The Dotson Tapes

Here’s something you won’t get just anywhere.

Dotson Rader is not your ordinary interviewer.

Pal of Nancy Reagan, pal of Tennessee Williams, male hustler, playwright, novelist, skyscraper tall . . . Dotson has kept the raw tapes from which, decade after decade, he fashioned profiles for PARADE (may its print edition rest in peace).

For example, this interview with Hillary Clinton.

As of last night, just 14 people had listened to their conversation.

Feel free to listen in.

(A friend  hopes to package an edited compendium of all Dotson’s tapes into a podcast.)

And speaking of podcasts . . .

David T.:  “OK, you roped me in.  I have avoided taking your repeated suggestions to listen to Rachel Maddow’s ULTRA, because I hate podcasts.  It’s hard to listen to/focus on them while doing other thought-based work, and they take too much time to listen to on their own.  But I listened to the first and was intrigued, and then I noticed that you could read the transcripts instead of listening, and so I started doing that.  I’m not finished yet but I’m hooked.  It’s pretty blockbuster stuff that I’d expect to read in a spy novel.  That it’s all true and almost nobody knows any of it is remarkable.  So my suggestion is that the next time you plug ULTRA, mention that transcripts are also available for those who prefer to consume information that way.”

→ Good idea.  I liked listening, but to read them instead, just click the link above and then, for each episode, the word transcript.

Have a great weekend!