Pushing The Envelope
Stephen Malinowski heard our request for mail art and decided to do a little experiment. He tested the post office to see what they would and wouldn’t deliver by mailing not one, or two, but 100 pieces...
View ArticleMail Art
In August, Studio 360 asked listeners to send us mail art. And you responded with fantastic enthusiasm. Streams of amazing things poured in through the mail drop from all around the world — a piece of...
View ArticleMogul Memos
David O. Selznick was a major Hollywood mogul, producing great films such as Gone with the Wind and Spellbound. But he was also a workaholic micromanager, obsessed with sending office memos. Through...
View ArticleSpecial Guest: Jhumpa Lahiri
Kurt Andersen talks with Jhumpa Lahiri about the artistry of letters and her latest novel, The Namesake, in which a crucial letter never arrives.Jhumpa Lahiri's debut story collection Interpreter of...
View ArticleThe Love Letters
For Valentine’s Day, why not team up with a professional writer who can help you write a love letter to whomever you want for free? Artist Jana Leo de Blas thought up The Love Letters project, which...
View ArticleMogul Memos
David O. Selznick was a major Hollywood mogul, producing great films such as Gone with the Wind and Spellbound. But he was also a workaholic micromanager, obsessed with sending office memos. Through...
View ArticleThe translators Brian Boyd and Olga Voronina on Nabokov's correspondence with...
This week's magazine has a selection of letters written by Vladimir Nabokov to his wife, Vera, while on a college lecture tour in 1942, translated by Brian Boyd and Olga Voronina. Here Blake Eskin...
View ArticleLetters
Brooke and Bob read from a few of your letters and comments.Sufjan Stevens - Barcarola
View ArticleThings You Wish You Would Have Said
If you could go back and say something to someone in your past — an ex, an old boss, a deceased loved one — what do you wish you could tell them? That question is the basis of a new book. It's called...
View ArticleGore Vidal's Historical Novel 'Julian' and Its Modern Parallels
"I can talk for an hour without notes, but for 15 minutes, I have to read it. I shall look up occasionally to give an air of spontaneity." Thus, Gore Vidal begins one of his customarily suave and witty...
View ArticleThe Power of War Letters
The power of a letter to evoke emotion and experience far from place and time is one of the miracles of communication. We explored that on Veterans Day this year. First Marine Lieutenant Michael Scotti...
View ArticleScrabble Traditionalists Fight Proposed Scoring System
What's the value of a letter? In a game like Wheel of Fortune vowels cost you money and consonants earn you points.But in the game of Scrabble it's nearly the opposite where the very common vowels hold...
View ArticleWhen We Wrote Letters
Seems there was a time, not that long ago, when everyone ran to the mailbox, knowing there might be something special waiting for them inside.That time, however, has gradually been coming to an end, as...
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The Love Secretary Always Writes Back
Unrequited love is one of the loneliest feelings in the world. But if you're staring down a hole in your heart, you're not alone -- there's an office in Verona, Italy (the home of Romeo and Juliet)...
View ArticleWhy We Cherish Letters
Ever since The Takeaway reported on the US Post Office's plans to scale-back mail delivery, eliminating Saturday deliveries, listeners have been calling, emailing and texting us with stories about...
View ArticleYour Stories of the Rejection Letters That Changed Your Life — Or Didn't
As part of our ongoing series on the value of letter-writing, we asked you to tell us about letters that have brought bad news — and whether those letters changed your life.We heard stories of jobs...
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Newly-Published Letters Portray Leonard Bernstein's Complex, Colorful Life
More than 20 years after his death, Leonard Bernstein looms large over classical music, remembered both for his extroverted conducting style and for his vibrant, culturally omnivorousoff-stage persona,...
View ArticleHuffington Post Disables Anonymous Comments
This week, The Huffington Post ended anonymous comments on its website in the hopes of engendering more civil discussions. Bob reflects on OTM's own issues with anonymous commenters, and speaks with...
View ArticleYour Takeaway: Listener Stories
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving from The Takeaway!Today, we’re doing things a little differently. Your comments on our stories come pouring in every day, and often times you have stories of your own. So...
View ArticleDear Editor
"Brevity is the soul of wit" is an adage lost on many an opinionator, but not on Felicia Nimue Ackerman, who's among the most published letters-to-the-editor writers in the country. Since 1987, more...
View ArticleA Love Story on Death Row
Damien Echols was just 18 years old when he was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. His case—that of the infamous “West Memphis Three”—was the subject of Joe Berlinger's documentary...
View ArticleThe Fight Over Tony Blair's Letters to George Bush
Today, President Obama hosts British Prime Minister David Cameron for a two-day White House visit.The official goal of the visit is to "highlight the breadth, depth, and strength of the bilateral...
View ArticleThe translators Brian Boyd and Olga Voronina on Nabokov’s correspondence with...
This week's magazine has a selection of letters written by Vladimir Nabokov to his wife, Vera, while on a college lecture tour in 1942, translated by Brian Boyd and Olga Voronina. Here Blake Eskin...
View ArticleBill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson Bring Science Down to Earth. Mary-Louise...
Bill Nye “The Science Guy” on what we can all do to slow climate change. Christopher Rothko remembers his father, iconic abstract expressionist Mark Rothko. Award-winning actress Mary-Louise Parker on...
View ArticleThe Hijacker's Letter, Snap #612 - Unforgiven
What do you do when you receive a letter from your husband’s killer?For more information, check out Kathleen’s website and facebook page.Producer and Sound Design:Davey Kim
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Love is fleeting but these vintage valentines are worth keeping
A vintage valentine courtesy of the Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia.In these modern times, Valentine’s Day means rushing to get last-minute restaurant reservations, or lurking at the...
View Article#130 My Dad Was My First Oprah
When she was growing up, writer Ashley C. Ford’s dad showered her with praise, through nearly 100 letters. Which he sent from prison. In this episode, Ashley talks about idealizing her incarcerated...
View ArticleMiracle on 22nd Street - Letters to Santa
You can feel when Christmas starts sweeping New York. The tree goes up in Rockefeller plaza, snow piles on lampposts. For Dylan and Jim, the mailbox at their apartment on 22nd Street starts to fill up...
View ArticleNever Before Seen Letters from an Imprisoned Nelson Mandela
Sahm Venter and Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela discuss The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela. Arrested in 1962 as South Africa’s apartheid regime intensified its brutal campaign against political opponents,...
View ArticleA Voicemail Valentine
Nowadays we’re very accustomed to recording and hearing the sound of our own voices. But in the 1930s many people were doing it for the first time. And a surprising trend began. People started sending...
View ArticleThe Grinch Rides Again: Mary Gaitskill
This week, a story for everyone who might feel just a little grinchy around the holidays. This episode is hosted by Moth Producer Michelle Jalowski. Hosted by: Michelle Jalowski Storyteller: Mary...
View Article"Dear Mr. Brody" explores a mysterious millionaire
"Dear Mr. Brody" takes us back to 1970 when a 21-year-old heir to a fortune in Scarsdale, New York promised to give away his money - causing thousands of people to write him letters describing their...
View ArticleUncuffed - Snap Spotlight
It's been almost a year since friends and family have been able to visit their loved ones in prison, due to the pandemic. Letters to the inside are always a lifeline. This year, more than ever. Today,...
View ArticlePoet Kwame Alexander's NAACP Image Award-Nominated Memoir, 'Why Fathers Cry...
[REBROADCAST FROM May 23, 2023] Newbery-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander is a beloved children's book author, but now he is sharing more of his life and story with adult readers. Alexander joins...
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