Writers

Abraham Joshua Heschel

Abraham Joshua Heschel was a descendant of two important Hasidic dynasties. After receiving a thorough Jewish education in Poland, Heschel entered the University of Berlin, where in 1934 he received his doctorate for a study of the biblical prophets…in 1937 Heschel became Martin Buber’s successor at the Judisches Lehrhaus in Frankfort and head of adult Jewish education in Germany, but the following year, he and other Polish Jews were deported by the Nazis.

Recommended by Irwin Kula

Allen Ginsberg

Renowned poet, world traveler, spiritual seeker, founding member of a major literary movement, champion of human and civil rights, photographer and songwriter, political gadfly, teacher and co-founder of a poetics school. Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) defied simple classification.

Recommended by Peter McGough

Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky was a Soviet Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist and opera director.

Tarkovsky's films include Andrei Rublev, Solaris and Stalker. He directed the first five of his seven feature films in the Soviet Union; his last two films were produced in Italy and Sweden. They are characterized by spirituality and metaphysical themes, extremely long takes, lack of conventional dramatic structure and plot, and memorable cinematography.

Recommended by Fred Cray

Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel memoir, Maus. He is married to and frequently collaborates with artist and art editor Françoise Mouly.

Spiegelman was a major figure in the underground comics movement of the 1960s and 1970s, contributing to publications such as Real Pulp, Young Lust and Bizarre Sex.

Recommended by Spain Rodriguez

Brad Hirschfield

In the early eighties, Brad Hirschfield moved from the suburbs of Chicago to the West Bank city of Hebron to join a fanatical Israeli sect determined to reclaim the Jewish state within it's Biblical boundaries. Looking back he says, "I'm very grateful frankly that I don't know whether my bullets found their mark" referring to when he fired weapons at human targets.

Nearly three decades later, Brad has backed away from Hebron and turned his back on the violence imposed by religious extremism in efforts to create a worldwide multi-faith conflict resolution initiative he refers to as "Bridge Building".

Rabbi

Brian Lehrer

Brian Lehrer is host of "The Brian Lehrer Show," WNYC Radio's daily call-in program, covering politics and life, locally and globally. The show airs weekdays from 10am-noon on WNYC 93.9 FM, AM 820 and wnyc.org

"The Brian Lehrer Show" was recognized with a 2007 George Foster Peabody Award for "Radio That Builds Community Rather Than Divides."

Recommended by Ted Rall

Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski was a German American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Bukowski's writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city of Los Angeles, and is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of marginalized poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, the drudgery of work, and horse racing.

Recommended by Spain Rodriguez

Danny Fields

Danny Fields is an American journalist and author. As a music-industry executive in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, he was one of the most influential figures in the underground and punk rock scenes.

Recommended by Susan Blond

David Bienenstock

As the Senior Editor of High Times Magazine, David Bienenstock has traveled the world writing about marijuana. He has interviewed everyone from growers to dealers to prisoners to politicians, which means he knows just about everything there is to know about pot.

High Times Editor & Pot Expert

Diane Rehm

For 25 years, Rehm has offered her listeners compelling conversations with the world's most interesting and important people. During each hour, she invites listeners to join the conversation by opening the phones to their questions and comments on the topic at hand. Since 1995, NPR has distributed the award-winning program to stations across the nation. NPR Worldwide has offered the program to listeners in Europe and Japan since 1996 via direct broadcast satellite. It's also heard on U.S. military installations around the world via Armed Forces Radio.

Recommended by Ted Rall

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