Now I've Heard Everything

The entry of Vice President Kamala Harris into the 2024 presidential race has energized and invigorated millions of American women. Could it be the culmination of a societal shift that some people saw coming thirty or more years ago? In 1993 author, speaker, and political candidate Marianne Williamson wrote about the changing landscape of American society in a book called A Woman’s Worth, in which...

For three years, back in the late 1980s, Jack O’Donnell worked for Donald Trump. O’Donnell rose from senior vice president at the Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City to, eventually, president of that enterprise. In this 1991 interview O’Donnell recalls his front-row seat into how Donald Trump operates. And what he saw was a shrewd deal maker, a not so great manager, and someone who is motivated al...

Forty years ago9 in Los Angeles one such hero was track and field star Al Joyner. He won the gold medal in the triple jump, with a leap of an incredible 56 feet 7 and a half inches. And in 1987, he got another gold, a wedding ring when he married track star and fellow Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith, who became known as FloJo. She wrote a book, Running For Dummies, in 1998 but died before...

Back in 1995 in London, a teenager was out shopping one day when a stranger tapped her on the shoulder. That stranger was a modeling scout, and before long, that teenager was signed as a professional model. And it wasn’t long after that that Alek Wek was seen on covers of major international magazines. She was MTV’s Model of the Year in 1997. But what makes her story even more incredible and extra...

When the history of digital media is written, one name will figure prominently: Los Angeles-born and raised would-be comedian Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart was instrumental in developing the Drudge Report and the Huffington Post, and ultimately Breitbart News. In this 2011 interview Breitbart talks about his book Righteous Indignation. Get Righteous Indignation by Andrew Breitbart As an Amazon Assoc...

This weekend marks 55 years since human beings first set foot on the surface of the moon The Apollo 11 mission put astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon Good 3rd crew member, Michael Collins, remained in the orbiting And module . It was the fulfillment of an ambitious goal set at the beginning of the 1960s by President John F Kennedy . At the heart of it all was a brilliant aerospa...

Edna Buchanan joined the Miami Herald in 1973, working the police beat. And she was good at it. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for her reporting. By the late 1980s, she had turned to fiction writing, The real life stories she had covered became the raw material for her fiction. And it turned out she was really good at that, too. Many of her books became best sellers, and a couple were turned i...

It was 25 years ago tomorrow, July 16, 1999 that a small plane crash off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard took the lives of 38-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr.. his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette. At the time of his death Kennedy was struggling to keep his magazine, George, afloat. Richard Bradley was one of the original editors at George in 1995, and by 1999 was the magazine’s executive...

Sixty years ago, convening in San Francisco, Republicans nominated firebrand Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater as their party's nominee against incumbent Democrat Lyndon Johnson. But ,many Republicans in 1964 saw Goldwater as too extreme. And Goldwater himself didn't do much to calm those concerns, with his acceptance speech. After being trounced by LBJ that fall, Goldwater remained in the Senate fo...

Up until the mid-1980s, no U.S. state had ever elected a woman to be attorney general It took a former Roman Catholic nun in America's smallest state to shatter that glass ceiling. In 1984, Arlene Violet – running as a Republican in deep blue Rhode Island – was elected attorney general. Her goals were to strengthen victims’ rights, and to try to root out the state's entrenched public corruption ....

Andre Previn was still in high school when MGM gave him a job in their music department, doing piece work. His first official movie credit came in 1949, and over the next dozen or so years Previn was involved in creating the musical scores for over 50 MGM films. In this 1991 interview discusses his memoir of his 16-year MGM career, No Minor Chords. Get No Minor Chords by Andre Previn As an Amazon...

Phyllis Newman made her Broadway debut in 1952, when she was 19. Just a few years later she won a Tony award for Best Featured ACtress in a Musical. More awards came her way, and she was soon in demand on Broadway and in television. But off screen, in the mid-1980s, she faced her biggest life challenge: she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In this 1988 interview Newman recounts her fight to beat...

The United States was founded on a bedrock of freedom. But what, exactly,y, is “freedom?” Does it depend on who you ask? Or when you ask? In this 1998 interview renowned historian Eric Foner explains how the definition of freedom has evolved -- and continues to. Get The Story of American Freedom by Eric Foner As an Amazon Associate, Now I've Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases. You ma...

