Author: Bill Thompson

Sy Montgomery

Bill Thompson
Photo: Larry D. Moore

We all know what dolphins look like, right?

Well maybe we don’t know what all dolphins look like. Have you ever heard of Pink dolphins? Shape-shifting, human-like pink dolphins?

Renowned naturalist Sy Montgomery had heard of pink dolphins, deep in the Amazon River basin in Brazil. So she went to check them out.

What resulted was her 2000 book The Journey of the Pink Dolphins. That’s when she and I had one of our many conversations over the years.

So here now, from 2000, Sy Montgomery

Sy Montgomery is 64. She lives in New Hampshire.

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Terri Irwin
Jane Goodall

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Rachel Robinson

Bill Thompson
Photo: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com

A few days ago Ketanji Brown Jackson made history as she was confirmed as the first black female supreme Court Justice.

But 75 years ago today another African American made history, in a way that may have been nearly as significant.

On April 15th. 1947 Jackie Robinson took the field as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the first black man to play in the Major leagues.

And Jackie Robinson was no token. He was voted Rrookie of the Year that year and was the National League’s Most Valuable Player two years later.

By his side during his historic baseball career was his wife, his college sweetheart, Rachel

In the decades after Jackie Robinson’s death in 1972, Rachel Robinson has been a prominent andd influential active and leader in her own right.

In 1996 Rachel Robinson published a book about her late husband and their life together and that’s when I have the chance to meet her, the eve of the 50th anniversary of Robinson’s Major League debut.

So here now from 1996. Rachel Robinson

Rachel Robinson will be 100 years old in July. She lives in Connecticut.

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Joe Garagiola
Hank Aaron

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Jose Eber

Bill Thompson

Do you remember the 1970s TV show Charlie’s Angels? And do you remember one of the stars,Farrah Fawcett and her magnificent iconic hairstyle?

If you do then you know the work of stylist Jose Eber.

During the ’70s and ’80s, Eber established himself as one of the premier hair stylist to the stars.

And today he is known for his luxury salons as well as a line of hair care products.

I met him in 1990 when he published his second book called Beyond Hair.

So here now from 1990 Jose Eber.

Jose Eber is 72 now — and still making women beautiful.

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Anita Roddick

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Stephen Collins

Bill Thompson
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ

For 11 seasons on the TV series 7th Heaven, Stephen Collins played The Rev. Eric Camden, a Protestant minister who headed a family of seven.

But Collins had a long and impressive acting resume before that, including TV shows and movies. He was in the first Star Trek movie in 1979.

But when I met him in 1994, it was to talk about a novel he had written, a thriller called Eye Contact.

And given the legal troubles Collins faced a decade later the subject matter now sounds a little problematic. More on that later.

So here now, from 1994, Stephen Collins.

Stephen Collins is 74 now. His career ended in 2014, after he admitted to “inappropriate sexual conduct” with three underage girls.

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William Shatner
Goldie Hawn

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Jane Byrne

Bill Thompson
Photo: Alan Light

For 21 years, from the mid-1950s to the mid ’70s, mayor Richard j. Daly ran the city of Chicago. And I mean he ran the city.

One member of Daley’s cabinet was a woman named Jane Byrne, who was Chicago’s Commissioner of Consumer Sales.

Not long after Mayor Daley’s death in 1976 Byrne left her city job, and ran for mayor herself in 1979. And against the odds, Byrne won. She became not only Chicago’s first female mayor, but the first woman to be elected mayor of any major U.S. city.

But 4 years later, when she ran for reelection, the tide that had swept her into office swept her back out again.

In 1992, Jane Byrne wrote a political memoir, and that’s when I have the chance to meet her.

So here now, from 1992, Jane Byrne.

Jane Byrne died in 2014. She was 81.

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Robert Fulghum

Bill Thompson
Photo: Petr Novák, Wikipedia

Back around 1988 or ’89, you could hardly go anywhere without seeing a little book written by a former Unitarian minister called All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

Readers all over the world were struck by the simplicity and elegance and wisdom of that little book.

That man was Robert Fulghum, and his book stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for two years.

Here’s how he summed up the book when he and I first talked about it in 1988:

A year later, we met again, to talk about his sequel, a book called It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It.

So here now, from 1989, Robert Fulghum.

Robert Fulghum will be 85 in June. He lives in Utah and the Greek island of Crete.

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Judith Martin

Bill Thompson

Where has everybody’s manners gone? Doesn’t anybody have good manners anymore ?

For over 40 years, syndicated columnist Judith Martin — better known as Miss Manners — has been helping people navigate the often confusing Waters of good manners .

In her polite but firm way, Martin answers readers questions about what constitutes good manners and good etiquette in today’s world.

In 1990, Martin wrote a book called Miss Manners Guide For The Turn of Tthe Millennium. And that was when I had one of many conversations that I’ve had with her over the years.

And as we get into this interview, keep in mind that this was in 1990, before the internet, before instant messages, before cell phones, voicemail, and whatever else has come along since.

So here now, from 1990, Judith Martin.

Judith Martin is 83 now. She lives in Washington, DC.

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Alexander Haig

Bill Thompson

Today is March 30th, and it was 41 years ago today that a young man tried to kill President Ronald Reagan.

And one of the most controversial things that happened that day happened to a man with a long and distinguished military and public service career, general. Alexander Haig.

Haig was a graduate of West point m. He served in Korea, served in Vietnam, earned the silver Star and the purple heart. And by 1973 was the youngest four-star general ever in the US army.

In 1973, Haig became President Richard Nixon’s, Chief of staff just as the Watergate scandal was turning up to full boil.

In fact, many say that Haig was instrumental in persuading Nixon to resign the presidency in 1974.

In 1980, after being elected president in a landslide, Ronald Reagan chose Haig as his secretary of State. And it was the following March 30th, the day. John Hinckley Jr. Tried to assassinate the president, that Haig made a comment that will haunt him.

In 1992, Haig wrote a book called inner circles. And that’s when I have the chance to meet him. So here now, from 1992, general Alexander Haig.

Alexander Haig died in 2010. He was 85.

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Frank Warren

Bill Thompson
Frank Warren with Bill’s daughter Krystal

I’m not sure Frank Warren understood what he was unleashing in January, 2005, when he initiated his PostSecret project .

What started as something of a social experiment, encouraging people to send him their innermost secrets on a postcard, turned into something way beyond that.

It wasn’t long before Frank, a mild-mannered man from suburban Washington, DC started receiving thousands of postcards, from all over the world .

In 2005 he published the first book. A collection of those postcards, called simply PostSecret. That’s when I first met him.

By 2007, Warren was on his fourth best-selling book, and that’s when we did the interview you’re about to hear. His latest book was called A Lifetime of Secrets .

So here now, from 2007, Frank Warren.

Franmk Warren’s POstSecret.com still collects and curates postcards.

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Another conversation with Fran k Warren

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Shere Hite

Bill Thompson

Human sexuality has been widely studied, researched, and written about over the years, most notably, perhaps, by Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson .

In the 1970s and ’80s, there was a trilogy of books about sexuality by another researcher that drew widespread praise and criticism. It was called The Hite Report, by researcher Shere Hite.

Much of the controversy centered on the fact that Hite was a feminist who drew upon political and philosophical viewpoints into her work.

In 1988 she completed her trilogy with a volume called Women And Love. And that’s when I first met her, during a whirlwind book tour that included some controversial stops, including TV’s Phil Donahue show.

So here now, from 1988, Shere Hite.

Shere Hite died in 2020. She was 77.

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Betty Friedan
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