Poet, performer, and educator Mayda del Valle '00 was born and raised on Chicago's South Side and is now the city's Poet Laureate. Del Valle found early acclaim on the stage. At age 23, she became the Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and went on to win the National Poetry Slam that same year — the youngest poet, and the first Latina, to do so. She appeared in six episodes of HBO's Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and was a contributing writer and original cast member of the ...
This episode features Pulitzer Prize-winning author Stacy Schiff. Her most recent book, The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams, drew wide acclaim on release and landed on most 2022 best-of lists — including the Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Books of the Year and President Obama's Favorite Books of 2022. Schiff has also written about another founding father, Benjamin Franklin — fitting timing, as we mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Her book A Great Improvi...
30 Mar 2026
Kurt Van Steemburg '75 — Lessons in Living
This episode features a recent conversation between Gordon Earle '75 and his classmate and close friend, Kurt Van Steemburg, when Kurt was in hospice with only a few weeks to live. Gordon recorded the episode because he was struck, in the weeks and months leading up to their conversation, by how willing Kurt was to talk openly and honestly about his life and what lay ahead. It was a conversation that was serious but also filled with smiles, joy and laughter. In talking with Kurt, Gordon...
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 21 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
19
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
60
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