Conversations with Allan Wolper

Julie Menin

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Julie Menin, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Borough President of Manhattan, is a blogger for The Huffington Post and a commentator on national television programs. She became a community activist after her restaurant, Vine, and her downtown neighborhood was destroyed by the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

CUNY Journalism Dean Stephen B. Shepard

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Stephen B. Shepard, the founding dean of the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism and the former editor-in-chief of Business Week Magazine, says newspapers will be profitable if they are voices for their communities.

Bill Bratton

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

William J. Bratton is the former police commissioner of New York City, Los Angeles and Boston. Bratton has been meeting with both Democratic and Republican candidates for mayor of New York City in the hope that one of them will choose him to once again lead New York's finest. He is also under consideration to head the London police department.

The Late Ed Koch

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 EDT

On February 1, New York City lost Edward Irving Koch, one of the most colorful and controversial mayors in its history. His funeral drew a massive crowd of political leaders and the people he served. Former President Bill Clinton gave the eulogy. Koch was born in the Bronx, raised in Newark, and then returned to the Big Apple where he launched his political career. Koch, who was 88, ran City Hall from 1978 to 1989. He told Allan Wolper what he thought his legacy would be.

Christine Dennison and Tim Taylor

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Married underwater ocean explorers Christine Dennison and Tim Taylor, discuss their incredible discovery of the USS-R12, a World War II submarine, that had been buried in 600 feet of water in June, 1943 off the cost of Key West, Florida and cost the lives of 42 sailors. They presented their documented video to the internationally renowned Explorer's Club.

John Catsimatidis

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Billionaire entrepreneur John Catsimatidis, President of the Gristedes and Red Apple supermarkets, speaks about his campaign for the Republican nomination for mayor of New York. Catsimatidis has a mixed political pedigree: his daughter is married to the grandson of the late President Richard Nixon and Catsimatisdis is a good friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Murray Weiss

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Murray Weiss, one of New York City's best crime reporters, has written about the city's most notorious murderers and mobsters, including John Gotti and, Paul Castellano, for the New York Daily News, The New York Post, and most recently DNAinfo.com, a new online news service.

Roland Betts

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 EST

Roland W. Betts, founder and Chairman of Chelsea Piers, tells how he rebuilt New York's premier sports and entertainment complex after it was leveled by super storm Sandy. Betts, a Liberal Democrat who voted for President Obama in the last election, is a close friend of former President George W. Bush. Betts was the former lead owner of The Texas Rangers baseball team. He also was a producer and financier for several movie classics including Gandhi, The Killing Fields, and Pretty Woman. He began his professional life as a teacher and assistant principal in Central Harlem.

Lisa Bloom

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Allan talks with Lisa Bloom, celebrity attorney, television legal analyst and author.

Steve Seskin

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Grammy nominee singer songwriter Steve Seskin has written seven number one songs. His legendary anti-bullying song that he co-wrote with Allen Shamblin was recorded by Peter Paul and Mary. It was the inspiration for Operation Respect, a foundation that teaches youngsters around the world how to get along with each other.

Michael Connelly

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of the Harry Bosch detective series that deals with murder and morality practiced by the police, the press and the public that will soon become a television series. His latest book is The Black Box. He also tells host Allan Wolper about a new jazz documentary in the works.

Corinne Narassiguin

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Corinne Narassiguin is the first elected member of the French Parliament to represent French citizens living in the United States and Canada. Narassiguin, a member of the ruling Socialist Party in France, discusses US-French relations and comments on the American presidential race and its impact on the international community.

Ted Sod

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Ted Sod, a dramaturg for New York City's Roundabout Theater talks about the healing power that theater has on audiences. Sod, an actor, director and playwright, is developing a play about the wit and influence of the late Nora Ephron.

