Revisit an archival interview from 1977 with Joan Didion, the admired writer and dissecter of America who recently died at the age of 87.
John Callaway
From the Archive: Maria Tallchief
Daniel HautzingerFrom the Archive: Leontyne Price
Daniel Hautzinger"It's never been the Black artist's problem, it has been other people's problem," the legendary Leontyne Price told WTTW in 1981 about the lack of Black artists, specifically in opera. "It's so simplistic, it's fairly ridiculous." Watch excerpts of the archival interview.
"One of the Greatest Events in the History of Medicine": The Defeat of Polio
Daniel HautzingerFrom the Archive: 'New Yorker' Writer Jane Kramer
Daniel HautzingerNew Yorker writer Jane Kramer discusses the myth of the American West, the rise of big agribusiness and its effect on both traditional ranching and cows, and what bringing her daughter along on her reporting could do, in this 1978 interview from the WTTW archives.
From the Archive: Alex Haley, Author of 'Roots'
Daniel HautzingerThe author of Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X explains the origins of Roots and his difficulty in capturing the experience of being on a slave-ship in a 1976 interview. "The absence of pride changes to a presence of pride" when you know your history, he says.
Nobel Prize-Winning Fermilab Physicist Leon Lederman Has Died
Daniel HautzingerLederman, who won a Nobel Prize in 1988 for demonstrating that there are at least two kinds of particles called neutrinos, coined the Higgs boson's nickname "the God particle," and worked at Fermilab outside Chicago as well as the University of Chicago, has died at age 96.
Chicago's Deadliest Disaster
Daniel HautzingerOne hundred and three years ago, on July 24, 1915, more than 800 people lost their lives in Chicago's deadliest tragedy, when a top-heavy boat rolled onto its side in the Chicago River only twenty feet from the shore. Watch an archival Chicago Stories episode about the Eastland Disaster.
From the Archive: John Updike
Daniel Hautzinger"Nobody needs a book much, do they?" It's a surprising sentiment to hear coming from a writer, but in this 1981 interview with WTTW's John Callaway, John Updike discusses his impressively humble views on literature, his existential anxieties, and his goals as a writer.
From the Archive: 'Grease' Becomes a Movie
Daniel HautzingerThe smash-hit film version of Grease premiered 40 years ago on June 16, but it was already a huge success on Broadway, and had originated as a small play in Chicago. One of its co-writers discusses its popularizing transformations into something different from the original.
From the Archive: 'Dune' Author Frank Herbert
Daniel HautzingerThe author of the world's best-selling science fiction novel discusses the broad base of knowledge he draws on in imagining other worlds, as well as his environmentalism. "I refuse to be put in the position of having to tell my grandchildren, 'I'm sorry, there's no more world for you, we used it all up.' "
Era-Defining Journalist and Novelist Tom Wolfe Has Died
Daniel HautzingerTom Wolfe, who wrote The Right Stuff and Bonfire of the Vanities and gave us the terms "'Me' decade" and "radical chic," died yesterday at the age of 88. Watch him discuss his trademark white suit and the similarities between counterculture and evangelicalism in this archival interview.
From the Archive: Cesar Chavez
Daniel HautzingerBefore watching Independent Lens: Dolores, take a look back at this 1985 interview with Dolores Huerta's compatriot and fellow labor organizer Cesar Chavez, in which he discusses his activism, the decline of labor, and the difficulties facing the movement.
From the Archive: Phyllis Schlafly
Daniel HautzingerIllinois just became the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which sought to prohibit discrimination of women, more than 40 years after Congress approved it. Watch a 1977 interview with the woman who led the successful opposition.
From the Archive: Toni Morrison
Daniel HautzingerIn 1977, Toni Morrison spoke to WTTW's John Callaway about empathy, the importance of storytelling, and her deep love of writing in an extraordinary interview. Watch the Nobel Prize-winning novelist speak honestly early in her career.