Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

Musical theatre lyricist and composer Stephen Schwartz wrote the hit musicals “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “Wicked” and contributed lyrics for the films “Pocahontas,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Enchanted.” He is a recipient of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, four Grammy Awards and three Academy Awards. In 2015, Steven received the Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. On Monday’s “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Stephen Schwartz is joined by Carol de Giere, author of the book “Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.”

Kenny Werner has been a world-class pianist and composer for over 40 years. His prolific collection of recordings, both as a bandleader and a sideman performing with jazz luminaries like Lee Koonitz and Archie Shepp, continue to have a profound effect on audiences around the world. In 1996, Kenny wrote his landmark book “Effortless Mastery: Liberating The Master Musician Within.” He has since created videos, lectured worldwide and authored numerous articles on how musicians, artists or even business people can allow their “master creator” within to lift a performance to it’s highest level, showing us how to be spontaneous, fearless, joyful and disciplined in our work and in our life. Join us for a very special “Leonard Lopate at Large” with this master of the creative arts.

Paul Rieckhoff is the founder and executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-partisan non-profit group started in 2004. With tens of thousands of members in all 50 US states, IAVA is America’s first and largest Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans group. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Paul discusses the issues facing members of the military currently in combat and those who have retired from it.

"Cracked Up" is a new documentary from filmmaker Michelle Esrick that recounts the incredible story of actor, comedian, master impressionist and "Saturday Night Live" veteran, Darrell Hammond. A victim of child abuse, Darrell ascended to comedy's greatest heights. Yet behind the scenes, he suffered from debilitating flashbacks, self injury, addiction and misdiagnosis until the right doctor isolated the key to unlocking the memories his brain had kept locked away for over 50 years. Striking an inspiring balance between comedy and tragedy, "Cracked Up" (crackedupmovie.com) helps us understand the effects of childhood trauma in a new light, breaking down barriers of stigma and replacing shame with compassion and hope. On Wednesday’s “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Michelle Esrick and Darrell Hammond join us in the studio for a look behind the mask of one of the world’s preeminent impressionists.

“Because insects are legion, inconspicuous and hard to meaningfully track, the fear that there might be far fewer than before was more felt than documented,” writes New York Times reporter Brooke Jarvis's article “The Insect Apocalypse Is Here: What does it mean for the rest of life on Earth?” reads. “People noticed it by canals or in backyards or under streetlights at night — familiar places that had become unfamiliarly empty. The feeling was so common that entomologists developed a shorthand for it, named for the way many people first began to notice that they weren’t seeing as many bugs. They called it the windshield phenomenon.” In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Brooke Jarvis is joined by two of the scientists quoted in her article, Dr. Arthur Shapiro of UC Davis and Dr. David Wagner of the University of Connecticut, for a discussion of what is behind this massive insect disappearance.

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1972 by a group of like-minded young musicians determined to combine the intimacy and warmth of a chamber ensemble with the richness of an orchestra. The ensemble performs without a conductor, rotating musical leadership roles for each work with a focus on presenting diverse repertoire through collaboration and open dialogue. Orpheus aims to bring this unique approach to students of all ages through its worldwide education and engagement programs: Access Orpheus-NYC, Orpheus Music Academy, Orpheus Leadership Institute and their newest project Orpheus Reflections curated for people with Alzheimers and dementia and their caregivers. On Monday’s “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, Executive Director Alexander Schierle and musicians Elizabeth Mann and James Wilson of Orpheus Chamber Orchestra talk about their unique approach to performing classical music and perform some of their repertoire.

One of the most important dancers and choreographers of the last century, Twyla Tharp has been pushing modern dance forward for more than 50 years. With her latest show, “Minimalism and Me,” currently in the midst of a three-week run at the Joyce Theater, she revisits the creation of her influential early works and their relationship to the minimalist art movement of that era. On Thursday’s “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Twyla Tharp discusses “Minimalism and Me” and the seminal dance performances from 1965 to 1971 that inspired it.

Renowned chef and cookbook author Christopher Kimball is the founder of Milk Street and the host of “Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television” and “Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Radio,” a weekly public radio show and podcast. In 1980, Christopher founded Cook's Magazine and served as publisher and editorial director through 1989. In 1993, Mr. Kimball re-launched Cook's Magazine as Cook's Illustrated and went on to found Cook's Country magazine in 2004. In 2001, Kimball was hired by PBS to host a half-hour cooking show called “America’s Test Kitchen,” a concept of his own creation. In his 16 years at the helm, “America’s Test Kitchen” became public television’s most-watched cooking show, eventually drawing nearly 2 million viewers a week. Kimball added “Cook’s Country” in 2008. Join Christopher and Leonard for a discussion on his distinct views on all things food-related.

Jacopo Carucci, called Pontormo after the Tuscan town he came from, was a leader of the Mannerist movement that dominated Italian painting in the 16th century. Michelangelo once predicted that a 19- year-old Pontormo “will exalt this art to the heavens.” At a small show currently at the Morgan Library and Museum, Pontormo’s 1528 painting “Visitation” is being seen in America for the first time—on loan from a small church near Florence. The New Yorker has called it “one of the damnedest great paintings of all time.” In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Mary Hogan Camp, art historian and docent coordinator at the Morgan, will talk about the exhibition and why Pontormo deserves to be ranked among the master artists of the Renaissance.

Growing up during the Second World War, H. Bruce Franklin believed what he was told: that America’s victory would lead to a new era of world peace. But once he joined the Air Force and began flying top-secret missions as a navigator and intelligence officer, he saw that even as U.S. leaders preached high ideals of peace and freedom, in reality the country was engaging in an endless cycle of warfare, bringing devastation and oppression to fledgling democracies across the globe. In “Crash Course: From the Good War to the Forever War,” Bruce draws from his 50 years as a renowned cultural historian to share his hard-learned lessons about the real American history. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, H. Bruce Franklin joins us for a sobering discussion on the modern history of American military action.