Michael Wildes can justifiably claim that immigration law is in his blood – his father Leon attained international fame defending John Lennon from deportation during the 1970s. Inspired to join his father after a career as a federal prosecutor, Michael rose to managing partner of the law firm of Wildes & Weinberg. During his time there, he has participated in a string of immigration cases that required a Kevlar vest under his business suit and would seem more at home in the pages of an espionage thriller. In “Safe Haven In America: Battles to Open the Golden Door,” Michael describes representing defecting KGB agents, whistle blowers, disillusioned Saudi diplomats, accused terrorists, professionals and celebrities, such as First Lady Melania Trump and soccer legend Pele. But the book also recounts his efforts help the victims of international child kidnapping cases, families that were all but destroyed by the attack on the World Trade Center and a DACA recipient who endured a hate crime. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Michael discusses the book and reflects on a career spent fighting to keep good people in the country.

Michael Wildes can justifiably claim that immigration law is in his blood – his father Leon attained international fame defending John Lennon from deportation during the 1970s. Inspired to join his father after a career as a federal prosecutor, Michael rose to managing partner of the law firm of Wildes & Weinberg. During his time there, he has participated in a string of immigration cases that required a Kevlar vest under his business suit and would seem more at home in the pages of an espionage thriller. In “Safe Haven In America: Battles to Open the Golden Door,” Michael describes representing defecting KGB agents, whistle blowers, disillusioned Saudi diplomats, accused terrorists, professionals and celebrities, such as First Lady Melania Trump and soccer legend Pele. But the book also recounts his efforts help the victims of international child kidnapping cases, families that were all but destroyed by the attack on the World Trade Center and a DACA recipient who endured a hate crime. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Michael discusses the book and reflects on a career spent fighting to keep good people in the country.

On Thursday’s show we take a musical journey into the past when Christian De Luca and Tom Crawford of the the American Classical Orchestra describe what it’s like to perform classical compositions with instruments from the same era in which they were written. They also share some of the music they’ve made, in this discussion on how much of a difference the period an instrument is made has on a performance.

On Thursday’s show we take a musical journey into the past when Christian De Luca and Tom Crawford of the the American Classical Orchestra describe what it’s like to perform classical compositions with instruments from the same era in which they were written. They also share some of the music they’ve made, in this discussion on how much of a difference the period an instrument is made has on a performance.

A senior vice president and director of city park development for The Trust for Public Land, Adrian Benepe is an expert on public, private, and nonprofit public-space development and management. Born and raised in New York, Adrian served as New York City Parks commissioner for 11 years under Mayor Michael Bloomberg prior to joining The Trust for Public Land. During that time he oversaw a major expansion of the city's park system, including restoring historic parks such as Central Park and Battery Park, adding 730 acres of new parkland including Hudson River Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the High Line, and laying the groundwork for an additional 2,000 acres of parkland within the city. Join Leonard and Adrian for a conversation of the state of parks in the city.

A senior vice president and director of city park development for The Trust for Public Land, Adrian Benepe is an expert on public, private, and nonprofit public-space development and management. Born and raised in New York, Adrian served as New York City Parks commissioner for 11 years under Mayor Michael Bloomberg prior to joining The Trust for Public Land. During that time he oversaw a major expansion of the city's park system, including restoring historic parks such as Central Park and Battery Park, adding 730 acres of new parkland including Hudson River Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the High Line, and laying the groundwork for an additional 2,000 acres of parkland within the city. Join Leonard and Adrian for a conversation of the state of parks in the city.

Idling engines consume more than 6 billion gallons of gasoline annually in the U.S., a significant but little-known contributor to local air pollution, respiratory disease and global climate change. In George Pakenham’s documentary “Idle Threat” the Wall Street banker is shown helping improve local air quality, and gaining worldwide recognition for the anti-idling cause in the process, with articles about his underdog fight featured in the Wall Street Journal, New Yorker magazine and the Financial Times. George has walked the streets of New York for over five years, courteously confronting over 3,000 motorists to explain idling’s impact and the law prohibiting running a parked vehicle for more than a short time. Responses vary from thanks to anger, but he never wavers. He’s determined that the problems idling poses be recognized, and lobbies successfully for the city to enforce its idling laws. After hearing this show, you may never look at an idling car in the same way again.

Idling engines consume more than 6 billion gallons of gasoline annually in the U.S., a significant but little-known contributor to local air pollution, respiratory disease and global climate change. In George Pakenham’s documentary “Idle Threat” the Wall Street banker is shown helping improve local air quality, and gaining worldwide recognition for the anti-idling cause in the process, with articles about his underdog fight featured in the Wall Street Journal, New Yorker magazine and the Financial Times. George has walked the streets of New York for over five years, courteously confronting over 3,000 motorists to explain idling’s impact and the law prohibiting running a parked vehicle for more than a short time. Responses vary from thanks to anger, but he never wavers. He’s determined that the problems idling poses be recognized, and lobbies successfully for the city to enforce its idling laws. After hearing this show, you may never look at an idling car in the same way again.

“If it seems as though the world’s on fire, that’s because it is,” reads the introduction to last month’s issue of Harper’s. “Wildfires are starting earlier in the dry season and burning for longer. As of October 2017, European Union countries had reported more than 1,600 fires, which burned more than 2 million acres. In the United States, according to the Department of the Interior, there were 71,499 wildfires in 2017, which were responsible for burning 10 million acres of land and putting 4.5 million homes at risk, 2 million in California alone. Every year more than 330,000 people die from the aftereffects of wildfires." Global warming has caused both the intensity and frequency of these fires to increase. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Scott Sayare and Richard Manning discuss their articles for the magazine on this major environmental problem.

“If it seems as though the world’s on fire, that’s because it is,” reads the introduction to last month’s issue of Harper’s. “Wildfires are starting earlier in the dry season and burning for longer. As of October 2017, European Union countries had reported more than 1,600 fires, which burned more than 2 million acres. In the United States, according to the Department of the Interior, there were 71,499 wildfires in 2017, which were responsible for burning 10 million acres of land and putting 4.5 million homes at risk, 2 million in California alone. Every year more than 330,000 people die from the aftereffects of wildfires." Global warming has caused both the intensity and frequency of these fires to increase. In this installment of “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Scott Sayare and Richard Manning discuss their articles for the magazine on this major environmental problem.