(Blank on Blank) George Washington Carver on Ego and Self!

"You can’t get very far in life if you don’t get away from Self" - George Washington Carver in 1939

The famed scientist and inventor best known for the amazing work he did with peanuts -- he cooked up over 100 uses for peanuts incluing plastics and gasoline -- gave this rare interview four years before he died in 1943. It's an inspiring story about the importance of scientific discovery and putting ego aside in the search for facts and the truth.

We uncovered this rare tape via the George Washington Carver National Monument. Special thanks to Curtis Gregory at the National Park Service and Peter D. Burchard. Learn more about George Washington Carver here: georgewashingtoncarver.us

(BLANK on BLANK) Jimmy Carter on Power and God!

"The fact that a person has deep religious convictions doesn't necessarily mean that that person always thinks that he's right, that God's ordained him to take a dominant position" - Jimmy Carter in May 1976, six months before he was elected President.

Originally aired on WNET's Bill Moyers Journal on PBS

We loved uncovering this interview with Jimmy Carter talking about his humble upbringings and vision for America under his watch. He talks the impact of God and religion in his path to public service, experiencing with world while in the Navy, missing the final years of his father's life, and the true meaning of helping people overcome injustice in all forms.

(Blank on Blank) Nora Ephron on Crazy Salad!

"It’s okay being a woman now. I like it. Try it some time.” - Nora Ephron, in a 1975 interview with Studs Terkel

To many, Nora Ephron is best known as the screenwriter behind some classic movies like When Harry Met Sally, Julie and Julia, Sleepless in Seattle, and Silkwood. But before she turned to writing screenplays, she was a journalist and a writer. Ephron got her start at the New York Post in the 1960s and soon she was writing for New York Magazine and Esquire.

It was at Esquire that Ephron made her name through with her personal essays, such as the one about the smallness of her breasts (A Few Words About Breasts). Ephron mixed humor with honesty, and captured the ups and downs of both being a woman--and the growing women's movement. It was around this time she sat down with Studs Terkel. Ephron had recently released a collection of her essays called, Crazy Salad.

Listen to the full interview, more about her place in the women's movement, her thoughts on writing and movies, and an inspiring message for graduates (“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”)

http://blankonblank.org/nora-ephron/

The lost interview comes from the WFMT Studs Terkel Radio archive: http://studsterkel.org

(Blank on Blank) Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws!

“I keep my mouth shut now. I’ve turned into a professional coward.”
- Hunter S. Thompson in 1967

As told to Studs Terkel (http://studsterkel.org)

Hear more from this rare interview: http://blankonblank.org/hunter-thompson

(Blank on Blank) James Brown on Conviction, Respect & Reagan!

"Black is not a color; it's an attitude. It's the attitude of independence, respect and dignity."
- James Brown

Interview by Rocci Fisch
1984. Washington, D.C. Convention Center
Originally recorded for ABC News Radio

(Blank on Blank) Frank Zappa on Fads!

"I don‘t think that there‘s a girl around that would fit in with what we do" - Frank Zappa on June 6, 1971, as told to Howard Smith.

Frank Zappa had a few opinions. Surly? Matter-of-fact? Misunderstood? We'll let you decide as we present this rarely heard
interview with Zappa recorded in his hotel room.

Zappa has a few things to say about women's lib ("a fad"), on LA vs "depressing" New York, why America is a nation of people being told what to do, and why women couldn't hack it in his band. Sit back and enjoy.

So much good stuff in the full interview, which you can hear at http://thesmithtapes.com.

(Blank on Blank) Lou Reed on Guns & Ammo!

"I write a song called 'Heroin', you would have thought that I murdered the Pope or something"

- Lou Reed on March 20, 1987, as told to Joe Smith

Lou Reed. Lou Reed. Here we bring you a rarely heard interview Lou recored in 1987. It's vintage Lou. Salty and sweet. Earnest and cocky. Grouchy and kind of endearing. Reed (and his legendary band The Velvet Underground) were those musicians who never got the extensive accolades or awards--nor the riches many of their contemporaries found. Yet he never seemed to waver in his search for the perfect sound and his quest "to elevate the rock and roll song and take it where it hadn’t been taken before." Here we present some interview outtakes that give a taste for this iconic American musician. Lou Reed died of liver disease on October 27, 2013. He was 71.

Get the interview backstory, GIFs and more @ http://blankonblank.org/

Hear the full interview with Lou Reed on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

(Blank on Blank) B.B. King on The Blues!

"I don't like to feel that I owe anything. I like to feel that I pay my own way, no free lunch."
- B.B. King on September 5, 1986, as told to Joe Smith

Mr. B.B. King. The blues legend says he played 300 nights a year for four-plus decades. That’s just ridiculous. We’re talking about nearly 15,000 shows. King turns 90 this year and you still just might be able to see him on stage. So what's his secret? We heard some keys to living life to its fullest in a 1986 interview that had been unheard until now.

In this animated film created from B.B. King's interview with legendary music executive, Joe Smith, the musician explains how he approaches an audience, how a fire at a juke joint led to his naming his guitar "Lucille", why the blues isn't just being down on your luck, and why compliments don't mean it's time to stop practicing or perfecting your craft.

(Blank on Blank) Janis Joplin on Rejection!

"In my insides, it really hurts if someone doesn't like me. It's silly."
- Janis Joplin

Interview by Howard Smith
September 30, 1970. By phone
TheSmithTapes.com

(Blank on Blank) Larry King on Getting Seduced!

"I'm playing these records. The phone rings and I pick it up: 'WAHR'. And this lady's voice--I can still hear her voice--she goes: 'I want you.'" - Larry King

(Blank on Blank) Cher on Kitsch!

