Significant Others

Without the profound connection between these two artists, would the world ever have gotten I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings? Starring: Christina Elmore as Maya Angelou and Larry Powell as James Baldwin. Also starring Angelica Chéri as Lorraine Hansberry. Source List:James Baldwin: A Biography, By David Adams LeemingThe Three Mothers, by Anna Malaika TubbsNotes of a Native Son, by James BaldwinAt 80, Maya Angelou Reflects on a ‘Glorious’ Life, NPR, 2008The Collected Autobiographies of Maya Angelou, Compilation copyright 2004 by Random House, Inc.Conversations With a Native SonJames Baldwin Biographical Timeline, American Masters, PBSMaya Angelou, World History ProjectJames Baldwin’s Sexuality: Complex and Influential, NBC News“James Baldwin on Langston Hughes”,  The Langston Hughes Review, James Baldwin and Clayton Riley “Talking Back to Maya Angelou”, by Hilton Als, The New Yorker“Songbird”, by Hilton Als, The New Yorker“A Brother’s Love”, by Maya Angelou“James Baldwin Denounced Richard Wright’s ‘Native Son’ as a ‘Protest Novel,’ Was he Right?” by Ayana Mathis and Pankaj Mishra, The New York Times“After a 30 Year Absence, the Controversial ‘Porgy and Bess’ is Returning to the Met Opera”, by Brigit Katz, Smithsonian Magazine“Published More Than 50 Years Ago, ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ Launched a Revolution”, by Veronica Chambers, Smithsonian Magazine“On the Horizon: On Catfish Row”, by James Baldwin“James Baldwin: Great Writers of the 20th Century” “An Introduction to James Baldwin”, National Museum of African American History & Culture“‘The Blacks,’ Landmark Off-Broadway Show, Gets 42nd Anniversary Staging, Jan 31”, by Robert Simonson, Playbill “Do the White Thing”, by Brian Logan“James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket”, American Masters, PBS“James Baldwin, The Art of Fiction”, by Jordan Elgrably“The American Dream and the American Negro”, by James Baldwin“The History That James Baldwin Wanted America to See”, by Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.“Lost and ... Found?: James Baldwin’s Script and Spike Lee’s ‘Malcolm X.’” by D. Quentin Miller, African American Review

Biographer Stacy Schiff joins Liza to discuss the lengths she went to in researching her Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, Véra. A full list of Stacy Schiff’s books can be found here:https://www.stacyschiff.com/books-and-essays-by-stacy-schiff.html

Vladimir Nabokov is best known for writing the highly controversial yet critically revered novel, Lolita. But the book might never have made it onto the shelves were it not for the other Nabokov—Vladimir's enigmatic and elusive wife, Véra.Starring: D’Arcy Carden as Véra Nabokov and Dan Bucatinsky as Vladimir Nabokov Source list:Véra by Stacy SchiffLetters to Véra by Vladimir Nabokov, Ed: Olga Voronina and Brian BoydVladimir Nabokov, The Russian Years by Brian BoydVladimir Nabokov, The American Years by Brian BoydLolita by Vladimir NabokovLectures on Literature by Vladimir Nabokov, Ed: Fredson Bowers 

Liza is joined by her significant other, self-proclaimed Lincoln super-fan Conan O’Brien, to discuss how crucial Mary Lincoln was to her husband's political career.

Mary Lincoln is the First Lady everyone loves to hate. But without her, would Abe Lincoln even have been president in the first place? Theirs is a love story that contains many tragedies—and a key to how America became the country it is today. Starring: Rita Wilson as Mary Lincoln and Timothy Olyphant as Abraham Lincoln. Also featuring Matt Gourley and Mike Sweeney. Source List:Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns GoodwinMiller Center, The University of Virginia, www.millercenter.orgThe Lincolns: Portrait of a Marriage, by Daniel Mark EpsteinMary Todd Lincoln: A Biography, by Jean H. Baker“Lincoln’s Looks Never Hindered His Approach to Life or Politics,” by Susan Bell, USC News“Mary Todd Lincoln, Patient at Bellevue Place, Batavia.” by Rodney A. Ross., Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society“Acts of Remembrance: Mary Todd Lincoln and Her Husband’s Memory.” by Jennifer L. Bach, Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association“New Mary Lincoln Letter Discovered.” by Jason Emerson, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society

Playwright Dipika Guha joins Liza to give insight into the complicated relationship between her home country of India and Gandhi's legacy in this time of call-out culture.

Mohandas Gandhi helped India win independence from Britain through nonviolent resistance but little know that he credits the inspiration for his tactics to his wife, Kasturba. So, who was the wife of this renowned saint?Starring Dipika Guha as Kasturba Gandhi and Samrat Chakrabarti as Mohandas Gandhi. Source List:The Woman Beside Gandhi: A Biography of Kasturba, Wife of the Mahatma, by Sita KapadiaGandhi on Women, by Madhu Kishwar, Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 20, no. 41Why Mahatma Gandhi Said Kasturba Stood Above Him, Prabhash K Dutta, New Delhi, October 2, 2018The Truth About Gandhi, The Harvard CrimsonPetty, Bad-Tempered Kasturba - What Gandhi Said While Courting Sarladevi and Esther Faerling, B.M. Bhalla, March 19, 2020The Story of My Experiments With Truth, by Mohandas Karamchad GandhiMAHATMA, In Eight Volumes, by D.G. TendulkarKasturba: A Biography, By B.M. BhallaGandhi Was a Racist Who Forced Young Girls to Sleep in Bed With Him, by Mayukh Sen, December 3, 2015, ViceKasturba Gandhi, The Feisty Woman Whose Patience Inspired Gandhi's Call For Satyagraha, by Simrin Sirur, April 11, 2019, The Print  

World-renowned psychotherapist Esther Perel joins Liza to discuss the dynamic between Leo and Sophia Tolstoy and whether the issues Sophia faced were a product of the times she lived in.This bonus episode is a discussion of Episode 1 of Significant Others, "Countess Sophia Tolstoy." Listen to it here.  

Leo Tolstoy is widely regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. Yet, without his wife, Sophia Tolstoy, would the world have been gifted with such literary classics as War and Peace and Anna Karenina? Starring Megan Mullally as Countess Sophia Tolstoy and Nick Offerman as Leo Tolstoy.Source List:Tolstoy, A Biography by A.N. Wilson, 1988 WW Norton & CoSong Without Words: The Photographs & Diaries of Countess Sophia Tolstoy by Leah Bendavid-Val, National Geographic SocietyLeo Tolstoy, Diaries, Faber, Ed. R.F. ChristianTolstoy, Woman and Death by David Holbrook, Farleigh Dickinson University PressThe Diaries of Sophia Tolstoy, Cathy Porter, Harper Collins

Did you know that the novel "Lolita" would not exist if Vladimir Nabokov’s wife hadn’t stopped her husband from burning the manuscript? Or that Gandhi learned his legendary method of passive resistance from his wife? Alongside any famous name, there is often another story to tell—of an intimate relationship that made all the difference. Starting July 20th, join Liza Powel O’Brien as she explores the stories of the little-known individuals just beyond the spotlight of history. Because no one lives in a vacuum—not even geniuses.