The Best Studs Terkel Radio Interviews

Studs Terkel was undoubtedly one of the great radio interviewers of the 20th century, along with being an author, actor, and historian. Listen to 100s of interviews conducted by the multifaceted Studs Terkel who hosted "The Studs Terkel Program" on Chicago's fine arts radio station WFMT from 1952 to 1997.

Back in 1970, Alan Watts sat down with Studs Terkel to discuss his autobiography In My Own Way. The conversation starts with Watts' life growing up in England and his fascination with Eastern religion and culture.

Studs Terkel talks with poet Allen Ginsberg in this 1976 interview. They talk about what has changed in America since their first chat in 1959.

Angelou discusses her book "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and recites "When I Think About Myself." She talks about growing up in Stamps, Arkansas, and her family.

Newton Minow was a sober voice in addressing concerns over television broadcasting in the 1960s. He was chairman of the Federal Communications Commission under President Kennedy and his famous "Television is a Vast Wasteland" Speech in 1961 sparked debate over the content and commercials that were being thrust on the American public.

Margaret Atwood discusses her book "The Handmaid's Tale" and the real life and biblical events that inspired it.

Writer Susan Sontag talks about the ideas in her 1978 book Illness as Metaphor in this interview with Studs Terkel.

Marshall McLuhan discusses a wide range of topics including conformity, changes in entertainment media, cultural change, art and artists, originality in dance, reading and language, human interaction with nature, and technology.

Norman Mailer discusses his writing, literary criticism, and American life. Other topics of conversation include Mailer's thoughts on "affirmative" literary works, apathy and a lack of passion in modern life, beat writers and their reception in the United States, and many of his contemporary writers.

Director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader created one of the all-time great American movies, Taxi Driver (1976). In this radio interview from 1976, Scorsese and Schrader join interviewer Studs Terkel to discuss the film and, particularly, the main character, Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro.