Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

“In recent years, some scientists have moved from the study of the organic tissue to the wholesale creation of artificial brain matter,” reports Matthew Shaer in his New York Times Magazine cover story on some of the latest in baffling new brain research. “Grown from human stem cells reprogrammed to act like neurons, brain organoids, or ‘mini brains,' can mimic some of the functions of their biological counterparts.” This is just one of many mind-bending neurologic findings on the cutting edge of science that are described in Matthew’s story. Join us for a glimpse from the front lines of brain research with Matthew Shaer of the New York Times Magazine in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

A celebrated Russian journalist and author during WWII, after Vasily Grossman completed his masterpiece “Life and Fate” which sharply criticized the Soviet system, the KGB confiscated his manuscript. The book was eventually smuggled out of Russia and published, but not until long after Grossman’s death in 1964. The prequel to that book, “Stalingrad,” has just been republished with a new English translation. In the July issue of Harper’s Magazine, Aaron Lake Smith reviews three of Grossman’s books currently in print in English and a new biography called “Vasily Grossman and the Soviet Century” by Alexandra Popoff. Aaron Lake Smith on Vasily Grossman, in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

“I do not care if we go down in history as barbarians!” These were the words spoken by Romania’s military dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu in the Council of Ministers in the summer of 1941 that started the ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front. Taking these words for its title, director Radu Jude’s latest feature (Romania’s official selection for the 2019 Academy Awards) chronicles a young theatre director’s efforts to stage an accurate re-enactment of the Odessa Massacre in which Romanian soldiers slaughtered tens of thousands of Ukrainian Jews, despite the municipal government’s attempt to censor the director’s efforts. Join us for a discussion of “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” with Radu Jude in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

In his book “Power Trip: The Story of Energy,” professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Michael E. Webber describes how the rise of the world’s most successful societies can be told largely through the story of how they managed the energy sources to them. “Power Trip” explores how energy has transformed societies of the past and offers wisdom for today's looming energy crisis. We examine how the history of one kind of power is intrinsically linked with another, in this edition of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

“Are scientists…canaries in a psychological coal mine?” asks Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn in his article “It’s the End of the World as They Know It: The distinct burden of being a climate scientist." He continues, "put another way, climate scientists often resemble Sarah Connor of the “Terminator” franchise, who knows of a looming catastrophe but must struggle to function in a world that does not comprehend what is coming and, worse, largely ignores the warnings of those who do. ‘An accurate representation’ of the Connor comparison, one scientist darkly notes, ‘would have more crying and wine.’” In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Dr. Kim Cobb, professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Georgia Tech and one of the climate scientists profiled in the article, joins David Corn for a discussion on what it’s like working on a problem that large swaths of the federal government refuses to acknowledge.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) is a critically acclaimed, New York City-based theater company currently in its 20th season. The company was founded in 1999 with the goal of retelling theatrical classics as seen through the lens of the African diaspora while honoring the cultural legacy of the neighborhood in which it was founded: Harlem. Upon it founding, CTH became quickly regarded as a unique voice in New York’s theater scene, amassing several key awards in its first decade of operations. However, after years of financial mismanagement, in 2009 it was $400,000 in debt and on the verge of closing. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” producing artistic director Ty Jones, associate artistic director Carl Cofield and choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher talk about the legacy of the Classical Theatre of Harlem and the effort to preserve it.

The setting is 1930s Los Angeles. Everybody knows that rockets are just toys, the stuff of cranks and pulp magazines. Nevertheless, a young engineering student named Frank Malina sets out to prove the doubters wrong. With the help of his friend Jack Parsons, an occult-obsessed explosives enthusiast, Malina embarks on a journey that takes him from junk yards and desert lots to the heights of the military-industrial complex. Drawing on an astonishing array of untapped sources, including FBI documents and private archives, “Fraser MacDonald Escape from Earth: A Secret History of the Space Rocket” tells of the incredible heights Malina achieved and the fear within the US government that has kept his work largely unknown until now. Join us for the untold history of rocket science with Fraser MacDonald in this edition of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

In her new book “Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past” National Geographic Explorer and TED Prize-winner Dr. Sarah Parcak shows the evolution, major discoveries and future potential of the new field of satellite archaeology. From surprise advancements after the declassification of spy photography, to a new map of the mythical Egyptian city of Tanis, she shares her field’s biggest discoveries, revealing why space archaeology is not only exciting, but urgently essential to the preservation of the world’s ancient treasures. Join us for a wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Parcak on the achievements and possibilities of satellite archaeology in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

Virginia Woolf re-worked and edited her novel “The Hours,” working in ink, pencil and crayon, and occasionally upside down, before finally publishing it under the title “Mrs. Dalloway.” The author of a new introduction for a recently published three-volume facsimile manuscript of "The Hours," Senior Vice President and Dean of Open Campus at The New School Helen Wussow joins us for a discussion of this important work in this edition of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.

“Do you know me?” the email began, sparking tremors of fear that turned into a full quake of panic when William Dameron discovered that his selfie had been stolen by strangers. On social networks and dating sites, his image and identity—a forty-year-old straight white male—had been used to hook countless women into believing in lies of love and romance. Was it all an ironic cosmic joke? Almost a decade prior, William himself had been living a lie that had lasted for more than twenty years. His secret? He was a gay man, a fact he hid from his wife and two daughters for almost as long as he had hidden it from himself. In “The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out,” William confronts steroid addiction, the shame and homophobia of his childhood, the sledgehammer of secrets that slowly tore his marriage apart and his love for a gay father of three that would once again challenge the boundaries of trust. Join us for a conversation with author William Dameron in this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI.