Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

Anthony D’Amato ’10 has come a long way since he began writing and recording songs in his Princeton dorm room nine years ago. He’s released three full-length albums and toured across the world, and his indie/folk and Americana-inspired music has been compared to the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. In an interview with PAW's Allie Wenner, D'Amato talks about his Princeton roots, the touring life, and what it's like to be on the road in the current political climate. The podcast includes performances of "Honey That's Not All" and "Rain On A Strange Roof." You can hear more from Anthony on Spotify and Apple Music, or on his website, anthonydamatomusic.com

As an undergrad, Bill Farrell ’77 was proud to coach Princeton’s fledgling women’s track and field squad. Decades later, he found similar joy helping classmates to distribute much-needed wheelchairs in South America. (Season 4, Episode 7)

For Simone Schloss ’79, reconnecting with an old boyfriend at Alumni Day turned into a love story, with a 36-year gap in the middle. “You never know how things are going to turn out,” she says. “And it’s great being in love with your best friend.” (Season 4, Episode 6)

Are we entering a new era of the activist athlete? Will the FBI sting have a lasting impact on college basketball? And why is Olympic curling so popular? We talk about these questions and more with Sean Gregory ’98, a senior writer at Time magazine, in the January episode of PAW’s Q&A podcast.

In 2015-16, journalist and author Helen Thorpe ’87 sat in on a high school English-acquisition class for teenaged refugees from across the globe. She watched her subjects’ growth and struggles within their new environment and learned their stories, which mostly included displacement due to war or gang violence in their home countries. As the 2016 presidential primaries gave way to the political ascent of Donald Trump, Thorpe extended her reporting into 2017 and recounts the ways the new administration has affected America’s policy on refugee resettlement. Her book is called The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship and Hope in an American Classroom, and in this month’s podcast, she speaks with PAW’s Carrie Compton about the process of reporting and writing it.

Owen Curtis ’72 *75 reflects on the differences between ’70s-era Princeton hippies and preps, why TV broadcasters were right to be wary of the Princeton band, and how it feels to be pranked by legendary basketball coach Pete Carril. (Season 4, Episode 5)

John Stewart ’77 came to Princeton with a few family stories in mind, thanks to his mother, who’d worked at Firestone Library, and his father, a former Princeton Alumni Weekly editor. He found a campus that was much different than the one his parents had known, and his memories of the University include the friendships he made at Princeton Inn College (now Forbes). “At the time it seemed quite isolated from the rest of the University,” he says. “When you got back there you sort of stayed put.” (Season 4, Episode 4)

PAW’s Allie Wenner sits down with William Pugh ’20, co-founder of the “Woke Wednesdays” podcast, a new student-produced show that gives Princeton students (and guests) a platform to discuss issues relating to race, social justice, gender, sexuality, and more. Pugh talks about what it means to be “woke,” why he thinks it’s important for young people to speak out about controversial topics, and why he really hopes that people disagree with some of things that are said on the show.

After giving birth to a son as an undergraduate, J.C. Alvarez ’77 stayed in school, juggling the work of a student, mom, and wife. “While it’s not a journey I would recommend for everyone,” she says, “I knew it was the right journey for me.” (Season 4, Episode 3)

Anthropology professor Carolyn Rouse discusses her research trip to interview Donald Trump supporters in rural California, her “Trumplandia” project, the reasons why she hasn’t watched cable TV news this year, and how listening can be “a radical act.”

When Hale Bradt ’52 began reading his late father’s letters from World War II, the words “just grabbed me, viscerally,” he says. After decades of research, including trips to the Pacific islands where his father served, Bradt wrote about how the war reshaped his family. (Season 4, Episode 2)

Mathematician Sasha Fradkin ’06 *11, co-author of the forthcoming book Funville Adventures, discusses the perks of teaching young children (“they’re not afraid of math”) and her tips for introducing higher-level concepts to elementary schoolers.

Valerie Bell ’77, the first black student and first woman to be voted class president at Princeton, recalls the sense of pride she felt when she led her classmates through FitzRandolph Gate at Commencement. (Season 4, Episode 1)

Last month, on the Greek island of Lesbos, when a smoke-filled riot broke out at a camp housing migrants seeking entry into Europe, the first journalists on the scene were Princeton undergraduates — students in a summer global journalism course taught by Joe Stephens, the Ferris Professor of Journalism in residence. Their work made headlines in the English-language version of Kathimerini, a leading Greek newspaper, and The New York Times international edition. We recently spoke with two of the students, Talya Nevins ’18 and Alice Maiden ’19, about the lessons they learned from the course. Stories from the seminar are available at commons.princeton.edu/globalreporting2017.

Samantha Walravens ’90, co-author of Geek Girl Rising: Inside the Sisterhood Shaking Up Tech (St. Martin’s Press), discusses how women are making their own opportunities in the supposedly male-dominated Silicon Valley in an interview with PAW associate editor Carrie Compton. This is the first in a new series of interviews with alumni and faculty.

Jack Goodman ’57, John Milton ’57, and two of their classmates traveled south for spring break in 1955 with an unusual goal: to interview Ernest Hemingway for The Daily Princetonian. (Season 3, Episode 14)

Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Charlie Buttrey ’81 has never been one to take “no” for an answer. He ran for class president three times, finally winning in his third attempt. After all that door-to-door campaigning, he knew a little something about nearly everyone in the Class of ’81. (Season 3, Episode 13)

When students went on strike in May 1970, Howard Zien ’71 went to class — and encountered jeers that made him realize how difficult it is to find middle ground during times of passionate protest. (Season 3, Episode 12)

On this episode of PAW Tracks, Christine Caffrey Johnson ’81 talks about the difficulty of finding her place at Princeton and some of the activities that captured her interest. As an undergraduate, she planned a conference to help her peers think about ways to balance work and family life. Years later, the conversation continues. (Season 3, Episode 11)

For ’71 classmates Geoff Smith, John Drummond, and Brad O’Brien, riding to Reunions by motorcycle last year was a chance to see small-town America and reflect on their college years. (Season 3, Episode 10)