A Williams Life

Poet, performer, and educator Mayda del Valle '00 was born and raised on Chicago's South Side and is now the city's Poet Laureate.

Del Valle found early acclaim on the stage. At age 23, she became the Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and went on to win the National Poetry Slam that same year — the youngest poet, and the first Latina, to do so. She appeared in six episodes of HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and was a contributing writer and original cast member of the Tony Award-winning Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. 

Her work has since been featured in The New York Times among other publications, and Smithsonian Magazine named her one of America's Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences. In 2009, she performed at the White House at the invitation of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Del Valle is the author of two poetry collections, A South Side Girl's Guide to Love and Sex and The University of Hip-Hop. She received Williams' Bicentennial Medal in 2008.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

This episode features Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff. Her most recent book, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, drew wide acclaim on release and landed on most 2022 best-of lists — including the Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Books of the Year and President Obama's Favorite Books of 2022.

Schiff has also written about another founding father, Benjamin Franklin — fitting timing, as we mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Her book A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America won the George Washington Book Prize and inspired the Apple TV+ miniseries Franklin, starring Michael Douglas. She recently explored the founders' legacy again in a New York Times essay imagining what they might make of the current administration.

Her other books include The Witches: Salem, 1692, the widely praised Cleopatra: A Life — now translated into 30 languages — and the Pulitzer-winning Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov). Across her career, Schiff has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and recognition from the French Ministry of Culture as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

You can learn more about Stacy Schiff and her work at stacyschiff.com.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

This episode features a conversation between Gordon Earle '75 and his classmate and close friend, Kurt Van Steemburg, when Kurt was in hospice with only a few weeks to live.

Gordon recorded the episode because he was struck, in the weeks and months leading up to their conversation, by how willing Kurt was to talk openly and honestly about his life and what lay ahead.  It was a conversation that was serious but also filled with smiles, joy and laughter.

In talking with Kurt, Gordon was reminded of The Last Lecture: Lessons in Living, a powerful and deeply moving memoir written by Carnegie Mellow professor Randy Pausch after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; the same disease that took Kurt’s life.  Whether you knew Kurt or not, those who listen to this episode will be moved by Kurt’s observations on living a good life, as well as preparing for its end with wisdom, courage, humor and grace. Gordon also felt his conversation with Kurt provided valuable lessons on how to cope with his own mortality.

Gordon first met Kurt in the fall of 1971 in Morgan West, their freshman entry. Little did he know that those in the entry would remain close friends over the next half century.

During that time, Gordon and other members of the Class of ’75 also became close to the spouses of their classmates, especially Jinx, Kurt’s wife of 50 years, who joined the conversation.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

Shoshana Clark Stewart ’02, President of Turquoise Mountain, reflects on her journey from Williams—where she majored in astrophysics and led her rowing team to three national championships—to Afghanistan, and the lessons she's learned from leading an international NGO in some of the world’s most turbulent places.

Shoshana began as an intern at Turquoise Mountain, which supports artisans and communities to protect and revitalize their heritage. Working directly with communities in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and the Levant, the organization has trained thousands of artisans, restored more than 170 historic buildings, and provided primary healthcare to over 250,000 patients.

Shoshana discusses the realities of operating in conflict zones, including the decision to remain in Kabul after the Taliban recaptured the city in 2021, and how craft traditions provide income, dignity, and continuity in times of upheaval. The conversation also explores leadership, resilience, and her advice to young graduates searching for meaningful work.

Williams College awarded Shoshana a Bicentennial Medal in 2018.

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00:00 From New York to Williams
06:10 The Zambia Eclipse That Changed Her Life
11:30 Rowing, Discipline & “I Choose”
14:15 Teaching Before Turquoise Mountain
16:45 Arriving in Afghanistan as an Intern
22:45 Reviving Vanishing Afghan Crafts
29:20 Why Cultural Heritage Matters in Crisis
37:10 The Fall of Kabul & Choosing to Stay
43:30 Expanding to Jordan, Palestine & Myanmar
1:01:00 From Intern to President — Leadership & Advice

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

Dr. Toby Cosgrove ’62 reflects on a remarkable life that took him from upstate New York to Williams, through medical school at UVA, into the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and ultimately to the helm of the Cleveland Clinic. A renowned cardiovascular surgeon who performed more than 22,000 operations and later served as CEO of one of the world’s leading medical centers, Cosgrove shares stories from his military service, his decades in medicine and leadership, and his lifelong experience managing dyslexia. This episode offers an intimate look at the journey behind his extraordinary career.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

In this final episode of A Williams Life before the Class of 1975's 50th reunion, host Gordon Earle is interviewed by Jon Earle, his producer, nephew and fellow Williams alum ('09). Gordon reflects on his positive experience talking with fellow classmates, most of whom he didn't know, or knew only slightly during his undergraduate years. He discusses their lives and legacies, and how they were shaped by their time at Williams—and beyond.