Peter Himler

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Tech savvy Public Relations influencer Peter Himler talks about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, and how social networks are changing the way we communicate. Twitter Peter Himler @peterhimler

Dr. Deane Marchbein

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Dr. Deane Marchbein, President of Doctors Without Borders, talks about the struggle to treat the sick and injured in war ravaged areas of South Sudan, Syria and Libya.

John Johnson

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 00:00:00 EDT

John Johnson, a legendary New York television news anchor and reporter for 30 years, talks about growing up in Bedford Stuyvesant, negotiating the hostage situation in the 1971 Attica Prison uprising, and his days at WABC, WCBS and WNBC. Today he is an artist whose paintings are exhibited in galleries in New York and Europe.

Timothy Crouse

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Allan Wolper talks to Timothy Crouse, author of the political campaign classic, The Boys On The Bus, and co-author of the Tony Award winning Broadway hit, Anything Goes.

Layla and Robert Fanucci

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Allan Wolper talks to international artist, Layla Fanucci, and her husband Robert Fanucci, who makes the award winning Charter Oak wines out of their Napa Valley home.

Ruth Mandel

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Ruth Mandel, Director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics talks with Allan about her family's ill-fated journey on the St. Louis, a german ocean liner, trying to escape the Nazi death camps.

Gretchen Morgenson

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times business columnist Gretchen Morgenson talks about how Wall Street and the bigger than ever banks stay a step ahead of the regulators. She says they are very good at obfuscating, selling, lobbying and misrepresenting their products to investors.

Patrick Kennedy

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy talks about health care, his mission to eradicate diseases of the brain, his political future, and his extraordinary relationship with his father, the late Sen. Edward Kennedy. Patrick Kennedy and his wife now live in Brigantine, on the New Jersey shore. On April 15, Patrick Kennedy and his wife Amy announced the birth of their first son, Owen Patrick.

Bill de Blasio

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:00:00 EDT

Bill de Blasio, the New York City Public Advocate and a candidate to win the Democratic nomination for mayor in next year's primary, and his wife Chirlane McCray, discussed what lies ahead for them. If de Blasio wins, they will become the first interracial couple in the city's history to live in Gracie Mansion --the official residence of the of the mayor of the city of New York.

Eliot Spitzer

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Eliot Spitzer was the 54th Governor of New York. He was elected by a landslide vote in 2006 only to resign fourteen months later after being exposed as a client in a prostitution ring. The Governor's resignation angered many of his supporters, who felt he had been set up by the very wall street profiteers he pursued as attorney general. Forbes Magazine has recently said that Eliot Spitzer remains both equally lionized by his supporters, and vilified by those happy to see him out of elective office.

Nancy Schiliro

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Once a marine, always a marine. Lance Corporal Nancy Schiliro lost her eye as a result of a mortar explosion in Iraq. She returned home to New York battered and depressed. The Wounded Warriors Organization gave her the will to fight her way back. Now she is helping other injured veterans return to a normal life. Schiliro is an inspiration to all Americans.

Donna Lieberman

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York American Civil Liberties Union, champions causes that are popular and unpopular. Her intense interest in protecting civil liberties was inspired by her father, who was persecuted for his ideals during the McCarthy era in the 1950's.

Dr. Tyler Colman

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Dr. Vino is the pseudonym for Dr. Tyler Colman, a world renowned blogger who monitors the wine industry. Colman gained widespread attention after he disclosed that some wine critics accepted payments from European vineyards they were covering.

Nancy Gruskin

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Nancy Gruskin became the most influential lobbyist for bicycle safety in New York City after her husband, Stuart, was killed crossing 43rd Street by a food delivery man riding the wrong way on a bicycle. She has used the Stuart C. Gruskin Foundation, in memory of her husband, to get restaurants to sign a pedal pledge to obey traffic laws, like stopping at red lights and driving with traffic. Gruskin, a former music teacher, is a single mother raising her teenage twins in Westfield, New Jersey.

Josh Rushing

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 EST

Former United States Marine Captain Josh Rushing is a host and correspondent for the highly acclaimed Al Jazeera English documentary series Fault Lines. Al Jazeera English is owned by the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar and provides an international view of American news. Rushing recently gained attention for his coverage of the drug wars in Mexico and Occupy Wall Street type protests in Chile.

Elsie McCabe Thompson

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Elsie McCabe Thompson is president of the Museum for African Art that will open next year in a spectacular new building on New York's City's Museum Mile. McCabe-Thompson describes the 27 year campaign to find a home for the historic project. She was chief of staff for former New York Mayor David Dinkins and is the wife of Bill Thompson, who almost defeated Michael Bloomberg in New York's last mayoral election.

James McGreevey

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Former New Jersey Governor James Edward McGreevey resigned seven years ago after admitting he was a gay American and acknowledging he appointed his lover to a position in the administration. McGreevey is out of politics and hopes someday to become a priest in the Episcopal Church.

Masha Hamilton

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Masha Hamilton, a former foreign correspondent for The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and NBC Mutual Radio, has written four novels. Her novel,The Camel Bookmobile,described how camels delivered library books to children in the most remote areas of Kenya. She also started a writing project for women in Afghanistan.

Alan Newton

Wed, 18 May 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Alan Newton spent 22 years in prison for a rape crime he did not commit. In 2006, he was freed after police found evidence that had been missing for almost two decades. A subsequent DNA test totally exonerated him. Newton then sued New York City. In October 2010, a jury awarded him $18.5 million for being victimized by a miscarriage of justice. But in a shocking decision, the trial judge overturned the jury verdict. Newton, now 49, the co-founder of a City University of New York program that helps former inmates transition back to society, has to start his fight all over again.

Christine Dennison

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Christine Dennison, is an explorer who leads expeditions to the most remote corners of civilization. She swims with sharks and piranhas in the Amazon rain forest and underwater caves of the Caribbean. She has logged over a hundred dives under the polar ice caps in the extremely harsh conditions of the High Arctic. A true adventurer she has been honored by winning admission as a fellow into the exclusive Explorers club. Christine Dennison is a founder and president of Mad Dog Expeditions.

Jayne Anne Phillips

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST

Jayne Anne Phillips is a writer who has won world wide recognition. The New York Times said she demonstrated a "keen love of language and a rare talent of illuminating the secret core of ordinary lives with clearsighted unsentimentality." Her 2009 novel, "Lark and Termite," was a finalist for The National Book Award. "Black Tickets", her collection of short stories, was lauded by literary giants like John Irving, Annie Dillard and Tim O'Brien. Raymond Carver said, "She is an original and this book of hers is a crooked beauty." She is director of the Masters of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing at Rutgers-Newark. (Photo credit: Elena Seibert)

David Carr

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:00:00 EST

David Carr of The New York Times overcame drug and alcohol problems to become one of the most powerful media and culture writers in the country. He retraces his journalism trek to The Times from the Twin City Reader in Minneapolis and analyzes the incredible burdens that technology has placed on today's journalists.

David Paterson

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:00:00 EST

Former Governor David Paterson, the first African American to run New York State, says the media treated him as an "affirmative action" chief executive. In a one hour interview before he left office, Paterson said the print press was responsible for much of the distortion of his record. He said they underplayed and undervalued his accomplishments. (Photo by: Inga Korsgaard)

Frank Lucas

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:00:00 EST

Frank Lucas was a Harlem drug king -- smuggling massive shipments of pure heroin to the United States from Southeast Asia on military transports. His life was given the full Hollywood treatment in the movie, American Gangster, with Denzel Washington playing the role of the one time drug king. Now 80 years old, Lucas counsels teenagers to remain in school and stay drug free -- a formula he didn't follow and forced him to spend much of his adult life in prison.

Sean O'Brien

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Sean O'Brien is the chief of staff for Chicago Congressman Mike Quigley by day and a comic at night who satirizes his boss and other Washington, D.C.elected officials. O'Brien's collected some of his material as the intern coordinator for Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago and the former chief of staff for President Obama.

Eleanor Perfetto

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Dr. Eleanor Perfetto, senior director of research for Pfizer, Inc. spent years of her life tending to her husband, Ralph Wenzel, a former offensive lineman for The Pittsburgh Steelers, The San Diego Chargers, and The St. Louis Cardinals. He died earlier this year suffering from a severe case of dementia -- a condition she said was the result of too many hits from his days in football.

Teri Thompson

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Daily News sports editor Teri Thompson talks about the growing number of stories on sex, steroids and crime that have become so common on America's sports pages.

Bruce McCall

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Bruce McCall once drew a cover for New Yorker magazine in which a group of gorillas stood around the Empire State Building waiting to audition for King Kong. McCall, an artist and satirist, shares his zany vision of American culture.

David Dinkins

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 EDT

David Dinkins made political history in 1990 when he was sworn in as the first African American mayor in New York City. Dinkins, now a Columbia University professor, reflects on his historic journey and analyzes the mayors who preceded and followed him into office.

Dr. David Livingston

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 EDT

Dr. David Livingston has operated on the most horrific trauma cases, including victims of gun shot wounds, car crashes and people under falling cranes in Louisville, New York City and Newark. He is the director of the New Jersey Trauma Center at the University Hospital at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark.

Joseph Klempner Teller

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 EST

Joseph Klempner Teller is a mystery writer who learned about the seedy side of life as a former undercover agent for the the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Drug Enforcement Agency) and later as a defense attorney fighting injustice in New York City criminal courtrooms.

Rachel Noerdlinger

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 EST

Rachel Noerdlinger, the brains behind The Rev. Al Sharpton, believes that the media and New York City's real estate interests promoting the sales of Harlem condos and co-ops are refusing to admit how violent the area has become.

Joanna Wolper

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 00:00:00 EST

Joanna Wolper, an Emmy Award winning writer and documentary filmmaker, has uncovered the true identity of Santa Claus. She writes about her discovery in a children's book called "The Man Who Could Be Santa," based on a true family adventure. Her book has a web site, at www.TheManWhoCouldBeSanta.com featuring the real children in the story.

Alicia C. Shepard

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 EST

Alicia C. Shepard, the Ombudsman for National Public Radio, has an impossible job. She explains NPR to its audience and its audience to NPR. She also checks out the complaints fired at her network and sometimes joins the critical chorus on her NPR blog.

Fred Kaplan

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Fred Kaplan has spent a large part of his creative life in 1959, reliving a year he says changed everything in American life. Like the dawn of the birth control pill, the birth of the microchip, and the making of Motown. Kaplan is the war stories columnist for Slate and has lots to say about the new administration in the White House.

Bill Thompson

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Bill Thompson, the New York City Comptroller, is suddenly making a strong showing in the polls against Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the New York City mayoral election. Thompson talks of growing up in Bedford Stuyvesant and reacts to Newark Mayor Cory Booker's endorsement of Bloomberg.

Andrew Rosenthal

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor of The New York Times, explains the process that produces the most read and debated section of the newspaper. He describes how he handles the furor that always follows a political endorsement and the diplomacy he uses to diffuse irate complaints from celebrities like Barbra Streisand.

Matthew Bogdanos

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Marine Reserve Colonel Matthew Bogdanos is on a mission to capture the thieves who looted thousands of priceless antiquities from the Iraq National Museum. Bogdanos says collectors pay millions of dollars for the stolen treasures, money often used by insurgents to buy weapons to fight American troops in Iraq.

Layla Fanucci

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 EDT

For 25 years, Layla Fanucci, played a guitar, sang and taught music at the St. Helena Catholic School in California. But her life changed after she bought some paint at a Ben Franklin store. Now she gets up to $20,000 for her cityscapes of Paris and New York City. She made her New York debut at the Walter Wickiser gallery in Chelsea.

Steve Baruch

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

Steve Baruch, a producer of Hairspray, Gypsy, Young Frankenstein, and The Producers, sent Allan Wolper a letter asking to invest in one of his plays. Allan made a counter offer: an interview at WBGO. And here it is.

Annette Gordon-Reed

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:00:00 EST

Annette Gordon-Reed is an authority on the intimate relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, a slave on his Virginia plantation. The relationship produced seven children. Gordon-Reed also knows first hand about the later day struggles of black women in America.

Hal Friedman

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 00:00:00 EST

Hal Friedman, a New York advertising executive, tells why he went inside his son's head to a write a painful, yet uplifting tale called Against Medical Advice. It's a story about his son's struggle to overcome Tourette Syndrome, a disorder that mystifies much of the medial profession.

Willie Kathryn Suggs

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST

Willie Kathryn Suggs, often called the Queen of Harlem Real Estate, gives listeners an insiders view of Harlem's housing history--starting with the days that African Americans and Jews were forbidden by convenant to buy there to the present boom of foreign investment, eminent domain disputes, and class and racial discord.

Joel Simon

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Joel Simon, executive director of The Committee To Protect Journalists, says Mexican editors and reporters are assassination targets because of their exposure of the massive drug dealings on American borders. Simon warns that violence against journalists is increasing around the world -- presenting a serious threat to democracies everywhere.

Janis Karpinski

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Janis Karpinski, the former army general in charge of the notorious Abu Grahib prison in Iraq, speaks about the controversial tactics American soldiers used on their prisoners. Miss Karpinski, who many claim was scapegoated in the torture scandal, gives her version of what she says is a dark chapter in U.S. military history.

Natalie Bauman

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Natalie Bauman and her husband buy and sell rare books worth from one thousand to one million dollars. Ms. Bauman says the rare volumes contain untold stories of American literary history.

Maurice Carroll

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Maurice "Mickey" Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, and a former political writer for the New York Times, tells how polls are conducted, who the pollsters are, how they're trained and the impact they have on the presidential race.

David Fisher

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Author-Journalist David Fisher talks about the celebrities he has written about and worked with..an incredible list that includes William Shatner, Muhammad Ali, George Burns, Johnnie Cochran and Joan Rivers.

Ron Kuby

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Ron Kuby is a civil rights attorney who has spent his entire career representing the underdogs and underpriviledged in American society. Kuby explains how the media sometimes convicts criminal suspects in the court of public opinion.

Jeremy Schaap

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Jeremy Schaap is a host and reporter for ESPN's Outside The Lines and E:60 and the author of Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics. Schaap retells the heroics of Owens and other American track and field stars and debunks the myths of the 1936 games.

Steve Rubel

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 EST

Steve Rubel of Edelman Worldwide is an expert on cyber communications and marketing. He brings listeners up to speed on what's happening with blogs and how they're now a part of the political game.

Tony Lo Bianco

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 00:00:00 EDT

Tony Lo Bianco talks about growing up in Brooklyn and how that helped shaped his brilliant acting career. Tony gives us a taste of some of his favorite characters, including Fiorello LaGuardia, the former mayor of New York and Dino DeLaurentis.

Lauren Thierry Watkins

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST

Lauren Thierry Watkins produced the documentary, "Autism Every Day", which caused a sensation at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and was shown on the Sundance Channel in 2008. She discusses what it's been like to raise Liam, her ten-year son who has autistim.

Richie Roberts

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Richie Roberts is the former prosecutor and detective who is portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie, American Gangster. He explains how street level drug dealers used the hype around the movie to sell their product.

Marcellus Bishop Allen

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

Marcellus "Bishop" Allen is the president of SOS and a leader of the Bloods. Allen played a key role in arranging a truce between the Bloods and the Crips. He's a clerk-typist for the Board of Education and advises on gang activity in the New York/New Jersey metro area.

Sandra Harmon

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Sandra Harmon is the author of "Elvis and Me". She discusses her new book "Mafia Son" and her involvement in a high-profile trial in New York City.