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If 'The West Wing' Were Run By NBC Executives, It Would Have Become 'Schindler's List'
JOHN WELLS, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: I had a deal at NBC because they wanted me to continue to be involved in ER. So we developed West Wing there, but they didn’t want to do it right away. “The American audience isn’t interested in politics” and “there’s plenty of that on Sunday morning television” were some of […]
An Oral History of ‘Ghostbusters’
The making of a comedy classic, first published in Premiere Magazine: HAROLD RAMIS: We very quickly came up with a model: Dan was the heart of the Ghostbusters, I was the brains, and Bill was the mouth. I found my character on the front page of an abstract architectural journal. There was a picture of […]
Street Fighter 2: An Oral History
Twenty former Capcom employees and business partners look back on the creation and massive success of the game that ‘helped revolutionize the industry’: Street Fighter 2. So I remember being down in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and we’re launching the game down there. And I didn’t even have the earnings back yet. I mean, they were […]
Women Were Included in the Civil Rights Act as a Joke
And a racist joke, at that. But working women and black civil rights lawyers had the last laugh when they brought women’s workplace rights to the courts and won.
Robin Williams: 1951-2014
Comedian and actor Robin Williams died today at the age of 63. Here are five in-depth interviews with him. 1. Robin Williams: ‘The Night Listener’ (Terry Gross, Fresh Air, Aug. 3, 2006) Terry Gross talks to Robin Williams, and, towards the end of the interview, asks him about depression: “Do I get sad? Oh yeah. […]
How the Creators of ‘Street Fighter II’ Figured Out How to Make the Best Game for an Arcade
Looking back on the creation of ‘Street Fighter II.’
How to Do Oral History the Right Way: Remembering the Baltimore Stallions, Our College Pick
Journalism, like everything else, has its trends. From celebrity guest editors to abundant Upworthian headlines, there’s a lot of replication in our business. So it was with low expectations that I began to read “Baltimore’s Forgotten Champions,” an oral history of a Canadian Football League team by a group of University of Maryland students. Most […]
How to Do Oral History the Right Way: Remembering the Baltimore Stallions, Our College Pick
Journalism, like everything else, has its trends. From celebrity guest editors to abundant Upworthian headlines, there’s a lot of replication in our business. So it was with low expectations that I began to read “Baltimore’s Forgotten Champions,” an oral history of a Canadian Football League team by a group of University of Maryland students. Most […]
Women Were Included in the Civil Rights Act as a Joke
And a racist joke, at that. But working women and black civil rights lawyers had the last laugh when they brought women’s workplace rights to the courts and won.

