Episode 96: Samuel G. Freedman

"Pull the heart of your work out of your chest and lay it out there for the gods," podcast guest Samuel G. Freedman told his Columbia Journalism School graduate students on the first day of his final semester after 35 years of teaching. "That's all I'm asking of you. Not much." No, not much. And yet what Sam Freedman asked of his students during his tenure as one of our leading journalism educators was everything. Before his retirement this spring, his popular book-writing seminar led to the publication of 95 books by his students. "He's been the godfather to an awful lot of publishing over the years," noted Grove Atlantic executive editor George Gibson, in a New York Times profile on Sam's career and his legacy in journalism and publishing. Sam was named the nation's outstanding journalism professor in 1977 by the Society of Professional Journalists and was awarded Columbia University's coveted Presidential Award for Outstanding Teaching. A former staff reporter and columnist for The New York Times , his work as appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker , The Washington Post , Rolling Stone , Tablet , Salon , and New York magazine . He is the author of 10 acclaimed books, including The Inheritance: How Three Families Moved from Roosevelt to Reagan and Beyond , a 1997 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights ; and, Who She Was: My Search for My Mother's Life , which was reissued in a new edition earlier this year. Learn more about Samuel Freedman: Website Twitter Please support the sponsors who support our show: Gotham Ghostwriters' Gathering of the Ghosts Ritani Jewelers Daniel Paisner's Balloon Dog Daniel Paisner's SHOW: The Making and Unmaking of a Network Television Pilot Heaven Help Us by John Kasich Unforgiving: Lessons from the Fall by Lindsey Jacobellis Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Libro.fm (ASTOLDTO) | 2 audiobooks for the price of 1 when you start your membership Film Freaks Forever! podcast, hosted by Mark Jordan Legan and Phoef Sutton Everyday Shakespeare podcast A Mighty Blaze podcast The Writer's Bone Podcast Network Misfits Market (WRITERSBONE) | $15 off your first order Film Movement Plus (PODCAST) | 30% discount Wizard Pins (WRITERSBONE) | 20% discount

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Episode 96: Samuel G. Freedman is an episode from As Told To by Daniel Paisner.

This episode is 01:12:47 long.

This episode was published on Sep 23, 2025.

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