 2001, Erin Brockovich.

Erin Brockovich will be 64 next month.

She’s president of Brockovich Research & Consulting. And she is a consultant for law firms in New York and Australia.

The Art of the Ethical Deal: How Bob Woolf Mastered Friendly Persuasion

Bill Thompson

When we hear about professional athletes or musicians actors who get those multi-million dollar contracts, do you ever think about who got them that deal?

Behind the scenes you will typically find an experienced and skilled negotiator.Someone like Bob Woolf, one of the pioneers of snagging big contracts for sports stars.

Woolf represented stars like Carl Yastrzemski, Larry Bird, and Julius Erving.

Get your copy of Bob woolf’s book

But he also negotiated deals for Larry King and New Kids On The Block.

And along the way Woolf developed a reputation that may run counter to your notion of what a powerful dealmaker has to be. Woolf was known for his amicable and strictly ethical approach to negotiating a deal.

He shared his knowledge in a 1990 book called Friendly Persuasion. And that’s when I met him.

So here now, from 1990, Bob Woolf.

Bob Woolf died in 1993. He was 65.

Working Moms: Lois Wyse’s Impact on Mot/herhood and Advertising

Bill Thompson
Lois Wyse

Baby Boomers may be the last generation whose mothers generally were stay-at-home moms, taking care of the house, baking cookies, and so forth. Or so the stereotype goes.

But some had moms who went to a job outside the home every day. What is the norm now was the exception 60 years ago. And it created a lot of angst, as moms worried about whether their kids would become normal as they reached adulthood.

One of those working moms was an advertising executive – indeed, co-founder of her own ad agency.

Get your copy of Kathy Wyse Goldman’s book

Her name was Lois Wyse. You may not have heard of her, but you know some of the brands that she worked on. She is the one who came up with the slogan, “with a name like Smuckers, it has to be good.” Bed Bath And Beyon was just “BedAnd Bath” before Lois suggested adding “Beyond.”

In the early 1990s Lois’s daughter Kathy Wyse Goldman – by then herself a working mother – began to consider and appreciate her upbringing in a way she hadn’t before. And it inspired her to write a book, which she called My Mother Worked and I Turned Out OK.

And so it was on the day in early May 1993 that I met with Kathy and Lois to talk about the book.

So here now, from 1993, Kathy Wyse Goldman and her mom Lois Wyse.

Lois Wyse died in 2007 at age 80.

Barry Farber: The Quintessential Voice of American Talk Radio

Bill Thompson
Photo by David J Field

When you hear the expression “he has the gift of gab,” It might be Barry Farber they’re talking about.

Farber launched his on-air radio career in 1960, And over the next six decades became one of America’s most popular and best known talk show hosts and interviewers.

Get your copy of Barry Farber’s book

A world traveler who spoke several languages Farber seemed to know almost everyone who was anyone It

I spoke with him a few times over the years, including this conversation from 2012 when he put out a book called Cocktails with Molotov.

So here now, from 2012, Barry Farber .

Barry Farber maintained a talk show presence online until the day before his death in 2020. At age 90.

Conquering Personal Fears: Insights from Arianna Huffington

Bill Thompson
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What are you afraid of?

Beyond the common fears of spiders or tall bridges or public speaking, many people suffer from self-inflicted fears about their appearance, their relationships, or their parenting skills.

And those fears are all but universal, according to author, columnist, and Huffington Post co-founder Arianna Huffington.

Get your copy of Arianna Huffington’s book

In her 2006 book On Becoming Fearless she reveals the fears that she has experienced – and how she overcame them.

I met with her when she was on the author tour for that book. It was one of many conversations we’ve had through the years.

So here now, from 2006, Arianna Huffington.

Arianna Huffington will be 74 in July. and remains active in several business ventures.

Internet pioneer Michael Daniels on how the web became commercialized

Bill Thompson

In its infancy, the internet was simply a way for government agencies, educators and academic professionals to speak to one another. Today, of course, virtually every business in the world is built on or relies on the internet as a form of commerce.

But what if the internet had never turned to commercialization? What if it had remained just for government and academics?

Get your copy of Michael Daniels’s book

Much of the transformation goes back to the early to mid-1990s when the US government awarded a contract to a small company in Northern Virginia called Network Solutions. They were granted the exclusive right to sell the domain names that we all know so well – .com, .org, .net and so forth.

The chairman of Network Solutions was a guy named Michael Daniels and in 2013 he wrote a book about the early history of the commercialization of the web. His book was called Names, Numbers And Network Solutions. And that’s when I had the chance to talk with him.

So here now from 2013. Michael Daniels.

SE Cupp Rights Back As Liberal Media Take Down Christianity

Bill Thompson
Photo by Gage Skidmore

The liberal media hates Christianity. How many times have you heard commentators on the right saying that or something similar?

But is it true? Is there a war on Christianity? And is that war led by the liberal media?

Get your copy of S E Cupp’s book

Well-known columnist and commentator SE Cupp says, yes. At least she said that in 2010 when she wrote a book called Losing Our Religion – and I think a distance of 14 years hasn’t really blunted the arguments she makes, whether you agree with her or not.

So here now from 2010 SE Cupp.

Conspiracy Theory Debunker Brad Meltzer

Bill Thompson

Do you have a favorite conspiracy theory?

History is replete with them. To start a debate all you have to do is say “John Wilkes Booth” or “DB Cooper” or “JFK.”

And sometimes it takes someone with the analytical mind of a great fiction writer to unravel them.

Get your copy of Brad Meltzer’s book

And so it was in 2013 that bestselling author Brad Meltzer published a book called History Decoded, In which he set out to find the truth behind the ten greatest conspiracy theories of all time.

So Are you ready for some debunking? Here now, from 2013, Brad Meltzer .

Brad Meltzer is 54. He and his family live in Florida. His most recent novel was 2022’s The Lightning Rod.

Wendy Wasserstein’s Guide to Slothful Living

Bill Thompson

About 20 years ago, the New York public library assembled a list of books on the seven deadly sins.

One of which, of course, is sloth.

But if you’ve always been a little fuzzy about exactly what sloth is playwright essayist and satirist Wendy wasserstein to the rescue.

You may remember wasserstein best for her 1989 play The Heidi Chronicles, which won a Tony award and a Pulitzer prize.

Her 2005 book Sloth is a parody of self-help books, with detailed instructions on how you too can acquire sloth.

I interviewed Wendy several times, but this was the most fun one. So here now from 2005. Wendy Wasserstein.

Wendy Wasserstein died in 2006, She was 55.

Dick Williams: Crafting World Series Champions

Bill Thompson

Only a few Major League baseball managers get their teams to the World Series. Even fewer get their teams to more than one World Series. And only a handful have gotten three teams to the Series.

Meet Dick Williams, who guided the Boston Red Sox to the pennant in 1967, the Oakland A’s to three championships in the ’70s and the San Diego Padres to the National League title in 1984.

Along the way, Williams earned a reputation as a hard driving manager who expected nothing but the highest performances from his teams.

Get your copy of Dick Williams’s book

It was perhaps natural then that his 1990 memoir would be called No More Mr. Nice Guy. That’s when I had the chance to meet him. So here now from 1990. Dick Williams

Dick Williams was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2008. He died in 2011, at the age of 82.