Mental Floss

"There is the fear that you somehow neglected to say what was really yours to say" - John Updike

Interview by John Freeman, Spring 2002 
Microcassette recorder
Freeman's full profile now part of the new book How to Read a Novelist

Watch the animated version of this episode in our PBS seres: 
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/john-updike-on-family-affairs/

John Updike on Family Affairs

"ON STAGE OR IN THE MOVIES I COULD DO WHATEVER I WANTED TO. I WAS FREE."
- Gene Wilder, 2007

Interview by Joe Smith
Recorded live at the 92nd Street Y

Hear the full interview http://92yondemand.org

Watch the animated version of this episode in our PBS seres:
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/gene-wilder-truth/

Gene Wilder on The Truth

"Learning how to die is therefore learning how to live"

From a conversation recorded at the Rubin Museum of Art in 2012

Watch the animated version of this episode:
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/philip-seymour-hoffman-happiness/

Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness

"The thing that was relentless for me here was how you look… I couldn’t put up with it." - Meryl Streep

Unheard interview recorded in 2008

Watch the animated version of this episode:
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/meryl-streep-beauty/

Meryl Streep on Beauty

"I have no faith at all. I only hold convictions." - Ayn Rand from her 1959 conversation with Mike Wallace.

More from the interview and the animated version of this episode from our PBS series: http://blankonblank.org/interviews/ayn-rand-love-marriage-religion-faith-business/

Ayn Rand on Selfish Love

The organizational psychologist Adam Grant, who many know from his New York Times columns, describes three human orientations, of which we are all capable: the givers, the takers, and the matchers. These also influence whether organizations are joyful or toxic for human beings. His studies are dispelling a conventional wisdom that selfish takers are the most likely to succeed professionally. And, he is wise about practicing generosity in organizational life — what he calls making “microloans of our knowledge, our skills, our connections to other people” — in a way that is transformative for others, ourselves, and our places of work.

See more at www.onbeing.org/program/adam-grant-successful-givers-toxic-takers-and-the-life-we-spend-at-work/8058

[Unedited] Adam Grant with Krista Tippett

""I‘m just an obnoxious guy who can make it appear charming, that’s what they pay me to do." - Bill Murray as told to T.J. English in 1988.

Watch the animated version of this episode from our series with PBS Digital Studios: blankonblank.org/bill-murray

Blank On Blank Bill Murray

Jonathan Sacks was Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth for 22 years. He is now the Ingeborg and Ira Rennert Global Distinguished Professor of Judaic Thought at New York University and the Kressel and Ephrat Family University Professor of Jewish Thought at Yeshiva University. He is also Professor of Law, Ethics and the Bible at King’s College London. His books include "The Great Partnership: Science, Religion, and the Search for Meaning," "The Dignity of Difference," and his latest, "Not in God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence." This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Jonathan Sacks — The Dignity of Difference."

Find more at onbeing.org.

[Unedited] Jonathan Sacks with Krista Tippett

Adam Gopnik is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. He is the author of several books, including "Paris to the Moon" and "Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln, and Modern Life." He wrote the foreword for "The Good Book," edited by Andrew Blauner. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Adam Gopnik — Practicing Doubt, Redrawing Faith." Find more at onbeing.org.

[Unedited] Adam Gopnik with Krista Tippett

"Nothing means anything"
– Kurt Vonnegut on November 8, 1970 in a class at New York University. Excerpted from the Pacifica Radio Archives

Watch the animated version of this episode from our series with PBS Digital Studios: blankonblank.org/kurt-vonnegut




Kurt Vonnegut on Man-Eating Lampreys

Mark Hyman is the director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine. He is also the founder and medical director of the UltraWellness Center. He’s a practicing family physician and a best-selling author. James Gordon is the founder and executive director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and a clinical professor in the departments of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at Georgetown Medical School. Penny George is the board chair of the Penny George Institute Foundation, which supports the work of the Penny George Institute for Health and Healing at Allina Health in Minneapolis, the largest hospital-based integrative medicine program in the U.S. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Penny George, Mark Hyman, and James Gordon — The Evolution of Medicine."

[Unedited] Penny George, Mark Hyman, and James Gordon with Krista Tippett

Jennifer Michael Hecht is a poet, philosopher, and historian. Her books include "Stay: A History of Suicide and the Philosophies Against It," "Doubt: A History," and "Who Said." This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode "Jennifer Michael Hecht — Suicide, and Hope for Our Future Selves." Find more at onbeing.org.

