Leonard Lopate at Large on WBAI Radio in New York

“With the recent unsavory revelations coming out of the entertainment industry, Susan Silver’s new book, Hot Pants in Hollywood: Sex, Secrets & Sitcoms, has a timely quality not always enjoyed by tell-all memoirs. Silver, who wrote laugh lines for some of the most iconic sitcoms of the 1970s, writes in her book that she is like Woody Allen’s character, Zelig, who stood next to every famous person in history. In her case, some of those persons were Jim Morrison, a college acquaintance she knew before he assumed his bad-boy persona; Bill Cosby, who she escaped by inches; Elvis Presley, whose intentions she did not wait around to assess; Steve McQueen, who abruptly withdrew his dinner invitation when she pointed out a man she had had a crush on, and Richard Nixon, who, blessedly, did not make any advances.” - Kathryn Boughton, Berkshire Style. Join Leonard for a discussion with Susan Silver about what is was like working as one of the only female writers on iconic sitcoms like “The Partridge Family,” “Maude” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

“ENGLISH-speakers are sure their language is especially perplexing. But while it has its quirks, so does every other language (aside from planned ones like Esperanto). In one way, though, English really is confusing. A small new book, ‘That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means,’ by Ross and Kathryn Petras, helps readers distinguish many words that are confusingly similar. Some are nearly homophones with different spellings and completely different meanings, like elicit and illicit. Some are near homophones with distinct but related meanings, like emigrate and immigrate. And some are similar-looking words with opposite meanings, like adjure and abjure. What kind of language is this?” – The Economist. In Monday’s installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large” on WBAI, join Leonard for a discussion with Kathryn and Ross Petras on the ways the English language is often butchered in our day-to-day lives.

From saisons to sours, from farmhouse ales to New England IPAs, there’s no denying that New York City’s local beer is a good as it’s ever been. This week, in a special Food Friday installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” we take a look at microbrewing with Kelly Taylor, owner of KelSo; Sam Shire, head brewer at Finback and Anthony Accardi, co-owner of Transmitter. Get a head start on your weekend with this refreshing conversation on the microbrew movement.

From saisons to sours, from farmhouse ales to New England IPAs, there’s no denying that New York City’s local beer is a good as it’s ever been. This week, in a special Food Friday installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” we take a look at microbrewing with Kelly Taylor, owner of KelSo; Sam Shire, head brewer at Finback and Anthony Accardi, co-owner of Transmitter. Get a head start on your weekend with this refreshing conversation on the microbrew movement.

“Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s disgraced former campaign-manager, pleaded guilty to on September 14th. Many have focused on what Mr Manafort, who was convicted on eight counts of financial crimes in a separate trial in August, might tell Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. Of that, much is speculated, but little is known. Yet the nature of Mr. Manafort’s crimes has also shed light on unregistered foreign lobbying, the murkiest part of a swampy industry.” Those are the opening lines of Idrees Kahloon’s Economist article “Crimea river: The swampy business of lobbying for foreign governments.” In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Idrees and Ben Freeman of the Center for International Policy will talk about this disturbing area of foreign policy.

“Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s disgraced former campaign-manager, pleaded guilty to on September 14th. Many have focused on what Mr Manafort, who was convicted on eight counts of financial crimes in a separate trial in August, might tell Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with Russia. Of that, much is speculated, but little is known. Yet the nature of Mr. Manafort’s crimes has also shed light on unregistered foreign lobbying, the murkiest part of a swampy industry.” Those are the opening lines of Idrees Kahloon’s Economist article “Crimea river: The swampy business of lobbying for foreign governments.” In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Idrees and Ben Freeman of the Center for International Policy will talk about this disturbing area of foreign policy.

The Trust for Public Land has been working in New York since 1981 and protected more than 123,000 acres across the state. In New York City, the organization has preserved more than 100 community gardens, and has designed and built 189 school and community playgrounds, putting almost 3.5 million New Yorkers within a 10-minute walk to a park. As Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Carter Strickland led the 5,700-person agency’s response to Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. In the past three years, he has been at HDR, a top-ranked architecture and engineering firm, where he has been an adviser to cities, utilities and others on water and sustainability issues, before becoming the New York State director of the Trust For Public Land in 2017. Join Leonard for a conversation with someone who has been at the center of the fight for public land for decades.

The Trust for Public Land has been working in New York since 1981 and protected more than 123,000 acres across the state. In New York City, the organization has preserved more than 100 community gardens, and has designed and built 189 school and community playgrounds, putting almost 3.5 million New Yorkers within a 10-minute walk to a park. As Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Carter Strickland led the 5,700-person agency’s response to Hurricanes Irene and Sandy. In the past three years, he has been at HDR, a top-ranked architecture and engineering firm, where he has been an adviser to cities, utilities and others on water and sustainability issues, before becoming the New York State director of the Trust For Public Land in 2017. Join Leonard for a conversation with someone who has been at the center of the fight for public land for decades.

The documentary “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream” reveals how biologically determined politics has disenfranchised women and people of color, provided a rationale for state sanctioned crimes committed against America’s most vulnerable citizens, and now gains new traction under the Trump administration. Featuring interviews with social thinkers such as Van Jones and Robert Reich, as well as prominent scientists, “A Dangerous Idea” is a radical reassessment of the meaning, use and misuse of gene science. On Tuesday’s show, Leonard speaks to director Stephanie Welch and co-writer Andrew Kimbrell about this important work.

The documentary “A Dangerous Idea: Eugenics, Genetics and the American Dream” reveals how biologically determined politics has disenfranchised women and people of color, provided a rationale for state sanctioned crimes committed against America’s most vulnerable citizens, and now gains new traction under the Trump administration. Featuring interviews with social thinkers such as Van Jones and Robert Reich, as well as prominent scientists, “A Dangerous Idea” is a radical reassessment of the meaning, use and misuse of gene science. On Tuesday’s show, Leonard speaks to director Stephanie Welch and co-writer Andrew Kimbrell about this important work.