Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

Washington Post nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada *97, a Pulitzer Prize nominee earlier this year, tells PAW about his approach to reading (and re-reading) books and shares recommendations from his own shelf. He also remembers the books that made a lasting impression on him as a kid. And he recalls his time at the Woodrow Wilson School, where he took macroeconomics from future Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.

Kyle Berlin ’18 had a lot to be excited about as he finished his senior year: The Spanish and Portuguese languages major was named Princeton’s valedictorian. And he was set to start an artistic residency in Maine, where he and two collaborators will perform a play he wrote last year, exploring the many questions that relate to the concept of “home.” In advance of Commencement, Berlin spoke with Allie Wenner about the inspiration for his play and how his travels as an undergrad have shaped the person that he is today. This is part of a monthly series of interviews with alumni, faculty, and students.

Playing football at Princeton created lasting memories for William Ledger ’54, who lettered in his senior year and had the opportunity to follow one of the Tigers’ greatest teams, the undefeated 1951 squad, as a sophomore. (Season 4, Episode 14)

Celine Gounder ’97 started her Princeton career as an engineering student, but she eventually switched to molecular biology and found a calling in public health and epidemiology. In addition to practicing medicine, Gounder is a journalist and podcaster, and the current season of her podcast, In Sickness and In Health, explores the opioid overdose crisis. She spoke about opioids, as well as her experience as a volunteer during the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, in a recent interview with PAW.

As a son of Freddy Fox ’39, one of Princeton’s most enthusiastic ambassadors, Donald Fox grew up with a reunion tent in his backyard. The younger Fox reflects on his father’s love of Princeton — and his path in the 25 years between graduation and his eventual return to work on campus as the University’s recording secretary and later the “keeper of Princetoniana.”

It took Jacob Sager Weinstein ’94 about a decade to sell his first book for young readers, Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath (Random House), a fantasy and adventure story about an American girl navigating the magical underground rivers of London. With the second book in the trilogy, Hyacinth and the Stone Thief, coming out this month, we spoke with Weinstein about his persistence in creating the Hyacinth series and the challenges and joys of writing for children — as it turns out, 10-year-olds might have been his natural audience all along. Sager Weinstein also explains how he handles writer’s block and the role that Triangle Club and Quipfire! played in teaching him how to write with a specific audience in mind.

Mike Murburg ’77 was 17 when he arrived at Princeton, “naïve and full of testosterone,” but he worked his way through a challenging schedule as a student-athlete, which prepared him for an atypical path after college.

For Wallace Good ’72, leading the Outing Club — and trying to keep its VW Bus on the road — was a bit of a headache. But through trips with the group, he fell in love with Vermont, the place he’d eventually call home. (Season 4, Episode 11)

On the surface, Kieran Setiya *02 had nothing to complain about. He had earned tenure as a philosophy professor; he’d published books and journal articles; he enjoyed teaching. But something was missing. “However worthwhile it seemed to teach another class or write another essay, I suddenly was aware, in a way I hadn’t been, of all the things in my life I wasn’t going to do,” Setiya says. He was having a midlife crisis, and he worked through it by talking with friends and digging into philosophical texts. In a new book, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide, Setiya shares what he learned. He spoke with PAW about some of the key takeaways — and the things he still struggles with.

Doctor and health administrator Alicia Brooks Christy ’77 talks about her path through Princeton and remembers her mother, who completed college as a nontraditional undergrad and supported her daughter in college and medical school. “She always believed in me,” Christy says, “which helped me to believe in myself.” (Season 4, Episode 10)