The host of This American Life pays tribute to his late friend, a longtime contributor to the show -and shares private video footage of Rakoff recording the audio version of his final book.
Tag: 07.11.13
Sukkah City: Revisiting The Crazy, High-Concept, Temporary Jewish Huts Of NYC
“A documentary shows how a 2010 design contest became ‘probably the largest non-Orthodox, non-Israel centered public expression of Jewish life in the history of New York’.”
Danger! Warning! You’re Attempting A Career In Music?
“The message from the critics to the graduates: the jobs aren’t there; the opportunities aren’t there; the money’s not there. It’s not a new message; I’ve been hearing it for as long as I’ve been in music, one way or another. And I’ve come to find it amazing–amazing that people can be in the grip of a delusion so strong that they don’t even realize it.”
The ‘Star Wars’ Universe Never Even Paused (At Least, Not In Book Form)
“There are more than 125 million copies of ‘Star Wars’ books in print, and 115 titles have been best-sellers.”
Fire Rips Through Parisian Building, Demolishing 17th Century Frescoes
“It’s a complete disaster,” said architectural historian Alexandre Cojannot.
Reliving Movie History…
“I come to what may be my most controversial recommendation, certainly for me: never again watch the films you cherished in your youth, for youth lends a wonder and tolerance that age erodes and disdains.”
The Thinking Behind Carnegie Hall’s New Youth Orchestra
“Youth orchestras get to have it both ways. If they play brilliantly, they get accolades; if they do not, they get points for inspiring young players. The NYO-USA is trying to be many things, to many people: the best players, yet the most well-rounded; a national orchestra, but heading to Russia with a heavily Russian program and a Russian conductor.”
Dallas Symphony “Fires” Long-Time Volunteer
“No one on our staff can recall ever receiving a press release from a Dallas organization disavowing a volunteer. This was strange.”
Are We Starting Concerts At The Wrong Time?
“In North America, 71% of all our listed concerts from 2008 to 2012 began between 7.00 and 8.00; the figure for the UK is slightly lower, at 69%. And yet this is prime time for evening meals and supervising young children, surely closing the events off from huge numbers of potential audience members.”
Richard Rogers Wants Architecture To Change People
“The way in the Welsh parliament the public walk over and look down on the politicians. The courts we built in Bordeaux are not prisons, they are places where people can learn about the law. I like the idea of trying to influence society by taking a brief then maybe subtly changing it or looking at it in a new way to see what interesting things can emerge.”