Wesleyan University Podcasts

Accompanied by her own guitar playing, Dar Williams ’89 sang for two hours before a rapt Homecoming & Family Weekend crowd in a benefit for financial aid on November 1. Between songs, she often broke off spontaneously to recount memories from her time on campus—including a favorite class that met in the concert hall. The large audience included alumni, students and their parents, local community m...

On October 22, in a historic San Francisco industrial space that once housed the printing plant of William Randolph Hearst, nearly 100 Wesleyan alumni and friends enjoyed an intimate and thought-provoking conversation with two of the nation's foremost voices on food and the food industry: Michael Pollan P'15 and Jonathan Bloom '99. The occasion was "Table Talk," an event underwritten by generous W...

In this clip, Bill Brooks ’49 P’71 and his wife Audrey P’71 reminisce about Bill’s athletic achievements at Wesleyan. Bill set the track record for the 100-yard and 220-yard dash, in addition to having the longest run from scrimmage in football. “And the day he won the [220-yard] race, I was 8 months pregnant and very large—and I ran down the track after him,” says Audrey Brooks. Bill graduated fr...

In this clip, Bob Gallamore ’63 revisits his favorite memories of Wesleyan, which include two seminar courses he took with famed theorist Hannah Arendt, who was a visiting professor at Wesleyan from 1961–63. Bob remembers the professor who had the greatest impact on him—from her guttural, gravelly voice and melancholy eyes, to the questions she asked his class, to her seminar on “Eichmann in Jerus...

A crowd of more than 160 Wesleyan alumni, parents and friends gathered June 19 at the Knight Conference Center of the Newseum in Washington, DC, to "Talk Politics" with three high-profile Wes alumni. The event, a fundraiser for financial aid, featured a lively discussion among Colo. Gov. John Hickenlooper '74, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin '79 and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet '87, who all credited Wesley...

At a special Reunion and Commencement appearance with all ticket sales going to financial aid, Amanda Palmer ’98 played the piano and the ukulele and joyfully performed a set of her inimitable songs on the stage in Crowell Concert Hall on the Wesleyan University campus May 24, 2013. Her husband, Neil Gaiman, winner of writing honors from the Newbery Medal to the Hugo Award to the Will Eisner Comic...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel, Class of 1997 in conversation with Dan Haar, Class of 1981. Dan, who studied government at Wesleyan, is the business editor at the Hartford Courant. He has previously worked for the Courant as a photographer, town reporter, business reporter and columnist and political writer. In this clip, Dan talks about how he handled being waitlisted, and reflects on the role of...

More than 100 Wesleyan alumni and guests in the Los Angeles, Calif. area attended “A Conversation in Hollywood,” an intimate conversation with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper ’74 and Emmy-award winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus P’14. The fundraising event took place at the Paramount Theatre in Hollywood on May 1. (Photos by L. Maizlish Connolly ’90) More: http://thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu/events

More than 280 Wesleyan alumni, parents and friends attended “An Evening with ‘Mad Men’” April 25 in New York City. The NYC campaign kickoff featured “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner ’87. All ticket proceeds went to Financial Aid. More: http://thisiswhy.wesleyan.edu/events

This week, listen to Mia Lobel '97 in conversation with Sheila Tobias, Wesleyan's first female Provost. Sheila, who studied literature and history at Radcliffe College (Harvard), went on to get her MA in History and M. Phil from Columbia. She has also received numerous honorary doctorates. Sheila, renowned for her work as a scholar and feminist activist, came to Wesleyan in the 1970s, at a unique...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel, Class of 1997 in conversation with Miguel Guadalupe, Class of 1998. Miguel studied government and Latin American studies at Wesleyan before going on to work in the financial services industry in New York. In his spare time, Miguel writes for magazines and blogs, and engages in volunteering. In this short clip, Miguel reminisces about the Wesleyan Student Assembly, a...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel ’97 in conversation with Brad Towson ’94. Brad, who lives in Middletown, is a Senior Legislative Attorney for the General Assembly of Connecticut. After graduating in government from Wesleyan, Brad went on to study law at Rutgers University. He continues to engage in the Wesleyan community—from running the moot court, acting as a liaison for the Wesleyan Lawyers Asso...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel ’97 in conversation with Ed Thorndike, Class of 1989. Ed Thorndike is one of Wesleyan’s well-known entrepreneurs—if you’ve ever been to Wes Wings or Red & Black Cafe, you’d know why. An English major at school, and a restauranteur by profession, Ed is not only the 4th generation in his family to attend Wesleyan, but he’s also the 4th Edward Thorndike to do so. For th...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel '97 in conversation with Joyce Y. Hall, Class of 1978. Joyce studied sociology at Wesleyan and went on to study public health at the University of Rochester and non-profit management at Columbia University. Joyce is now the Executive Director of the Federation of County Networks, a lecturer at CUNY Hunter, an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Long Island University Broo...

This week, listen to Joe Giaimo '11 and Justin Freres '11 reminisce about their time at Wesleyan, in an interview with Mia Lobel '97. Joe and Justin have a lot in common: both were members of Delta Kappa Epsilon, both majored in Economics, and both captained the baseball and football teams. Their unique friendship continues to flourish, years after graduation.

This week, we hear a clip from our interview with Kirk Adams, class of 1973 and College of Social Studies major. Kirk is a trade unionist and serves as executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Here he recalls a rally in the chapel where students and faculty debated their commitments to ending the Vietnam war and working for social justice and civil rights. Kirk...

This week we hear a clip from our interview with Kirk Adams, class of 1973 and College of Social Studies major. Kirk is a trade unionist and serves as executive vice president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Here he recalls a rally in the chapel where students and faculty debated their commitments to ending the Vietnam war and working for social justice and civil rights. Kirk’...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel ’97 in a conversation with Diane S. Goldstein Stein ’81. Diane majored in music at Wesleyan and went on to earn her law degree at The City University of New York Law School at Queens College. She practiced public interest law for 8 years before her children were born. When her son and daughter were young, Diane saved a zoo in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania by starting a...

This week, listen to Mia Lobel ’97 in a conversation with Diane S. Goldstein Stein ’81. Diane majored in music at Wesleyan and went on to earn her law degree at The City University of New York Law School at Queens College. She practiced public interest law for 8 years before her children were born. When her son and daughter were young, Diane saved a zoo in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania by starting a...

This week, Mia Lobel '97 interviews Ayelet Waldman '86. After studying psychology and government at Wesleyan, Ayelet went on to study law at Harvard. Ayelet is a novelist and essayist, best known for her NYT best-selling collection of essays 'Bad Mother.' She has written the novels 'Daughter's Keeper,' 'Red Hook Road,' and 'Love and Other Impossible Pursuits,' and the Mommy Track murder mystery se...

This week Mia Lobel ’97 interviews Michael Lewis, a College of Social Studies major and member of the class of 2003. A Philadelphia native, Michael now conducts market research for Teach for America. He is also a sitting member of the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. In this conversation Michael recalls how CSS altered his career trajectory, and how Wesleyan strengthened his relationships, w...