Princeton Alumni Weekly Podcasts

On this episode of the PAWcast, Princeton valedictorian Erik Medina '25 talks about majoring in chemistry and his thesis, for which he researched ways to upcycle plastics. Erik has been accepted into a Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but first he's taking a year off to teach at his old high school near Miami.

PAW Memorials editor Nicholas DeVito sat down with Steve McNamara '55 to discuss Bill Miller '55. Bill was a geologist and landman, but he was well known more for his vintage car racing.

When Milano Buckley '02 was born, her mother was homeless. She was living in her car, and she kept baby Milano in a basket in the backseat. What followed was an exceptionally unusual childhood that remarkably led Milano to the Lawrenceville School, and then later to Princeton. When Milano became a mother herself, she figured parenting would be a cinch compared to what she'd experienced in her own life. It turned out to be much, much harder. And now she's telling people. With a friend, Milano has started a podcast called Bare Naked Moms that seeks to tackle the challenges of parenting through honest conversations. Milano agreed to come on the PAWcast and talk about the work that she's been doing, and the part that Princeton played in her journey.

On this episode of the PAW Book Club podcast, we speak with Sash Bischoff from Princeton's Class of 2009 about her debut novel and our latest book club read, “Sweet Fury.” From the very first page, “Sweet Fury” takes the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, famously of Princeton's Class of 1917, and begins to play. A famous actress and film director, characters named Lila and Kurt, are collaborating on a feminist adaptation of “Tender is The Night.” Then into the mix strides a psychotherapist named Jonah, a character awfully similar to Jay Gatsby. The story unfolds in some surprisingly dark directions, including one disturbing scene set at a Princeton eating club, and prospective readers should note that this podcast will contain spoilers as we probe the ideas and intentions that ran through Sash's head as she wove this story, building up her characters — and destroying some in the end.

PAW Memorials editor Nicholas DeVito sat down with Shelley Slade '80 and Marie Yovanovitch '80 to discuss Jennifer Beale Parmalee '80. Jenni was a journalist in East Africa, covering politics, war, and personal stories.

On this episode, PAW Memorials editor Nicholas DeVito sat down with Elyse Graham '07 to discuss Professor Victor Brombert, who died Nov. 26, 2024.

On this episode of PAW's Book Club podcast, we ask bestselling author and playwright Jodi Picoult '87 about her latest book, “By Any Other Name,” which presents readers with a hypothesis: Could Emilia Bassano, a woman who really lived in Tudor England, have written some of the most famous plays attributed to William Shakespeare? Picoult discusses why she believes it, how her book has been received by scholars and fans, and the experiences she's personally had with the persistent misogyny in the theater world.

As a volunteer with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Stephen Lamberton '99 is sharing the story of his father's death in 1985 in hopes of destigmatizing suicide and helping others struggling with the loss of a loved one. On this episode of the PAWcast, Lamberton describes his journey toward processing his father's death and discussing it with his own children, as well as the meaningful experience of attending his 25th Princeton reunion — an experience that his father, who also attended Princeton, didn't live to see. Note: Listeners of this podcast will be hearing about some difficult topics. If you or anyone else you know needs help, you can reach the Suicide and Crisis Hotline by dialing 988, and you can text the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

On this episode, PAW Memorials editor Nicholas DeVito sat down with Jim Kempf '67 to discuss Karl Hummel '67, who died July 23, 2023.

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.”

John Marshall '87 and Jessica Lu '17 say climate change has a public relations problem. It's the biggest crisis of our time, but too often the people with solutions don't communicate them in a way that resonates with the public. The solution, they say, lies in what just happens to be the field where Marshall built his career and expertise: marketing. About seven years ago, he founded the Potential Energy Coalition to be “planet Earth's marketing firm” and use tools of the trade — think, surveys, data, and more data — to answer this question: How do we make people care about climate change and then act?

