Activists

Nien Cheng

Bill Thompson

Nien Cheng was born into a well-to-do Chinese family in 1915. Her family was able to give her a college education, including post-graduate work at the London School of economics. That’s where she met her future husband.

But the time she spent in Great Britain may have been a time bomb of sorts.

In 1966, at the age of 51, Nien Cheng, by then a widow, was arrested and accused by the Chinese Communist government of being a Britiah spy.

For nearly seven years Nien Cheng was imprisoned and sometimes tortured.

After her eventual release, she came to the United States.

In the late 1980s, she wrote a gripping Memoir of her experiences, called Life and Death in Shanghai.

And that’s when I first met her.

So here now, from 1987, Nien Cheng.

Nien Cheng died in 2009. She was 94.

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Dr. Benjamin Spock

Bill Thompson

Perhaps no one has ever had a bigger impact on an entire generation of children than Dr. Benjamin Spock.

His book Baby and Child Care was published in 1946, just as the first baby boomers were being born. And his calm, reassuring tone quickly found an audience among new parents. Dr. Spock became the go-to guy for advice on child rearing.

Then, in the late 1960s, Dr. Spock became known for something else – his political activism. He even ran for president in 1972.

But Benjamin Spock had long resisted writing his autobiography. Finally, in the late 1980s, his second wife, Mary Morgan, persuaded him it was time. So, with her help, he finally wrote the book called Spock on Spock.

And that’s when I met him. So here now, from 1989, Dr Benjamin Spock.

Dr. Benjamin Spock died in 1998. He was 94 years old.

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Cesar Millan

Bill Thompson

A dog may be man’s best friend, but many of us unconsciously do things that can undermine that relationship, says Cesar Millan, otherwise known as The Dog Whisperer.

When I met him a 2006, his show was just nicely taking off, he had a large following, and was so very eager to talk about the dogs he had known.

So here now, from 2006, Cesar Millan.

Cesar Millan will be 52 in August. And he remains active in dog training, as well as advocacy for abandoned and abused animals.

Bobby Seale

Bill Thompson

55 years ago African Americans were making historic gains in civil rights. But much work was still to be done.

That year, 1966, Bobby Seale and his longtime friend Huey Newton created a new organization they called the Black Panther Party.

In 1968 Seal made a name for himself during anti-Vietnam War protests outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

It was not his first run-in with the law and it would not be his last.

In the early 1970s Seale wrote a book about the Black Panther Party, called Seize the Time. After going out of print for several years, it was republished in 1991. And that’s what I met him.

So here now, from 1991, Bobby Seale.

Bobby Seale is 84 now. Since 2013, Seale has been seeking to produce a screenplay he wrote based on Seize the Time.

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Chris Costner Sizemore

Bill Thompson

Today doctors call it “dissociative identity disorder” but when Chris Costner Sizemore was diagnosed and treated for it over 60 years ago, it was simply called “multiple personality disorder.”

The movie “TheThree Faces of EVe” came out in 1957, changing Sizemore’s name to EveWhite. Her “alters” were Eve Black .. and Jane. Actress Joanne Woodward won an Oscar for her portrayal of Eve.

It later came out that Sizemore had something more like 22 personaliities, not just three.

I mer in 1989, when she wrote a book called A Mind of My Own. IT told the story of how, with years of psychiatric help, she had integrated her several personalities.

So here now, from 1989. Chris Costner Sizemore.

Chris Costner Sizemore died in 2016. She was 89.

Candace Gingrich

Bill Thompson

It’s not always easy to babysit money of a very famous politician.

Photo: dbking

But, perhaps, especially if you’re a lesbian and your brother is one of the nation’s leading right-wing conservatives.

In 1994 a republican wave took over Congress, and Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House.

And suddenly, his half-sister Candace — who pronounces the family name “Ging-rick” — found themselves, as they later described it, as an “accidental activist.”

I met them in 1996, just as the issue of same-sex marriage was being debated in Congress and the courts. You’ll hear about that in this interview.

You may also hear some terminology which sounds a little dated. The term “LGBTQ” wasnot yet in wide usage, and as a result, is not heard here.

So here now, from 1996, Candace Gingrich:

Candace Gingrich celebrated their 55th birthday last week, and is married to Kelly Cassidy, a member of the Illinois state legislature.

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Gloria Allred

Bill Thompson

She is one of America’s most high-profile lawyers.

In a career that began in the 1970s, Gloria Allred has become especially known for taking on cases involving sexual harassment and women’s rights, especially in the workplace.

In 2006, she looked back on her career in a book that she admits may be the closest she will ever come to writing a full-fledged autobiography.

So here now, from 2006 Gloria Allred:

Gloria Allred will be 80 in July. And still practices law.

Patty Duke

Bill Thompson

Well before her 20th birthday, Patty Duke had already won an Oscar and was star of her own TV series.

Patty Duke won the Oscar for best supporting actress in The 1962 movie The Miracle Worker, which was the captain from the Broadway play in which she also starred.

On the heels of that success came her TV series, the Patty Duke Show, in which she played the dual roles of typical American teemager Patty and her identical cousin from England, Cathy.

Later Patty Duke moved on to more sophisticated, adult roles, including a part in the movie Valley of the Dolls.

But all along the way, she suffered from severe, undiagnosed bipolar disorder, Exacerbated by various forms of abuse.

In the early 1980s Duke finally got the help she needed, And a few years later, she wrote a memoir entitled Call Me Anna. That’s when I met her.

Now it’s important to keep in mind that this interview is 33 years old, and many advances have been made not only in the treatment of the disorder, but how we refer to it.

So here now, from 1988, Patty Duke.

Patty Duke died in 2016. She was 69.

Margaret Cho

Bill Thompson
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Margaret Cho rose to prominence in the mid 1990s, with her TV sitcom All-American Girl. Since then, she’s established herself as not only a talented actress but as a standup comic, fashion designer, and social activist.

I’ve met her and interviewed her twice, about her first two books. This interview was the second one we did, and as you’ll hear, her views seem as current today as they did the day we talked, 16 years ago.

So here now, from 2006, Margaret Cho:

Margaret Cho is 52 now, She lives near Atlanta.

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James Cameron

Bill Thompson

WARNING: What you’re abiyt ti gear is a true story, told by the suvivor of a violent and horrisying attack. You need to know that some of the descriptions are graphic, some of the words used are offensive.

James Cameron was born in 1914 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. When he was a child, his family moved to Marion, Indiana.

It was there, in the summer of 1930, that James Cameron survived a lynching attempt.

He was a suspect in a robbery-and-murder case in Marion, Indiana along with two older teenagers. Both of them were lynched, and died. Cameron was to be the third victim of the Ku Klux Klan-led mob.

They tied a noose around Cameron’s neck, and death appeared imminent. But just as he was about to be hanged, a mysterious female voice was heard, saying Cameron was innocent.

A star local football player then stepped up, removed the noose and saved Cameron.

He did do prison time, but lived to tell about it.

I met him in the spring of 1994, when he wrote a book about his near-lynching.

So here now, from 1994, James Cameron.

In later years, Cameron became a civil rights activist and founded three chapters of the NAACP in Indiana.

James Cameron died in 2006. He was 92.