Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

Monona Rossol is a chemist, artist, and industrial hygienist. The president of Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing health and safety services to the arts, Monona is also is the Health and Safety Director for Local 829 of the United Scenic Artists, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and has lectured throughout North America and Europe. In this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI, Monona examines the myriad public health challenges presented by the coronavirus and takes your calls.

All around the world, people wander through flea markets in search of lost treasure. The Chelsea flea market, sprawled over several blocks within an old Manhattan garage, holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many such collectors. Visitors can trawl through booths crammed with vintage dresses, rare books, ancient swords, glass eyeballs, Afghan rugs, West African fetish dolls or whatever else finds its way onto one of the many display tables. In his latest book “The Golden Flea: A Story of Obsession and Collecting,” Michael Rips takes readers on a trip through this strange but intriguing world. Join us for a trip to the Chelsea flea, long may it live on in our memory (and Brooklyn) in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

As jazz enters its second century it is reasserting itself as dynamic and relevant, according to Boston Globe jazz writer and Emerson College professor Bill Beuttler. Bill’s book “Make It New: Reshaping Jazz in the 21st Century” explores the new ways in which jazz is engaging with society through the vivid biographies and music of Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer, Rudresh Mahanthappa, The Bad Plus, Miguel Zenón, Anat Cohen, Robert Glasper and Esperanza Spalding. Join us for a look at how some of these influential contemporary jazz artists are approaching the idiom as a force for social change, prompted by developments such as the Black Lives Matter, #MeToo movements and the election of Donald Trump in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Jethro Tull’s manager Derek Sutton called Howard Bloom “the greatest press agent that rock and roll has ever known.” Howard was science nerd who knew nothing about pop when he founded the biggest PR firm in the music industry, representing legends like Michael Jackson, Prince, Bob Marley, Bette Midler, Billy Joel, Billy Idol, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Queen, Kiss, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Run DMC, ZZ Top, Joan Jett and Chaka Khan. But despite his unexpected status as a music mogul, Howard Bloom saw himself as a man on a unique mission—a search for the gods inside of all of us. Howard’s new memoir “Einstein, Michael Jackson & Me: A Search for Soul in the Power Pits of Rock and Roll” is the story of his scientific expedition into the dark underbelly of fame where new myths and movements are made. Join us for a conversation with a true original in this installment of Leonard Lopate on WBAI.

Where is the best place to find life beyond Earth? We often look to Mars as the most promising site in our solar system, but recent scientific missions have revealed that some of the most habitable real estate may actually lie farther away. Beneath the frozen crusts of several of the small, ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn lurk vast oceans that may have been in existence for as long as Earth. Could there be organisms living in their depths? Kevin Peter Hand’s new book “Alien Oceans: The Search for Life in the Depths of Space” reveals the science behind the quest to find out. Join us for a look at what we know about life on other planets in this installment of Leonard Lopate on WBAI.

Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was an abstract artist before the term existed—a visionary trailblazing figure who, inspired by spiritualism, modern science and the riches of the natural world around her, created a series of huge, colorful, sensual works without precedent in painting. Klint’s first abstract painting is dated 1906, four years before that of Wassily Kandinsky. So, why was she ignored? Halina Dryschka’s new documentary “Beyond the Visible – Hilma af Klint” not only explores the life and craft of Hilma af Klint, but the role accorded to women in art history. Join us for a reconsideration of art history and Hilma af Klint’s place in it with Halina Dryschka and writer and critic Julia Voss in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

It's the unmistakable falsetto leads, lilting harmonies and deep backing vocals set to a street corner rhythm that created the unmistakable sounds of songs like the 1959 Little Anthony and the Imperials hit “Tears On My Pillow” or the 1963 Crystals chart-topper “Da Doo Ron Ron.” Fresh from their appearance in Brent Wilson’s new documentary “Streetlight Haronies” on the history of doo-wop, La La Brooks of The Crystals and Sammy Strain of Little Anthony and the Imperials join the director for a discussion of how the genre influenced their legendary careers in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is unique in American life. Few other civic organizations are as old or as large. None is as controversial. It is in no small part thanks to the NRA that US gun laws differ so wildly from that of every other developed nation. But, as Frank Smyth describes in his new book “The NRA: The Unauthorized History,” the NRA has evolved from an organization which supported most government-led gun control actions for the first 100 years of its 150-year history to one that resists any attempt to restrict firearm sales. Join us for a discussion of gun control regulation in America and the organization fighting the hardest to prevent it, in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Success didn’t happen overnight for Tofurkey founder and CEO Seth Tibbott. It took 15 years of consistent failure. In his new book “In Search of the Wild Tofurky: How a Business Misfit Pioneered Plant-Based Foods Before They Were Cool” Seth describes how as a self-described hippie with no business training grew a $2,500 startup into a global brand and helped bring plant-based foods into the mainstream in the process. Join us for a look at an unlikely success story in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.

Do you assume the products you buy, the food you eat, the medicines you take, and the cars you drive are safe? Think again. We're exposed on a daily basis to life-threatening hazards of which we're often unaware. From defective airbags that can explode and kill us to poisonous additives in food, we're often the unknowing victims of corporate malfeasance and shamefully incompetent government oversight. In his new book “Murder, Inc.: How Unregulated Industry Kills or Injures Thousands of Americans Every Year...And What You Can Do About It,” Dr. Gerald M. Goldhaber examines the outcomes when corporate profits trump public safety. Join us for this discussion of capitalism run amok in this installment of Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI.