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Colum McCann | Letters to a Young Writer: Some Practical and Philosophical Advice Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Jason Freeman, program associate, author events Colum McCann won the 2009 National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin, a tale of 1970s New Yorkers marveling at a tightrope walker's death-defying feats. His other novels include Song Dogs, This Side of Brightness, and the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted TransAtlantic, a ''beautifully constructed tapestry of life'' (The Seattle Times) spanning centuries, oceans, and continents. Currently a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at Hunter College in New York, McCann has written for The New Yorker, Esquire, and the Paris Review, among other publications. His new essay collection brings this vast accumulation of experience to bear in a pragmatic guide for aspiring writers. (recorded 4/3/2017)

Lauren Grodstein | Our Short History with Tom McAllister | The Young Widower's Handbook Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Employing ''agile prose and clever observations'' (New York Times Book Review), Lauren Grodstein is the author of four novels, including the New York Times bestseller A Friend of the Family and the Washington Post Book of the Year The Explanation for Everything. A professor of creative writing at Rutgers-Camden, Grodstein is also the author of the short story collection The Best of Animals. Our Short History tells a poignant and witty story of parenthood and sacrifice. Philadelphia area native Tom McAllister is the author of the memoir Bury Me in My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, and Philly. He is an English professor at Temple University, editor at Barrelhouse, and cohost of the podcast Book Fight!, and his stories have appeared in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2015, among many other places. In The Young Widower's Handbook, a bereaved husband carries his late wife's ashes on a cross-country road trip replete with quirky characters and painful soul-searching. (recorded 4/4/2017)

Wendy Lesser | You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. ''Consistently engaging, sly, witty, understated...and written with simple elegance'' (The New York Observer), Wendy Lesser's many essay collections, works of fiction, and edited volumes include The Pagoda in the Garden, Room for Doubt, and Why I Read, a celebration of the transcendent power of the written word. Founder of the celebrated Three Penny Review, she has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her new book is a biography of one of the 20th century's most revered architects. Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture (recorded 4/6/2017)

Dr. Willie Parker | Life's Work: From the Trenches, a Moral Argument for Choice Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Dr. James Peterson, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. MSNBC Contributor An outspoken Christian reproductive justice advocate, Dr. Willie Parker is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist who is one of the few abortion providers to women in Mississippi and Alabama. Chair-elect of the board of Physicians for Reproductive Health, winner of Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger award, and one of Ebony's Power 100 list, he has been profiled in NPR's Morning Edition, Esquire, and Slate, among other places. He is also the subject of the documentary film Trapped, a look at the legal battle to keep Southern abortion providers open. In Life's Work, Parker illustrates the complex realities of abortion in America. (recorded 4/12/2017)

Misty Copeland | Ballerina Body: Dancing and Eating Your Way to a Leaner, Stronger, and More Graceful You Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Tracey Matisak The first African American principal dancer in the 75-year history of the elite American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland is one of the world's most accomplished and recognizable artists. A recipient of the Leonore Annenberg Fellowship in the Arts, an inductee in the Boys and Girls Club Alumni Hall of Fame, and one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people, she is the author of the ''thorough, sensitive...clear-eyed'' (The Washington Post) memoir Life in Motion. In her first health and fitness book, Copeland offers tips and encouragement to help people achieve lean, powerful physiques. Due to a flaw in the recording medium, the full audio is not available in the podcast. Watch the entire event here: https://livestream.com/flp/Copeland Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture (recorded 4/13/2017)

Jessamyn Stanley | Every Body Yoga: Let Go of Fear. Get On the Mat. Love Your Body Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. An internationally acclaimed yoga teacher whose body-positive approach encourages students to ask ''How do I feel?'' rather than ''How do I look?,'' Jessamyn Stanley has been featured on Good Morning America, Shape, People, and New York Magazine, among many other media outlets. She also is a regular contributor to Mind Body Green, Wanderlust, Elephant Journal, and is an award-winning Instagram star. Every Body Yoga illustrates and explains 50 yoga poses and 10 sequences to accomplish at home, and shares Stanley's paradigm-shifting philosophy of spirit and body acceptance. (recorded 4/18/2017)

Joan Nathan | King Solomon's Table: A Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Joan Nathan is the author of 11 bestselling culinary guides, including The New American Cooking and Jewish Cooking in America, both of which won James Beard and IACP awards. The latter book was adapted into a PBS series produced by Nathan. A frequent contributor to the New York Times and Bon Appétit, she has appeared on Good Morning America, the Food Network, and NPR's All Things Considered. In King Solomon's Table, Nathan gathers more than 170 recipes that span the millennia and the far reaches of the global Jewish diaspora in a compendium of cooking and culture. (recorded 4/20/2017)

Joe Beddia | Pizza Camp: Recipes from Pizzeria Beddia Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. In conversation with Andrew Knowlton, Bon Appétit Joe Beddia is the owner and chef of Philly's own Pizzeria Beddia, named by Bon Appétit as the best pizza in America. This distinction is not surprising, considering that he devoted the last 10 years solely to the pursuit of the perfect pie. James Beard Award winner and fellow Philly chef Michael Solomonov says, ''Never have I encountered an individual so singularly focused on his craft. Joe Beddia is hilarious, intelligent, and lovingly produces the best pizza in the f*cking universe.'' In Pizza Camp, this pizza maestro begins with the pizza basics and moves on to more than 50 iconic and inventive recipes to bake at home. (recorded 4/24/2017)

David Grann | Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. David Grann is the no. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, the ''brilliant...impressively researched and crafted'' (Los Angeles Times) nonfiction tale of the deadly search for a fabled Amazonian civilization. His second book, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, was named by Men's Journal one of the best true crime books ever written. An award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker, Grann has previously contributed to The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic, among other periodicals. Killers of the Flower Moon tells the chilling true-life story of one of the most sinister conspiracies in American history. (recorded 4/25/2017)

David Callahan | The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age Jul 16, 2018

Show notes

Watch the video here. Blending liberalism with old values, David Callahan's many nonfiction books include Fortunes of Change, The Moral Center, and The Cheating Culture, a ''meticulously researched, thoughtful and damning look at our broken moral compass'' (Philadelphia Inquirer). He is founder of the website Inside Philanthropy and co-founder of the think-tank Demos, a frequent media commentator, and has contributed articles to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. In The Givers, Callahan delves into the secretive realm of elite philanthropists and the ways they shape governmental policy. Sandra Shaber Memorial Lecture (recorded 4/27/2017)

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