Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

For John Potter ’65, one senior-year meeting with Dean of the Chapel Ernest Gordon changed the course of his life. He went from being a nonbeliever to eventually becoming a pastor.

As undergraduates, Edie Canter ’80 and her friends had many discussions about women’s issues, but rarely in an academic setting. That realization led them to push for a women’s studies program.

Before Van Wallach ’80 came to Princeton, his dad urged him to learn more about opera, to match his cultured peers. “What I found out was not knowing about Bruce Springsteen was a bigger social impediment,” he said. Wallach also discovered a range of new experiences on campus. (Season 2, Episode 5)

As WPRB celebrates 75 years on the air, PAW Tracks looks back at the student experience at the radio station in interviews with two alumni: Sally Jacob’88, a former DJ and music director; and John Shyer ’78, who covered news for the station and eventually became station manager.

As a Princeton freshman, Laura Landweber ’89 began the first of several undergraduate research projects and immediately knew she had found her path. “I really experienced that art of being absolutely wrapped up in what you do,” says Landweber, a member of the molecular biology faculty for the last 21 years. (Season 2, Episode 3)

Patricia Danielson *76 came to Princeton as an auditor, a suburban housewife and community activist who wanted to learn more about urban studies. She left five years later with a master’s degree. The University, she says, “broke every rule” for her — and in the process changed the course of her life. (Season 2, Episode 2)

“I realized that we didn’t really have to steal the cannon — we only had to make it appear that we had stolen the cannon,” Aaron Laden ’70 told PAW, recalling the famous Princeton-Rutgers Centennial Hoax, a campus prank from September 1969. Listen to the whole story, as told by Laden, Ed Labowitz ’70, and Brian Hays ’70. (Season 2, Episode 1)

At Reunions, 12 alumni sat down with PAW to tell their stories in a series of oral history interviews. We’ll be sharing parts of those interviews on PAW Tracks in the coming months. We begin with Jennifer Daly Maienza ’80, whose Princeton experience was shaped by her time on the Triangle Club stage. (Season 1, Episode 14)

PAW Tracks, Episode 13: A Valued Mentor Jack Bergland ’54 recalls Professor S. Roy Heath ’39 and the Class of 1954 Advisee Project — a four-year study that introduced Bergland to Heath and sparked a lifelong friendship.

Few events anywhere can tie generations together like Princeton Reunions. Last May, PAW brought together three alums and a graduating senior to share their thoughts about Princeton’s big weekend. Here’s what Lew Miller ’49, Jackie Thomas ’09, Christie Coates ’89, and Dillon Reisman ’14 had to say.

May 1970 was one of the most tumultuous months in the history of political activism at Princeton — and one of the most eventful for student reporters. PAW spoke with six Daily Princetonian alumni about the newspaper’s role during the campus strike and related protests.

Princeton Reunions rocker “Ivory Jim” Hunter ’62 recalls meeting his bandmates in a dorm room, and eventually taking their act on the road to other colleges. Music courtesy of Ivory Jim Hunter and the Headhunters

When author and professor Andie Tucher ’76 began researching her family tree, she uncovered fascinating stories that have evolved over time. Her new book, Happily Sometimes After, spans nearly 400 years of American history and 12 generations of family members.

Five members of the 1964-65 Princeton men’s basketball team — Bill Bradley ’65, Ed Hummer ’67, Bill Kingston ’65, Don Roth ’65, and Gary Walters ’67 — share their memories of the Tigers’ run to the NCAA semifinals.

Scouting Princeton’s 1964-65 men’s basketball team was a challenge — and not just because the lineup included All-American Bill Bradley ’65, an exceptional shooter and passer who rarely had an off night. Coach Butch Van Breda Kolff ’45 didn’t employ set plays, instead relying on rules of motion and offensive principles that made each possession unique. Members of the team talked with PAW about Van...

Brian Kernighan *69, co-author of classic texts including The C Programming Language, came to Princeton in 1964, when the campus had just one computer. He went on to a rewarding career at Bell Labs and returned to the University as a professor, teaching popular courses for both computer-science majors and less tech-inclined students.

America’s entry into World War II changed the lives of millions of Americans, and thousands of Princeton alumni. In this episode, Herb Hobler ’44, a sophomore at the time of the Pearl Harbor attacks, remembers the swift changes on campus and his travels en route to the Pacific theater.

“I was a shy person,” says Aliye Celik *70, the first female student at Princeton’s School of Architecture, “and Princeton gave me ... the backbone. I became more confident, and I carried that confidence throughout my work.” Celik’s experiences as an MFA student also shaped her career path, which included work at UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya, and New York City.

Dick Snedeker ’51 took a keen interest in music at Princeton, playing clarinet for the marching band, the University Orchestra, and an undergraduate swing band called the Tigers. But the group he remembers best was one that he enjoyed mostly as a spectator: the Intensely Vigorous Jazz Band.

Quipfire!, Princeton’s oldest improv comedy group, launched in 1992 with a set of shows in a black-box theater. Twenty-two years later, it’s something of a campus institution. At Reunions in May, we spoke about the group’s founding with three early members, Matthew David Brozik ’95, Jacob Sager Weinstein ’94, and Steve Reed ’96. To watch video clips from the first Quipfire! show, visit http://paw....

As freshmen in 1950, Richard Muhl ’54 and Alan Whelihan ’54 took part in a September tradition: stealing the clapper from the Nassau Hall bell. But holding onto the prize proved to be harder than expected. Listen to their story in PAW Tracks, our new podcast series.