"I’m a cookie-decorating mom. I don’t bake them. I decorate them.“ - Cher in 1999, as told to Benjamin Svetkey.

On a spring afternoon, Svetkey drove to Cher's house in Malibu for an interview. Her assistant led him up to her bedroom where she was dressed in leopard print and resting on a leopard print bedspread.

Cher was open, honest, and forthcoming about the ups and downs of fame, being a mom, her gay following, the camp element of her persona, and how Sonny Bono changed her life. It's vintage Cher. Enjoy.

More Cher wisdom, a look at her childhood, style, and many film roles: http://blankonblank.org/cher

(Blank on Blank) Nina Simone on Shock!

" I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I have a chance to live, as I've dreamed." - Nina Simone in July, 1968

As told to http://lilianterry.com

Lilian Terry had a national radio show in Italy--everyone from Ray Charles to Duke Ellington appeared on her show--and there was one person she always wanted to interview: Nina Simone.

But Lilian had heard Nina didn’t enjoy speaking with white people. Thankfully Lillian had a confidant in Max Roach, the legendary jazz drummer, who introduced Lilian to Nina at the Newport Festival in 1968.

“Lilian Terry comes from Egypt, ” Roach said. The was was true; Lilian was born in Cairo to a father from Malta and a mother from Italy.

With that simple introduction, Nina waved Lillian over. Soon they were talking about nefertitti and the pharoahs.

Nina even told Lilian she thought she’d been in Egypt in a previous life.

A few days later Lilian went to Nina’s house in Mt. Vernon, New York. They sat by the pool, the tape recorder was turned on, and the conversation continued.

(Blank on Blank) Dolly Parton on Getting Dirty!

"Mama just always said, 'you be what you are and you don't have to worry about nothing'" 

- Dolly Parton as told to Lawrence Grobel on March 13, 1978

Dolly Parton was not your typical model to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine. But that's just what Dolly did in 1978. She wouldn't take her clothes off, yet that issue still became one of Playboy's most popular issues of all time.

Inside that issue of Playboy was an amazing interview done by Lawrence Grobel. The recording of this interview has never been heard until now. Dolly was at the height of her stardom. She was in her early 30s. And what we loved hearing were her stories about growing up with 11 siblings in Tennessee. They slept four to the bed. The little ones often peed on her at night. In the summertime everybody bathed in the river. And Dolly was into tight clothes and makeup even as a little girl. It's quintessential Dolly. There is nobody in show business like her.

(Blank on Blank) Ayn Rand on Love and Happiness!

" I have no faith at all. I only hold convictions."
- Ayn Rand on February 25, 1959, as told to Mike Wallace

Recording from Mike Wallace Collection @ Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin

(Blank on Blank) Dustin Hoffman on Duplicity and Famosity!

"I did as much as I could do at that time in my life ... I tried as hard as I could and I couldn't do better"- Dustin Hoffman in 1971

Interview by Milton Hoffman from the Pacifica Radio Archives

Hear more from this rare interview: http://blankonblank.org/dustin

We came across this rarely heard interview with Dustin Hoffman recorded in 1971. It's such a thoughtful, unrushed conversation from a Hollywood icon when he was just a few years into becoming a star. He was still catching his breath and asking the questions that so many of us wonder when professional careers and a family life are beginning to take shape.

Even though Hoffman was only 33 at the time of the interview, he said Hollywood already viewed as an old timer, part of the establishment. This despite the fact The Graduate, Hoffman’s breakout film, had been released a few years earlier. That was followed up by his role as Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy -- the X rated film that won an oscar for best picture.

Listening to this interview tape, we were drawn to this idea of the struggles that pop up between different generations and the questions one confronts internally as he or she gets older.

(Blank on Blank) Beastie Boys on Being Stupid!

"There's a way we talk and it includes profanity. We never figured we'd be arrested for it."
- Mike "Mike D" Diamond

Interview by Rocci Fisch for ABC News Radio
1985, Washington, D.C. Cassette Tape

(Blank on Blank) Fidel Castro: the Lost Interview!!

"If this Revolution falls, what we will have here in Cuba is a hell. Hell itself." - Fidel Castro

Interview by Clark Hewitt Galloway
1959, Havana

Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Translator: Sebastian Betti

Hear the full 35-minute interview with Castro with english translation:
http://blankonblank.org/interviews/fi...

(Blank on Blank) Frank Lloyd Wright on Arrogance!

“Any man who really has faith in himself will be dubbed arrogant by his fellows” - Frank Lloyd Wright in 1957, as told to Mike Wallace

Hear more outtakes and watch the full interview @ http://blankonblank.org/frank-lloyd-w...

(Blank on Blank) Roger Ebert on Ego!

"I have innate confidence that I am right. Partially out of conviction and partially as a pose." - Roger Ebert in 1990

This episode contains excerpts of Lawrence Grobel's extended interviews with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel in 1990. The famous duo worked side-by-side from 1975 until Siskel’s death in 1999, co-hosting the acclaimed, nationally syndicated show Siskel & Ebert. They remained together despite–or perhaps because of–their famously tumultuous relationship.

We focused on the ideas of ego and cultural taste that bubbled up throughout the interviews with Roger Ebert. They are essential to both creatives and the people who critique them. Was Ebert a genius? A blowhard? You be the judge.

(Blank on Blank) Meryl Streep on Beauty!

"It's very humbling to imagine somebody else's real life and their pain ... It's my drug"
- Meryl Streep

Interview by Christine Spines, 2008

Read Christine's Meryl Streep profile here: http://bit.ly/1miZ1XR