PAW's Book Club returns with author Michael Lewis, Class of '82, answering alumni questions about “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,” his recent book about Sam Bankman-Fried, a deeply peculiar financial mogul who very quickly built a cryptocurrency empire only to have it implode far faster just a few years later. When we spoke with Lewis earlier this week, Bankman-Fried was awaiting sentencing for fraud and money laundering, of which he was found guilty back in the fall. (He received a 25-year prison sentence on March 28). But in 2021, when Lewis first met him, he was a massive star in the unregulated new wild west of cryptocurrency and he had big plans to use billions of dollars to change the world. Lewis was granted remarkable access to FTX, Alameda Research and Sam himself, and when, as they say, the stuff hit the fan, he was right in the thick of it, watching. PAW Book Club is proud to be sponsored by the Princeton University Store. Missed this read? Join us for the next one, Bianca Bosker '08's work of gonzo journalism, “Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey Among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See.” Sign up at bit.ly/paw-book-club.

The 2024 Ivy League Basketball Tournament tips off March 15 at Columbia's Levien Gymnasium, and Princeton is seeded No. 1 on the men's and women's sides after both Tiger teams won regular-season championships. In advance of the big weekend in New York, PAW spoke with head coaches Carla Berube and Mitch Henderson '98 about their paths in coaching, their goals for a player's four-year experience, and some of the challenges and perks of the job.

After speaking on the PAWcast with three students about mental health at Princeton, PAW invited columnist Jess Deutsch '91 and director of Counseling and Psychological Services Calvin Chin to add their perspective on the issue. Addressing points the students raised, they discussed the pressure Princeton students feel to achieve, what services the University offers and what messages it tries to project, and what alumni can do to help.

Welcome to the first podcast from PAW's new Book Club, where Princeton alumni read a book together and send PAW their questions for the author. We received some terrific questions for our very first author, Jennifer Weiner, Class of '91, about her latest novel, “The Breakaway.” Jennifer is a prolific writer and frequent topper of bestseller lists. “The Breakaway” hit shelves this summer, and it impressed us at PAW by pulling readers breezily into a story about a bicycling trip led by protagonist Abby Stern, and then layering in thought-provoking and, frankly, controversial themes. PAW Book Club is proud to be sponsored by the Princeton University Store. Missed this read? Join us for the next one, Michael Lewis '82's latest book, “Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon.” Sign up at bit.ly/paw-book-club.

Concerns have been rising about student mental health on college campuses over the past few years — including at Princeton. To examine this issue, PAW asked three students who have been leaders and mentors in this area to discuss what's going on: Chioma Ugwonali '24, Isaac Lunar '24, and Issa Mudashiru '25. In a wide-ranging conversation, they discussed why Princeton students feel intense pressure to achieve, what mental health resources the University makes available to them, and why they could take better care of themselves, but too often don't. “Taking care of your mental-emotional well-being is not seen as valued on this campus,“ Ugwonali said, ”and … in our culture, in our society at large.”

Jeff Burt '66, Jim Hitch '71, and Peter Pettibone '61 might know a bit more about Russia than the average Princetonian. All three headed up the Soviet and Russian practices of the international law firms where they were partners: Arnold & Porter, Baker & McKenzie, and Hogan Lovells, respectively. On Sept. 20, the same day that Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky addressed the United Nations, they discussed their thoughts on the war with fellow alumni at a Tiger Talks '66 event, and shared an important message: The threat of nuclear war is very real. On the latest PAWcast, the three shared their thoughts on the conflict, Putin's rationale, the role of NATO, how it could be affected by the recent violence in Israel and Gaza — and just how far this war could go.

Today I am very pleased to tell you: I have good news. Morality is not actually declining in our country or anywhere else. The widespread belief that morality is declining is an illusion. That's the conclusion Adam Mastroianni '14 reached in a study recently published in the journal Nature. With Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert *85, Mastroianni found it just isn't true that people overall are less kind, honest, and respectful than they used to be. So why do we believe it? On the PAWcast, Mastroianni explained the psychological effects behind this phenomenon, and the danger we flirt with when we allow this belief to take hold.

