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PODCAST

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen

In this new kind of interview show, Randy Cohen talks to guests about a person, a place, and a thing they find meaningful. The result: surprising stories from great talkers. Learn more at http://personplacething.org/

comedy comedy interviews

All Episodes

27:31

Lea DeLaria

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/11/30

She’s a witty jazz singer, an astute comedian, an admired actor (Orange Is the New Black), and she has an economic policy: “Support your local dyke bar. Go. Spend a little bit of money. Have some fun.” She has my vote, and she’s not even running for anything. Presented with 54 Below.

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27:31

Colum McCann

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/11/17

The author of Apeirogon and American Mother advocates the radical act of talking to our adversaries: “We do not need to love each other, we do not even need to like each other—although we hope that we could—but we absolutely need to understand each other.” Produced with the American Irish Historical Society. Music: Joseph Charles.

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27:31

Gordon Davis

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/11/09

Just after his team rebuilt Central Park’s Sheep Meadow, it turned completely brown. Why? “How do I know? I’m not an arborist. I’m not a horticulturist. I can’t tell an elm from an oak. That wasn’t my job.” His job was Parks Commissioner; his solution was to water the lawn. It worked. Produced with the NYC Department of Records and Information Services. Music: Rashad Brown.

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27:31

Mireya Ramos

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/11/03

Flor de Toloache, a mariachi band cofounded by this Latin Grammy winner, is not just all women, it’s all world: “We had women from Australia, Korea, Egypt, Japan.” Which means it could only be formed in New York City. Additional music: Daniel Espiliz, guitar, Shae Fiol, vocals. Produced with Greenwich House School.

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27:31

Ashley Wheater & Denise Jackson

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/10/26

“We do bare feet, we do singing, we do dancing, we do point shoes,” declares the Joffrey’s artistic director. "The company combines techniques of ballet and modern," explains this former Joffrey dancer at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Range!

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27:30

Peter Oundjian

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/10/19

As a boy, this conductor loved family summers in Spain. “It was a beautiful place to practice undisturbed and a fantastic place to play soccer, because soccer was my great love, violin and soccer. And then we discovered water skiing.” Mozart, same way: violin, soccer, water skiing. The making of a musician.

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27:31

Muriel Fox

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/10/12

At 96, the author of The Women’s Revolution: How We Changed Your Life, declares, “After thousands of years when women were in servitude to men, we changed it. I hope we’re going to have a woman president. I take some credit for that.” Rightly so. I’m writing her a thank-you note. So should you.

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27:31

Esther Adhiambo

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/10/05

This Kenyan gay rights activist is adept at working with her adversaries. “You have to keep pushing, and getting friend and allies.” But she’s no softy, adding: “and sue some people.” I generally go right to that last tactic. I’m an American.

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27:31

Natasha Jen

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/09/28

When this graphic designer worked at Sony Music, the handwriting was already on the wall, the tiny, tiny wall: “It was no longer LPs; it was CDs. The canvas kept shrinking.” And now with digital music, there’s no canvas at all. “It’s not the end of the world; it’s a different paradigm.” Disconcerting optimism, great design. Produced with the Center for Architecture. Music: Solange Prat.

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27:31

Claire Weisz

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/09/21

Does use determine design, or does design shape behavior? This architect asserts the latter: “A certain object does make you behave a certain way or do certain things.” For example, a simple lime-squeezer lured her and her family into more lime squeezing than anyone—or any lime—anticipated. Produced with the National Academy of Design. Music: Tomas Rodriguez

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27:31

Ivo van Hove

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/09/14

Among his many productions, he directed A View from the Bridge and West Side Story on Broadway and collaborated with David Bowie on the musical Lazarus. “It turned out to be—I didn’t know, of course, when we started—the last work that he ever made.” And a surprisingly happy experience.

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27:31

Terre Roche

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/09/07

This singer-songwriter has been admired for fifty years, and yet: “I always wanted a Collings guitar, but it was too expensive, and I just didn’t feel worthy.” If she’s not worthy of the tools of her trade, then what hope is there for us mortals? (Happily, she now has a Collings.) Presented with Richard Barone.

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27:31

Peter Boyer

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/09/01

Composers not only create something non-corporeal but also enjoy bringing an actual object into the world. “One of my great great moments was when I finally had a recording of my own in a bin at Tower Records.” (Older people can explain to younger people what record stores were.) The delights of the irrefutably physical. Presented with BMI and the Ellis Island Honors Society.

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27:31

Ty Jones

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/07/20

He is the producing artistic director of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, focusing on work from Sophocles to Shakespeare—the big S playwrights—to explore fundamental ideas. “These are living arguments, these classic plays.” Produced with CTH. Music: Kaden Jones, cello; Roen Jones, violin; Emery Jones, piano. This is our last new episode of the season. We’re in reruns through August. Remember: they’re all new if you haven’t heard them.

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27:31

Zach Iscol

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/07/13

He served in Iraq as a Marine and is now commissioner of New York City’s Department of Emergency Management. “We are always activated. We’re always responding to stuff.” How to prepare for the worst. Music: Stephanie Jenkins (the best). Presented with the Department of Records and Information Services.

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27:31

Patrick Page

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/07/05

Even as a child, this actor loved Shakespeare. “I would listen every night to John Gielgud’s Ages Of Man or Laurence Olivier’s Henry V or Richard III. I was just sort of marinated in it.” He’s since played many of the great villains, from Iago to the Grinch—Shakespeare and Shakespearean. Produced with Red Bull Theater. Music: Lance Horne.

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27:31

Thomas Gluck and Charlie Ortiz

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/06/30

GLUCK+ architects designed and constructed a building for the WHIN Music Community Charter School, led by Ortiz. How do architects know if a design works well? It’s not their call, says Tom Gluck. “The judges of whether a building’s successful or not are the people in it.” And this building? A triumph, says Charlie Ortiz.

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27:31

Fred Gitner

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/06/22

He was recently honored by the American Library Association for his work at the Queens Public Library on programs to assist migrants. “Over 200 languages are spoken in Queens,” he says. “We have collections in 50 or so and regularly purchase in about 30.” I struggled to write this paragraph in one. Music: Salieu Suso

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27:31

Santino Fontana

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/06/15

It can be a challenge for even terrific actors like him to stay fresh and focused night after night. Here’s how he does it: “I’ll make up, you know, Gandhi is in the fourth row; do a great show.” Not madness, technique. And he’s applied it from Hamlet to Tootsie. Produced with Red Bull Theater.

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27:31

Pete McBride

Person Place Thing with Randy Cohen ·

2024/06/08

How did we allow the ruin of the Colorado River? “We think that water comes from the tap,” says this photographer of wild places. “We’ve lost the idea that water comes from natural systems.” See the results of our folly in his book, The Colorado River: Chasing Water. Then weep. Then fight. Then drink. Presented with Fotografiska. Music: some talented frogs.

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174 results

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