A Conversation With David Rohde
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
David Rohde is a National Security reporter for NBC News and a longtime foreign correspondent. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the war in Bosnia. When Rohde was a reporter for the New York Times, he was kidnapped by the Taliban and held for 7 months before he managed to escape. Rohde's latest book is called Where Tyranny Begins. He looks at all the ways in which former President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the Department of Justice including the FBI. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is...
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A Conversation with Griffin Dunne.
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Griffin Dunne grew up in Beverly Hills in a family of storytellers. His father Dominick was a celebrity journalist. His uncle, the screenwriter John Gregory Dunne was married to the Pulitzer prize-winning writer Joan Didion. Griffin starred in Martin Scorsese’s 1985 black comedy "After Hours" and he made a movie with Madonna called "Who’s That Girl?" He also played Uncle Nicky in the streaming series "This is Us." Griffin has written a memoir called The Friday Afternoon Club which is a great read. We talk about family triumphs and family tragedy. And we also have plenty of laughs on...
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A Conversation With Charles Busch: Re-Release
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Charles Busch made a name for himself as a playwright and a leading lady in drag with productions like the off-Broadway cult classic Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Busch was recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame for his Tony-award winning play The Allergist’s Wife. He appeared in the TV show Oz where he plays a cross-dressing homosexual. When it comes to playing male roles, Busch says he’s nothing great. It’s when he puts on gowns and wigs that he feels like a star. Sitting in his duplex apartment with his famous closet filled with sparkly gowns,...
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A Conversation with Susan Seidelman
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
She’s a film director who made a movie called Desperately Seeking Susan. It’s a caper that revolves around mistaken identity starring Rosanna Arquette and a then unknown Madonna. Seidelman went on to direct She Devil with Meryl Streep in her first comedic role. But Hollywood is a tough place for women directors. Nora Ephron came on the scene and directed Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail in the 1990s. And 25 years later Greta Gerwig had a big hit with Barbie. Seidelman eventually started working in TV, directing the pilot...
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A Conversation With Chelsea Devantez
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Chelsea Devantez is a writer and comedian who has a good time being outrageous. She grew up in a family that moved around a lot when she was a kid. They never had much money. She was a victim of domestic violence. Chelsea had always wanted to be an artist. And her dream came true when she was hired to perform as part of the improv team at Second City in Chicago. Chelsea got her next dream job when Jon Stewart hired her to be the head writer of his streaming series The Problem with Jon Stewart. Now, she produces original comedy projects at 20th Century Studios and...
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A Conversation With Chuck D
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
I started to think a lot about music when I knew I’d be talking to Chuck D, the rapper and frontman of Public Enemy. Some critics point to the group as a revolutionary voice in hip hop. Chuck D and Flavor Flav formed Public Enemy in 1985. Their songs became known for political messages on albums like Fear of a Black Planet. But in the decades since becoming a legendary rapper, Chuck D has developed his talent as an artist illustrating 3 graphic books. His latest, Rap Pilates, is about the exercise he credits with helping him to perform high-energy concerts. We...
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A Conversation With Nick Kristof
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Ever since he was a kid, Nick Kristof dreamed of being a foreign correspondent. And that’s what he spent decades doing, traveling to more than 150 countries to cover conflicts and crises. Kristof is a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his reports on the deadly Tiananmen Square protests and for columns focusing attention on genocide in Darfur. Kristof has also been called the moral conscience of a generation. We talk about all the close calls and terrifying moments he describes in his new memoir Chasing Hope. And we talk about why he’s an...
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A Conversation With Gail Godwin
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Gail Godwin has written 18 books. Many of her novels were best sellers including Evensong. Three of them were finalists for the National Book Award. Her book Grief Cottage features a boy who has a relationship with a ghost. Godwin says she herself has seen ghosts. When she was a reporter, an apparition dressed in a medical uniform used to visit her in the middle of the night. Godwin’s new book is a memoir. It opens with the story of how the writer, who’s 87, went into her back yard to water her dogwood tree, wound up falling on her face and breaking her neck. We talk about...
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A Conversation With Jhumpa Lahiri
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
Writer Jhumpa Lahiri grew up in Rhode Island after her family emigrated from India when she was a toddler. Her first language was Bengali and she spoke English in school. When she was 32, Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her first book Interpreter of Maladies. It was an honor but it also put a lot of pressure on her as a writer. Then Lahiri fell in love with the Italian language and when she moved to Rome, she discovered a kind of freedom. Now, Lahiri writes her books in Italian. Her latest work of fiction is called Roman Stories. We talk about identity, culture and what...
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A Conversation with Carrie Sun
Now What? With Carole Zimmer
What’s it like to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year working as the personal assistant to the billionaire founder of a famous hedge fund? Pretty tough according to writer Carrie Sun. Sun’s memoir Private Equity tells the story of working 24/7, being at the beck and call of a demanding boss and feeling so stressed that she developed an eating disorder. There are also the perks like a $2500 gift certificate to Soul Cycle, a Derek Lam coat worth $6,000, surfing trips to Montauk and a bird’s eye view of the world of the ultra-rich. We talk about what you owe your job, how that...
info_outlineGail Godwin has written 18 books. Many of her novels were best sellers including Evensong. Three of them were finalists for the National Book Award. Her book Grief Cottage features a boy who has a relationship with a ghost. Godwin says she herself has seen ghosts. When she was a reporter, an apparition dressed in a medical uniform used to visit her in the middle of the night. Godwin’s new book is a memoir. It opens with the story of how the writer, who’s 87, went into her back yard to water her dogwood tree, wound up falling on her face and breaking her neck. We talk about how curiosity saved her in her darkest moments. “Now What?” is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.