Bob Surace '90 is heading into his 13th season as Princeton's head football coach, but his history with the Tigers goes back much further. On the PAWcast, he spoke about his time as an All-Ivy center for Princeton and what experiences like coaching in the NFL taught him about the game and the players. He also gave his thoughts on two hot-button issues in college football today — the transfer portal and players' newfound ability to sell their name, image, and likeness.

In 1960, the lives of three men born to immigrant families during the Great Depression collided. A doctor helped a prisoner get paroled, and then that prisoner shot and killed a police officer. Many years later, journalist Lisa Belkin, Princeton Class of 1982, heard this story from the doctor, who had recently become her stepfather, and she had a question: How? How did one of these men become the cop, one the killer, and one the doctor? To find out, she traced the families of all three men back through four generations — through births and marriages, wars, historical events and major cultural shifts that shaped the lives of Americans in the 20th century. Then she wrote it all down and titled her new book “Genealogy of a Murder.” In it, she writes, “We have less power over who we are now than we believe, and much more power over the future than we think.”

Princeton University's valedictorian for the Class of 2023 is Aleksa Milojević, a mathematics major from Belgrade, Serbia, who has focused on combinatorics while at Princeton and has already written three papers. In addition to earning 16 A pluses at Princeton, he has been a recipient of the Freshman First Honor Prize, the Class of 1939 Scholar Prize, and the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence — twice. Milojević spoke with PAW about his Princeton experience, about solving math problems no one has solved before, and about the many friendships he'll bring with him after graduation, with classmates from around the world.

For years, Bill Eville '87 has been writing down his life in bits and pieces, publishing essays about parenthood, childhood memories, and yes, being a Princeton alum. Now he's gone further and written a book, a memoir called Washed Ashore that's filled with his thoughts about high school wrestling matches, marrying a minister who fought breast cancer, moving from New York City to Martha's Vineyard, becoming a stay-at-home dad, and later the editor of the local newspaper. If all of this sounds ordinary, well, maybe it is. But in the hands of this writer a pattern emerges: Life's unexpected turns can change you in extraordinary ways — if you let them.

Princeton University is positioning itself at the forefront of research that could help to throw the brakes on climate change, from its zero-carbon goals to the way it's using the campus as a living laboratory. One person with a front row seat to all this is Forrest Meggers, a jointly appointed professor in Princeton's architecture and engineering schools. He also directs Princeton's C.H.A.O.S lab, which seeks to maximize the efficiency of heating and cooling systems. This month, as we celebrate Earth Day and PAW devotes its April issue to climate change, PAW asked Meggers for a tour through Princeton's energy systems and a look at what's coming next.

Majka Burhardt, Princeton Class of '98, has always wanted more. More challenges, more achievement. It's what pushed her to become one of the world's top professional rock and ice climbers, chasing adventure around the world and eventually beginning to build her own conservation organization at a mountain in Africa. Then in 2015, she discovered she was pregnant with twins. That seismic change led her to question everything — her work, her relationship with her mother, her marriage, and what it meant to be not just a driven woman, but also herself. Through it all, she kept mountains of journals and notes, and now she's published it all in a raw, confessional memoir, titled, as you might expect, “More.”

While he was a history student at Princeton, and editor of The Daily Princetonian, Jonathan Ort, Class of 2021, began researching the Firestone company. Yes, that Firestone; the one that once dominated the rubber and tire industry and the one that donated the $1 million to build Princeton's world-class library in 1944. What he found was recently published in the Princeton & Slavery Project, which investigates Princeton's historical involvement with slavery. This time, the forced labor wasn't in America but Liberia where Firestone used a racist system of forced labor to run its massive rubber plantation. Ort spoke with PAW about the connections he found between this system of modern day-slavery and the Firestone family's many donations to Princeton over five decades.

