Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, discusses the impact of public television on communities and the way PBS has addressed issues around media, culture, education and technology.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a free press. For the past ten seasons, print and broadcast journalists have made their way to the Overheard stage to discuss with Evan the trajectory of their careers, the state of journalism, and their hopes and fears for the future of their industry and our country. This episode of Overheard brings some of those important conversations in this look back.
Pulitzer Prize journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker discuss their book “A Very Stable Genius.”
Carol Leonnig is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who has worked at The Washington Post since 2000. She won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for her work on security failures and misconduct inside the Secret Service. She was part of a Post team that was awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for revealing the U.S. government’s secret, broad surveillance of Americans through the disclosures of Edward Snowden. She is a three-time winner of the George Polk Award for investigative reporting. She reports on Donald Trump’s presidency and investigates Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Leonnig is also an on-air contributor to NBC News and MSNBC.
Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief for The Washington Post. He previously has covered Congress, the Obama White House and the 2012 and 2016 presidential campaigns. Rucker also is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. He joined The Post in 2005 as a local news reporter.
Leonnig and Rucker authored “A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America” which debuted at number one on The New York Times best-seller list. The book tracks the first three years of the Trump presidency relying on intimate, revelatory interviews with first-hand witnesses and including never-before-reported details.
Tony Award-winning actor John Cameron Mitchell discusses his groundbreaking career.
John Cameron Mitchell is a screenwriter, director and actor whose cult rock musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” won Mitchell Best Director at the Sundance Festival. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actor for that same film. His recent Broadway production of Hedwig garnered him Tony Awards for his performance and for Best Revival.
Mitchell has directed other films, including “How to Talk to Girls at Parties,” “Shortbus” and “Rabbit Hole.”
Michael Curry is the Presiding Bishop and Chief Pastor of the Episcopal Church. He discusses social justice and policy.
Presiding Bishop Curry graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva, NY, and received a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School. Throughout his ministry, he has been active in issues of social justice, reconciliation, speaking out on immigration policy and marriage equality.
Presiding Bishop Curry maintains national preaching and teaching ministries, having been featured on “The Protestant Hour” and as a frequent speaker at churches, cathedrals and conferences around the country and internationally. He delivered a widely praised sermon at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Susan Page discusses her book, “The Matriarch,” about former First Lady Barbara Bush, one of the most storied women in American political history.
Susan Page is the Washington Bureau Chief of USA Today, where she writes about politics and the White House. Susan has covered six White House administrations and ten presidential elections. She has interviewed the past nine presidents from Richard Nixon through Donald Trump—and reported from six continents and dozens of foreign countries. She has appeared as an analyst on “PBS NewsHour,” CBS’ “Face the Nation,” “Fox News Sunday,” NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” CNN’s “State of the Union,” “CBS This Morning” and other TV and radio programs. Page’s book, “The Matriarch,” is a vivid, immersive biography of former First Lady Barbara Bush, one of the most storied women in American political history.
Director and screenwriter Andrew Bujalski talks indie filmmaking, screenwriting and his film, “Support the Girls.”
Andrew Bujalski’s first feature film, “Funny Ha Ha,” was called one of the most influential films of the ’00s by New York Times critic A.O. Scott. He has also written and directed the films “Mutual Appreciation,” “Beeswax,” “Computer Chess” and “Results,” which have played festivals worldwide including Sundance, Berlin and the 2014 Whitney Biennial. His 2018 film, “Support the Girls,” premiered at SXSW Film Festival.
Journalist Yamiche Alcindor talks about covering the 2016 election, writing for The New York Times and reporting for “PBS NewsHour.”
Yamiche Alcindor is the former White House correspondent for the “PBS NewsHour” and is currently the Washington correspondent for NBC News. Before joining “NewsHour,” she worked as a national political reporter for The New York Times where she covered Congress and wrote about the impact of President Donald Trump’s policies on working-class people and people of color. She earned a master’s degree in broadcast news and documentary filmmaking from New York University and a bachelor’s in English, government and African American studies from Georgetown University.
Ken Burns is an acclaimed historical documentary filmmaker. His films have won multiple Emmys and received Oscar nominations, and he’s been honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. His films and series, most of which appear on PBS, include “The Civil War,” “The Dust Bowl” and “Baseball.” His film “Jackie Robinson” aired on PBS in 2016.
