The Unrelenting Relevance Of Norman Lear & Amplifying Marginalized Voices

11/14/24 • 72 min

Are you looking for comfort, distraction, hope or optimism? We are serving it up with recommendations to soothe, calm and quiet your spirit, plus two inspirational guests! Andrew Jameson is a writer/producer/director who brings his skillset to his advocacy work and Norman Lear biographer Tripp Whetsell joins us to celebrate a life and a body of work that continues to inform, inspire and amuse generations.

Andrew's new project Faces of the City is a series of six documentary shorts which focus on critical community organizing work that is addressing social and economic challenges facing San Francisco's most vulnerable residents. Andrew shares his insights into ways in which the wealthy tech sector, at-risk populations and the city's unique history and culture can unite to forge a balance that would result in more favorable outcomes for all Bay Area citizens.

Then, author/journalist Tripp Whetsell joins the conversation to discuss his new book, Norman Lear: His Life and Times. Deeply steeped in Lear Lore, Tripp teaches a class on Mr. Lear at his almamater Emerson College. His richly researched biography traces the groundbreaking writer/producer's life from his bumpy childhood with a criminal father through his 52 combat missions over Nazi-occupied territory and across his wide swath of history making television.

We get into all of the All in the Family controversies from its provocative scripts to the epic standoffs between Mr. Lear and Caroll O’Connor. From there,Tripp takes us through the spinoffs: Maude and The Jeffersons, to the spinoffs of spinoffs: The Facts Of Life and Diff’rent Strokes. Each one, a trailblazer, boldly addressing themes like race, class, bigotry, feminism, divorce, homosexuality, rape, mixed marriage and menopause.

Mr. Lear’s remarkable cocktail of capabilities included creativity, business instincts, courage under pressure, casting genius and a unique ability to foster relationships with the network execs and censors who came to understand that his controversial content translated into buzz, influence and profits!

Plus the whole Media Path team is recommending content to stream while you avoid the news, curl up and sip something soothing.

Path Points of Interest:

Andrew Jameson on IMDB

Faces of the City Trailer

Tripp Whetsell

Norman Lear: His Life & Times

Tripp Whetsell Amazon Author Page

Tripp Whetsell Book Soup Signing

Abbott Elementary

Nobody Wants This

Gilmore Girls

High Potential on ABC/Hulu

Travelers on Netflix