Only one creature, other than humans, substantially engineers the landscape around it: the beaver. Many millions of these furry dam builders once busily trapped water in ponds across North America, keeping the landscape lush and fertile, until colonists in the 1600s discovered the lucrative fur trade. In her new book, titled “Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America,” Leila Philip '86, an English and environmental studies professor at the College of the Holy Cross, who lives near a beaver pond in Connecticut, traces the Native Americans who viewed beavers as sacred, and the colonial capitalists who nearly drove the beaver to extinction. On the latest PAWcast, Philip spoke with PAW about how reintroduction efforts have brought the beaver back, along with hopes that they can help with ecological restoration and climate change.

What happens when a donor kidney becomes available to somebody who needs one? In the U.S., a hundred thousand people are waiting on lists, all with different ages, complications, and circumstances. How do you decide who gets it? In his new book, Voices in the Code, David Robinson '04, a scholar and co-founder of the equity-focused NGO Upturn, takes a look at the algorithm used to match kidneys and patients, and on the latest PAWcast he discusses how it was developed. Algorithms are increasingly used for all kinds of decisions in public life, he says, making close examination of the ethics and morality within them ever more crucial.

Washington Post columnist Christine Emba '10 has been watching the approach that young, single people are taking to sex these days, and it isn't pretty. What's more, often it's bad. It's bad sex, full of unwanted, unsatisfying encounters, influenced more by porn than pleasure, that women and men are nevertheless consenting to. Why? In her new book, titled ‘Rethinking Sex: A Provocation,' Emba explains how our sexual culture arrived at this moment and suggests a way forward, a way to bring connection, empathy, and — dare I say love? — back into intimacy, a way to, perhaps, fulfill all of those promises that sex makes, but isn't delivering.

Internships are a staple of the business world, and a step almost mandatory for young people entering many areas of the workforce. But how many are full of busywork? How many are unpaid? Rob Khoury, who founded and runs his own consulting company, Agile Rainmakers, wants internships to reach their true potential, as fulfilling experiences that mutually benefit both hosts and college students — including the Princeton alumni who host their alma mater's current crop each summer. He spoke with PAW about the four books he's writing, crammed with advice about how to thoughtfully design internships that really work.

Tom Szaky '05 says everything we own eventually comes to the end of its lifespan, whether it's a shirt you've worn for years or the cup from a coffee you bought this morning. Where does it all go? How much actually gets recycled? And with evidence mounting that all this waste is damaging our world, how can we throw on the brakes? Over the 20 years since he was a Princeton undergrad, Szaky has become an entrepreneur in the recycling world with his Trenton-based company TerraCycle, and a vocal advocate urging us to do better. He's written multiple books, including Outsmart Waste, The Future of Packaging, and Make Garbage Great, and on the PAWcast he talked about whether we can get a grip on our out-of-control consumption — before the waste we produce consumes us.

Just a few days before graduating as valedictorian of Princeton's Class of 2022, Natalia Orlovsky spoke with PAW about her love for both the sciences and humanities and her hopes for going into academia. As a student she worked in a bioengineering lab, served on the peer review board of the Princeton Undergraduate Research Journal, was an undergraduate course assistant, served on the board of Theatre Intime, and has been involved with the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center. Her advice to future students is to shrug off the feeling that there's a prescribed arc to their experience, so they can “feel like they're doing Princeton correctly, regardless of how they're doing Princeton.”

Leo Damrosch *68 is a Harvard professor of literature, emeritus, who has written biographies of Jonathan Swift, William Blake, and others. In his new book, titled Adventurer, he tackles Giacomo Casanova — the real Casanova, separate from the many fictionalized accounts that his name has inspired over the centuries, and separate from the version he painted of himself in a massive autobiography toward the end of his life. Damrosch spoke with PAW about untangling Casanova's story and about how the modern biographer should treat a legendary womanizer, spy, con man, diplomat, gambler, novelist, and philosopher more than 200 years after he lived.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has prompted a flood of refugees seeking safety in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere. As president of Refugees International, Eric Schwartz *85 has had an eye on the situation, and on refugee crises in places that aren't receiving as much attention. Schwartz spoke to PAW in mid-March about what he saw in Ukraine during a trip there early in the invasion, and about the policy solutions that are needed not only for Ukrainian refugees, but others around the world. At the time, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) thought 4 million refugees would flee Ukraine; by this podcast's publication in late April, that prediction had climbed to 8.3 million.

