Author: Bill Thompson

Ed Nixon

Bill Thompson
Ed Nixon in 1968

When Edward Nixon was born in 1931, his older brother Richard was already 17. And Ed, along with middle son Don, looked up to their studious and serious big brother.

Ed Worked on his brothers campaigns, but never got further involved in politics, instead choosing what turned out to be a very successful career as a geologist.

After Richard Nixon’s death in 1994, his brothers Don and Ed felt an urgency to write the story they felt needed to be told about the family. But with Don Nixon in failing health himself, the task fell to Ed.

In 2009, he wrote a book called The Nixons: A Family Portrait.

So here now, from 2009, Ed Nixon.

Ed Nixon died in 2019. He was 88.

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Julie Nixon Eisenhower

George McGovern

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Maureen Reagan

Bill Thompson
Photo by John Mathew Smith

Born in 1941, Maureen was the eldest child of Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman.
By her late teens, Maureen was becoming active in politics. She later played roles in her father’s presidential campaigns, and ran for Congress herself.

President Ronald W. Reagan

In 1989, just a few months after Ronald Reagan left office, Maureen wrote an admiring book called First Father, First Daughter. That’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1989, Maureen Reagan.

Maureen Reagan died of cancer in 2001. She was 60.

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Caroline Kennedy

Margaret Hoover

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Hume Cronyn

Bill Thompson

Sometimes if you’re an actor, it’s helpful to not have a specific look about you. Early In his career, a casting director told Hume Cronyn that he didn’t look like anything, but that may have helped him achieve the longevity many actors only dream of

The Canadian-born Cronyn had a decades-long career in the theater, movies, television and radio. Not to mention a 52-year marriage to actress Jessica Tandy

In 1991, the then-80-year-old Cronyn wrote his autobiography a book he called A Terrible Liar.

So here now from 1991. Hume Cronyn.

After 52 years of marriage, Jessica Tandy died in 1994. Two years later Hume Cronyn married Susan Cooper, his old friend who had persuaded him to write his autobiography. He died in 2003 just a month before his 92nd birthday.

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Maureen O’Hara
Mickey Rooney

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Suze Orman

Bill Thompson

We all know about the laws of nature or the laws of physics but are there laws that govern what happens to money?

So here now from 2003. Suze Orman

There most certainly are says longtime personal finance expert Suze Orman, and if you are ignorant of those laws, you are bound to break them and suffer the consequences she says.

I had the chance to interview her several times over period of years as she rose to national prominence, including this conversationa bout her book The Laws of Money, The Lessons of Life.

Suze Orman is now 72 and currently hosts the “Suze Orman Women & Money” podcast.

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Barbara Corcoran
Tony Robbins

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Dean Murphy

Bill Thompson
Robert J. Fisch

The September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington were to this generation what Pearl Harbor was to our parents and grandparents.

And as the histories of those events are written, it is essential to have contemporary eyewitness accounts.

But in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attack a New York Times reporter wanted to go beyond just simple eyewitness accounts and assemble an entire oral history of that day.

So in the months that followed, Dean Murphy painstakingly assembled an oral history which was published one year after the attack. His book was called September 11: An Oral History.

Now, while the descriptions in this interview are not in and of themselves graphic, the overall subject matter may be disturbing to some.

So here now, from September 2002, Dean Murphy.

Dean Murphy is now Associate Managing Editor at The New York Times.

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Lisa Beamer
Richard Picciotto

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Janet Evanovich

Bill Thompson
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Over the last three decades, millions of people around the world have enjoyed a series of novels about a fictional amateur bounty hunter from New Jersey named Stephanie Plum.

Stephanie is the creation of writer Janet Evanovich. In the 1980s, she was a stay-at-home mom, but when her kids were nearing the age at which they would be leaving for college, she decided to try something new — like, writing.

She started out as a romance writer, and achieved considerable success in that genre.

But after several years, she realized that what she liked best about writing was the action sequences in her books, and their humor.

So in 1994, Evanovich wrote her first mystery, a book called One For the Money . It introduced Stephanie Plum and her offbeat circle of friends and family.

It was an almost instant hit, and gave rise to a series that continues to this day. There are now 30 books in the Stephanie Plum series.

And this is where it all began. So here now, from 1994, my interview with the newly published Janet Evanovich.

Janet Evanovich celebrated her 80th birthady in April. Her most recent Stephanie Plum book, the 30th in the series, was published this year.

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Patricia Cornwell
Mary Higgins Clark

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Conrad Dobler

Bill Thompson

The NFL’s regular season begins tomorrow. By next February we’ll have another Super Bowl champion, And another year’s worth of memorable plays and thrilling endings.

But for today, let’s hit rewind and go back to an interview I did in 1988, with a 10-year NFL veteran, three-time Pro Bowl player, known for his alleged underhanded tactics on the field.

During his six years with the Cardinals, two with the Saints, and two with the Bills, his opponents often referred to Conrad Dobler as a “dirty” player.

So in 1988, when Dobler wrote his memoir, what do you think he called it? Its title is They Call Me Dirty.

So here now, from 1988, Conrad Dobler.

Conrad Dobler died last February. He was 72.

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Dick Butkus
Sam Huff

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Alvin Toffler

Bill Thompson
Photo by Vern Evans

Being a successful futurist does not require some psychic ability, or a stack of tarot cards, or a crystal ball. Wha it does Involve is the ability to extrapolate from current conditions to map out what the future may hold

And one of the most successful, and influential, futurists of our time was Alvin Toffler.

His 1970 book Future Shock, and his 1980 bestseller The Third Wave, set millions of readers on a new path of thinking.

Toffler accurately forecast developments such as the internet, personal computers, and cloning.

In 1990, Toffler produced another book that, in 30 years’ time, has proven to be as accurate as his first two books. It was called PowerShift, and it outlined what we now recognize as the age of information.

As you listen to this, if you’re old enough, try to remember where you were and what you were doing in 1990. Then judge for yourself if Toffler’s forecast was accurate.

So here now, from 1990, Alvin Toffler.

Alvin Toffler died im 2016. He was 87.

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John Sculley
Al Neuharth

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Jorge Ramos

Bill Thompson

For many years, Walter Cronkite was America’s favorite, and most trusted, television news anchor. Today, there’s a man known as the Walter Cronkite of Latino Americans

His name is Jorge Ramos, and he has been anchoring the news on Univision since 1987.

After his 50th birthday, when he realized that he had spent exactly half of his life in his native Mexico and half in the United States, Ramos became a US citizen..

But as he explained in his 2002 autobiography, No Borders, Ramos never felt completely at home in either country.

And that conversation that we had about his book more than 20 years ago seems as relevant today as it did then .

So here now, from 2002, Jorge Ramos.

Jorge Ramos is 65. He’s been Univision anchor since 1987. He lives in Miami.

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Jim Lehrer
Vicente Fox

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Dan Ariely

Bill Thompson
Photo by Yael Zur for Tel Aviv University Alumni Organization

How many times a day do you lie, cheat, or steal?

If you’re like most people, you might say, with some pride, you never lie, cheat or steal.

That’s a lie.

Psychology and behavioral economics professor Dan Ariely says we all do it. Thing is, we almost all do it just a little, not enough to ruin our self-image of being a good, honest person.

In his 2012 book The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty Ariely explained the science behind our misbehaviors.

So here now, from 2012, Dan Ariely.

Dan Ariely, who is 56 now, has taught at Duke University since 2008.

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Neil de Greasse Tyson
Jim Bakker

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