John McEnroe won 77 career singles titles, including three at Wimbledon. He also won 77 doubles titles, including five at Wimbledon. It was at Wimbledon in 1981 that McEnroe came up with what has become his signature phrase – “You cannot be serious!” He embraced the phrase, even calling his memoir You Cannot Be Serious In this 2002 interview McEnroe talks about his life, his career, and his marria...

Since her college days in the early 1960s Rita Mae Brown has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Long before it was known by that shorthand descriptor.. But she is also widely known for her fiction, her “cozy” mysteries as well as her standalone novels. Her book Rubyfruit Jungle, published in 1973, has become a literary classic. In this 1993 interview Brown discusses the issues she raises in...

Anthony Bourdain was executive chef at New York’s Les Halles restaurant, but his popularity exploded with his first book Kitchen Confidential. Then came the Food Network TV show, then more TV on The Travel Channel and CNN. Yet somehow he had resisted the idea of publishing a cookbook until 2004They finally came out with Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook In this 2004 interview Bourdain lets us...

How did the son of Alabama sharecroppers, with relatives who were openly racist, become one of the country's most prominent voices against white supremacy? His name is Morris Dees, and in 1971 he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center. In this 1991 interview Dees discusses his career, how he got started, why he got into the kind of law he became known for, and what the SPLC was about. Get A Se...

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has led many people to use a very strong word as they discuss, debate, and protest: that word is ‘genocide. ‘ One of the strongest voices for human rights in our time is former UN ambassador Samantha Power A former war correspondent who then entered public service, Power has been a champion of the rights of the oppressed. In this 2002 interview, Power discusses the...

Work isn't easy. Of course it never has been, but these days it seems harder than ever. Unreasonable bosses. Rude customers. A minimum wage that hasn't been raised in 15 years. In this 1999 interview former Burger King CEO Barry Gibbons reveals his formula for bringing out the best in workers -- and why they must be rewarded properly. Get If You Want to Make God Really Laugh, Show Him Your Busines...

If you were alive 30 years ago today, June 17, 1994, you were glued to your television watching a white Ford Bronco driving down the 405 in Southern California. Inside was OJ Simpson, about to be arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicloe Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. A year later he was tried by a team led by prosecutor MarciaClark. In this 1997 interview Clark recalled the trial,...

Author, educator, and motivational speaker Leo Buscaglia was an immensely popular figure in the 1980s, seeding the American psyche with a message of love and humanity. Buscaglia was also widely renowned for his penchant for hugging people, even strangers. But once you met Leo you were no more a stranger to him,. In this 1989 interview Buscaglia talks about his book Papa, My Father, a troibute to h...

After 41 year0s as host of TV's "Wheel of Fortune," Pat Sajak has retired. But co-star Vanna White hasn’t. She’s been turning the letters since 1982. It wasn’t long after joining the show that Vanna was as well-known as Pat. In this 1987 intervbiew Vanna talks about her role, the future of the show, and what it would be like without Pat Sajak. Get Vanna Speaks by Vanna White As an Amazon Associate...

The feminist movement that was born in the 1960s had many faces, and many voices. One of the most prominent was a writer and activist whose first book in 1974 catapulted her to prominence. Andrea Dworkin was an early voice speaking out about violence against women, especially sexual violence. Dworkin is today best known for her analysis of pornography and prostitution. In this 2002 interview Dwork...

In August 2004 the governor of New Jersey resigned. Big deal, you say. politicians resign from office all the time. But Jim McGreevey’s resignation was unique, as he outed himself as the nation’s first openly gay governor:. McGreevey resigned, however, not because of his sexuality, but because he had an affair with a male state employee. In this 2006 interview McGreevey discusses his book The Conf...

The NBA finals are about to get underway. But the celebratory mood was muted last week with news of the passing of a towering basketball figure (literally and figuratively). Hall of Famer Bill Walton was a 14-year NBA veteran. The #1 draft pick in 1974, he spent his early years with the Portland Trail Blazers, then the Clippers, then the Celtics. Nagging foot injuries eventually forced his retirem...