Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

On this month’s Memorials PAWcast, we remember Isabella de la Houssaye from the class of 1986. Isabella was a lawyer, mother, art curator, and endurance athlete. She died December 2nd, 2023.

On this episode of the PAW Book Club podcast, we talk with Katie Kitamura ’99, author of our latest read, “Intimacies.” The much-lauded novel follows a woman who comes to The Hague as an interpreter for the international court and begins to interpret for a former president who’s facing war crime charges. Kitamura answered our questions about the book, discussing why she gives so little backstory to her characters and why readers’ strong dislike of one character surprised her. She also discussed her writing philosophy and what advice she gives as a creative writing professor at NYU. “The writing itself, when it is private, when it’s just myself, when I can do whatever I want, that is the most special part of writing to me,” she said. “That’s my favorite part.”

In this episode, we bring you a conversation between Reina Coulibaly, who just graduated with Princeton’s Class of 2024, and Ara Tucker, from the Class of ’01, who just published her second book, titled “How to Date a Black Girl.” Both identify as queer Black women, and they connected in September at Princeton’s Every Voice summit celebrating LGBTQ+ alumni, where Ara spoke on a panel about intersectional identity. With Coulibaly, Tucker discussed her career path and how being a part of the Princeton community has fundamentally influenced the way she relates to the multitude of identities she carries.

When Cameron Hume ’68 graduated from Princeton, he joined the Peace Corps and was sent to Libya, where his two-year stint was cut short by a coup d’etat. The experience launched him on a diplomacy career that has taken him to some of the world’s most dangerous — and interesting — places. On the PAWcast, he spoke about two hot topics where he has expertise: prisoner exchanges and humanitarian aid. He discussed his recent work trying to get aid into Gaza, he and explained why sometimes you need to go to a place to understand its people.

On this episode of PAW’s Memorials PAWcast, we remember Ernie Pascarella ’65. Ernie played on the 1964 undefeated football team and was All-Ivy two years.

On this first episode of PAW’s new Memorials PAWcast, we remember Joe Schein ’37, the longest-living member of the Class of ’37 and the oldest undergraduate alum in Princeton’s history. Joe carried the Class of 1923 Cane — an honor given to the oldest returning alum — at Princeton Reunions eight times.

Princeton’s Office of Religious Life recently saw a transition in leadership, and we thought it would be an ideal time to speak on the PAWcast with the two people passing that figurative baton: The Rev. Alison Boden, who recently retired after 17 years as dean of religious life and the chapel, and the Rev. Theresa Thames, the new dean of religious life and the chapel, who has been associate dean since 2016.

This episode was recorded at Princeton University’s 2024 Reunions Weekend, when PAW sponsored a panel discussion featuring five alumni experts who addressed two questions: Is student mental health in crisis, and what can be done about it? The conversation begins with moderator Lucy McBride ’95 and continues with Jeremy Nobel ’77, Joshua Blum ’02, Chioma Ugwonali ’24, and Jess Deutsch ’91.

On this episode of the PAW Book Club Podcast — where Princeton alumni read a book together — Bianca Bosker ’08 talks about her latest book, “Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See,” for which she ventured into the secretive and exclusive world of fine art. She was trying to answer what you’d think would be an easy two-part question: What counts as art, and who gets to decide? But as she talked her way into galleries, art shows, and museums, getting to know artists, collectors, and curators, the answer turned out to be anything but simple.

Princeton’s newest valedictorian, Genrietta Churbanova ’24, is an anthropology major who spent much of her time here researching Russia-China relations in both the Russian and Chinese languages. On this episode of the PAWcast, she talks about her research, about growing up in both Moscow and Little Rock, Arkansas, and about her extracurriculars — including serving as president of the Student Society of Russian Language and Culture and opinions editor of The Daily Princetonian. Faculty have described Churbanova as a hard worker and researcher, “conscientious to a fault and deeply ethical, someone who’s young, but already producing scholarship that will stand the test of time.”