[Unedited] Jennifer Michael Hecht with Krista Tippett

“Humor has to surprise us otherwise it isn’t funny and it’s a death knell for a writer to be labeled a humorist” - Garrison Keillor, as told to George Plimpton in 1994

Hear the full conversation and watch the animated version on this episode: blankonblank.org/garrison-keillor

Garrison Keillor on Humor

"Why do I care if someone believes in God?...I don’t care what people think of me and my beliefs." ~ Ricky Gervais

If you're a comedian--a really funny comedian--and you're an atheist, do you make religion part of your routine? Or part of your punchlines? That's the question posed to Ricky Gervais during an interview with Jane Borden, an author and a former comedy editor at Time Out New York magazine. They spoke by phone a few years back, and we jump in with Ricky Gervais talking about his strong views about religion and why he wants a jetpack. 

Interviewed by Jane Borden, author and former comedy editor at Time Out New York
October 2009  // By phone, Gervais from England // Cassette recorder 
Read the related article at timeoutnewyork.com

Host & Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Music Credits: Lou Donaldson “It’s Your Thing” // Theme from “The Jetsons” // The Specials “A Message to You Rudy” 

Read the transcript at http://blankonblank.org/interviews/ricky-gervais-on-atheism-and-jetpacks/

Ricky Gervais on Loving Atheism & Jetpacks

"I'm humorless when I think people are wankers. You know, I'm not tolerant of idiots." ~ Thom Yorke of Radiohead

Today we tackle the challenges that just about everyone faces:  confronting who you are and being comfortable with yourself and your life...even if you’re a huge rock star like Thom Yorke. Writer and author Brian Raftery interviewed Yorke in 2006. It was for a profile Brian did for Spin magazine.The pair sat down for a few hours in a Philadelphia hotel. Yorke had a new solo album out. But then Brian asked Yorke--who was nearing 38 at the time--how he felt about getting older. 

Interviewed by: Brian Raftery, 
May 30, 2006 // Loews Hotel in Philadelphia // Olympus digital recorder
Read Brian Raftery’s profile of Thom Yorke in SPIN magazine.

Host & Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Music Credits: Radiohead - “Karma Police,” “I Will,” “There There” & “Exit Music (for a Film)”
Photo Credit: BondBeterLeefmilieu via Flickr

Read the transcript and discover more lost interviews at: http://blankonblank.org/interviews/radioheads-thom-yorke-on-wankers-confronting-who-you-are/.

Radiohead's Thom Yorke on Wankers and Confronting Who You Are

"So I bought the postcard, memorized it and sent it off to a friend. And I never thought about God again after that." - Brian Selznick

Interview by Joe Fassler in 2012 | by phone | digital recorder
Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Producer: Amy Drozdowska | Slideshow: Libby Walker

Watch the interview slideshow and hear more lost interviews @ blankonblank.org

Brian Selznick on Einstein, God, and Reaching His Potential

"People would come and defecate on the floor of the dressing room. So I just thought that was his Gap, but I came to find out that it happens in all stores across America." - David Sedaris

Interviewed by Gabe Bullard in June 2009 
Related piece aired on WFPL - Louisville

Discover more lost interviews @ <a href="http://blankonblank.org"></a>

David Sedaris on Breast Milk, Tips, and Book Tours

"I looked in the mirror the other day and I said: My God, what happened to that handsome young man? Who is this grizzled b-a-s-t-a-r-d staring at me?" - Sam Pickering. The UConn professor who inspired Robin Williams character in "Dead Poets Society" 

* Interview by John Dankosky | studio recording in September 2012
* Hear the entire conversation from <a href="http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/node/21887" target="_blank">WNPR's Where We Live</a>
* Executive Producer: David Gerlach | Producer: Amy Drozdowska

Sam Pickering on The Art of Teaching and Not Dead Poets Society

There’s a way we talk and it includes profanity. We never figured we’d be arrested for it. - Mike "Mike D" Diamond

1985 interview by Rocci Fisch for ABC News Radio

Washington, D.C. Cassette Tape

Watch the animated version for our new series with PBS:
http://bit.ly/12QYpNN

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid

"I still think the same way I thought as a child. I still worry. I'm still frightened... Nothing changes." 
- Maurice Sendak

Interview by Andrew Romano and Ramin Seetodeh
2009, Sendak's home in Connecticut

Watch the animated version of this episode from our PBS Series
http://bit.ly/12fTMPM


Mental Floss

Quynh Tran