Gordon also reflects on his family legacy at the College. His father, Harry Earle ('47), had his initial years at Williams interrupted when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and flew 50 missions as a B-17 pilot in Italy during WWII before returning to the College to graduate. Gordon also talks about his uncle, John Earle, a multi-sport star athlete at the College, who graduated from Williams in 1941, but tragically died in the Pacific theater of the war. In addition to his father and uncle, Gordon's two brothers (David and John) attended Williams, as did two of David's sons (Jon and Matthew). Gordon also discusses his own years at Willams, including memories of this favorite professors and the impact they had on his life.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

This episode of A Williams Life features a conversation with Jackie Laughlin, who was known during her undergraduate years at the College as Jackie Meadows.  And that's one of the aspects of Jackie's life that makes her time at Williams so unique.  Because she was not only a student, like most of her classmates, but also—during her senior year—a wife and mother. Although strongly encouraged by her father to attend either medical or law school following Williams, Jackie instead opted to pursue a master's degree in education and counseling at Howard University. She then embarked on a long and varied career in public service, with a specific focus on women's health, while serving as a midwife in various locations around the country. Jackie is also a trained archivist, who has recorded many stories as part of what she calls her oral history collections, including some that she labels "Conversations with Wise Women." Additionally, she's engaged in a variety of other pursuits as a scholar, artist, poet, writer, and activist—all of which are discussed during the podcast.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

This episode of A Williams Life will take us on a journey from the banks of the Mississippi, to Williamstown, to the bond trading world of Wall Street, and finally to the dazzling universe of artificial intelligence. Our guide will be Jon Myers, a self-taught inventor and entrepreneur, who has spent many years founding and investing in technology companies designed to, in his words, “make the world a better place.” In recent years, Jon has devoted a great deal of time and energy focusing on ways to optimize artificial intelligence while mindful of the challenges, even dangers, it poses to humankind. Prior to joining the ranks of tech entrepreneurs, he spent 15 years on Wall Street immersed in the culture that Michael Lewis described so memorably in his 1989 book, Liars Poker.   

📍 00:00 – Introduction
📍 01:00 – Growing Up in Small-Town America
📍 06:30 – Williams College: A Culture Shock
📍 14:00 – The Wild Days of Wall Street
📍 19:30 – A Life-Changing Medical Crisis
📍 27:00 – Reinventing Himself as a Tech Entrepreneur
📍 35:00 – Dickinson Corp: The Nanotech Revolution
📍 38:00 – Artificial Intelligence
📍 50:00 – Silicon Valley's Rightward Shift?
📍 56:00 – Final Thoughts: Innovation & Uncertainty

Recorded at CDM Studios in New York City in January 2025.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

This episode of A Williams Life features a conversation with Reggie Garrett, a Seattle-based singer/songwriter, who plays a wide range of music, including folk, blues, Celtic and more, with individual musicians as well as his band The SnakeOil Peddlers. One reviewer noted his “mellifluous voice reminiscent of Bill Withers or Terry Callier that draws you into the song rather than putting you off.” On A Williams Life, Reggie talks about his life on and off the stage, including growing up in Cincinnati with seven brothers and sisters, life as a starving artist in New York, and, eventually, his experience teaching in a special program for high school dropouts. And through it all—music.

00:00 Introduction
00:56 Childhood in Cincinnati
06:20 Discovering Music and Artistic Pursuits
10:40 High School and College
19:41 Williams College
28:03 Starving Artist in New York
35:23 Returning to Music
36:06 Teaching
37:51 Impactful Moments with Students
38:55 Musical Evolution and Style
40:25 Acoustic Guitar
41:42 Influences and Inspirations
43:19 Songwriting and Themes
45:21 "York's Lament"
51:39 "A Woman's Work is Never Done"
55:52 "All That Bleeds"
01:00:08 "The Road Taken" (with Christine Gunn)
01:07:05 Reflections and Future Plans

Recorded at CDM Studios in New York City and Q’s Recording Studios in Tacoma, WA in August 2024.

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)

Polly Wood-Holland is a scenic artist and designer for film, TV, and theater. She's worked on many iconic Broadway productions, including The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot, and Mary Poppins. On this episode, we discuss the projects, mentors, and serendipitous moments that have shaped her career, as well as her experiences with legendary figures such as Paul Newman and Mike Nichols.

00:00 Introduction
01:08 Experience at Williams
04:55 Mentorship and Early Career Challenges
09:58 Working with Tony Walton on "The Wiz"
22:15 Mechanical Wolves and Practical Effects on "Wolfen"
27:58 Learning from Industry Legends
30:27 Moving to Vermont and Starting a Mural Business
35:48 Returning to New York
36:50 Kanye West's Coachella Project
38:36 Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Camp
43:03 Broadway Highlights
44:23 Transition to Movies and TV
46:15 "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel"
50:06 Reflections and Future Plans

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Senior Producer: Jon Earle ('09)