That little cellphone in your pocket can do more than you think. On the latest PAWcast, Rosa Wang *91 describes her work bringing mobile banking and digital financial services to some of the world's poorest and most remote places. Using her background in investment banking, she found that cellphones have incredible potential for empowering women. In her new book, titled “Strong Connections, Stories of Resilience from the Far Reaches of the Mobile Phone Revolution,” she says with the right application, the technology might even have the power to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.

Why do some people step up to help or speak up in a crisis, while others don't? On this episode of the PAWcast, Amherst professor Catherine Sanderson *97 explains how she analyzed the psychology of this phenomenon for her new book, Why We Act. She explains the science behind how we're wired to behave as bystanders and shows that with the right tools, training, and education, anyone can be turned into a moral rebel.

Having a baby shouldn't be a high-pressure experience — yet somehow it has become one. Emily Lammers '06 worked hard to carve her own path through parenting, and then she wrote a book about it: No Drama First-Time Mama. On this episode of the PAWcast, Lammers breaks down the pressures directed at first-time moms, from breastfeeding to helicopter parenting to neglecting their own well-being, and offers advice and confidence to anyone who wants to do the same.

Ghosts and monsters, strong families and a connection to the Earth fill the two young adult novels penned by Darcie Little Badger '10. Readers also find traditional Lipan Apache storytelling elements that Badger, a member of the Lipan Apache tribe, learned from her family while growing up in Texas. Badger spoke with PAW about her books — Elatsoe and A Snake Falls to Earth — about facing rejection on her path to becoming a writer, and why she wants her young readers to come away feeling hopeful about the future.

As a practicing dermatologist, Christine Ko '95 is usually in the doctor's seat. But when her son was diagnosed with profound deafness at two years old, she suddenly found herself on the patient's side of the relationship. What she learned and experienced over the next few years led her to write a new book, titled How to Improve Doctor-Patient Connection. Ko, who is also a professor of dermatology and pathology at Yale, spoke with PAW about the discoveries she made and how better awareness and communication can break down barriers between doctors and patients, and ultimately lead to better diagnoses and medical care.

A criminal record can stand firmly between a potential new hire and a company that needs to fill an open job. But should it? On this episode of the PAWcast, business strategist Jeff Korzenik '85 discusses his book, Untapped Talent, making a strong case for why smart companies will meet the coming global talent shortage with second-chance hiring. And he lays out a road map for how to do it right, with tried-and-tested strategies he says will give people, who may have never had a first chance at success, the tools and support they need to become some of the best workers that employers will find.

On the north coast of Maine, about as far as you can go before reaching Canada, lies a wild, poor, beautiful place known as Downeast. Many people there make their living on lobster boats, and many have deep family roots, interwoven over generations. Gigi Georges *96 spent four years here, starting in 2016, following the lives of five teenage girls, in hopes of telling a story about rural America more true than most we've heard: A story about tight communities, neighbors, friends, hard work and sacrifice, and the reasons why strong, bright, local girls who could go anywhere, decide to stay. Her new book is simply titled “Downeast.”

Robert Masello '74 has carved a niche in the writing world: His novels place real historical figures in fictional stories with a touch of the supernatural. One follows Albert Einstein into a battle between good vs. evil at Princeton; the latest sends H.G. Wells through a haunted adventure. With a second edition of his nonfiction book about writing due out in September, Masello shared his story on the PAWcast along with advice for aspiring writers.

As a journalist, Cate Holahan '02 covered some dark stories, like the Bernie Madoff scandal. Today, she uses what she learned to write domestic psychological thrillers. Karma always comes for her characters, but there are no perfect villains, and no one emerges a complete hero. In her fifth and latest book, “Her Three Lives,” Holahan probes the way security technology can twist a mind pushed to the edge by violence and paranoia.