The Patricia Marx Interviews on WNYC Radio: 1961-1968

Before it became a broadcasting and podcasting powerhouse, WNYC was just the local city-owned radio station that reported on the news and events of the day. And every so often notable people would drop by the station for a chat -- and a moment in history would be captured forever.

That's why it's fascinating to hear the following legendary people getting brilliantly interviewed by a lady named Patricia Marx on WNYC in the 1960s:

- A 1960 interview with recently deceased journalist Neil Sheehan, talking about the situation in Vietnam -- almost thirty years before he wrote the definitive book on the war, A Bright Shining Lie.

- A 1961 interview with Lorraine Hansberry talking about her recently produced hit play A Raisin in the Sun. A black woman playwright having success on Broadway is still a rarity, even more so 60 years ago.

- A 1963 interview with Bob Hope, right after the release of the final Road movie.

- A two-part 1963 interview with New York City Ballet founder George Balanchine. 

- Two seperate interviews from 1964 with groundbreaking comedians Dick Gregory and Mort Sahl.

- A 1964 interview with a very young Woody Allen, talking about his comedy act and how he's getting ready to appear in his first movie, What's New, Pussycat? The idea that this kid comic would eventually become a great director isn't even mentioned. 

- A 1968 interview with David Halberstam about the war in Vietnam, years before he would publish The Best and the Brightest. 

And many more. 

History is being made all the time, we just don't realize it. When people are interviewed, they're simply sharing their thoughts and feelings about what's going in their lives and the world at that moment. Of course their lives and time moves on, things change, and that's how we make history. So that's why it's amazing to peak into or, in this case, listen, to a moment in history.