Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

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)

Scott McVay ’55 has written a memoir, Surprise Encounters, featuring vignettes drawn from decades working at universities and foundations and in the sciences. In a recent oral-history interview, he shared stories about his many ties to Princeton, and in the excerpts here, he speaks about a pair of notable Princetonians: former president Robert Goheen ’40 *48 and former provost Neil Rudenstine ’56. (Season 4, Episode 9)

Sebastian Abbot ’98 first heard about Football Dreams, an ambitious Qatari-backed talent search that aimed to identify promising soccer prospects in Africa, when he was an Associated Press correspondent in Cairo. He returned to the subject a few years later, digging deeper into the story by profiling three of the program’s prominent players for a new book, The Away Game: The Epic Search for Soccer’s Next Superstars. The book is Abbot’s first, and writing it was tremendously rewarding, he says. “If you have an idea that you feel passionate enough about and that you sort of can’t stand the idea of a book not being written about that subject, then I would dive in — but do it with eyes wide open,” he says. “It’ll be harder than anything you’ve ever done.”

Aida Pacheco '77 came to Princeton from a predominantly black and Latino high school in nearby Trenton, where teachers said she wasn't cut out for the Ivy League. Her early experiences on campus reinforced that fear. But when Pacheco was on the verge of dropping out, a supportive friend changed her mind. (Season 4, Episode 8)

Anthony D’Amato ’10 has come a long way since he began writing and recording songs in his Princeton dorm room nine years ago. He’s released three full-length albums and toured across the world, and his indie/folk and Americana-inspired music has been compared to the likes of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. In an interview with PAW's Allie Wenner, D'Amato talks about his Princeton roots, the touring life, and what it's like to be on the road in the current political climate. The podcast includes performances of "Honey That's Not All" and "Rain On A Strange Roof." You can hear more from Anthony on Spotify and Apple Music, or on his website, anthonydamatomusic.com