Did you know Brooklyn College offered free admission for outstanding students in the 1950s? Did you know freshman students were treated to visiting lectures from Ayn Rand, Robert Frost, and Margaret Mead? Such was college life for Barry Menikoff.

In this final interview about Barry’s memoir, Stone Mother, Aaron asks his dad why he chose Brooklyn College. The two have a lengthy conversation about the trials of getting a college education in twenty-first century America. Barry also explains why he refused to learn about Christian art.

And about resorts in the Catskill mountains . . . this is where Barry worked to feed himself as a college student. Such resorts were frequented by Jewish families denied entrance to other, popular East Coast resorts. A dark day in American history, and another chapter in Barry’s life.