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Sister Helen Prejean (4/13/1994)

November 8, 2019, 11:00 pm

Sister Helen Prejean speaking about Dead Man Walking at Lyric Opera of Chicago (Photo: Kyle Flubacker)

Sister Helen Prejean spoke with Studs Terkel in 1994, shortly after the publication of Dead Man Walking, her eyewitness account of the death penalty and spiritual journey through our system of capital punishment. Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Terrence McNally have told the moving story of her burning passion for justice in an opera, now on stage at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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Meet the Host

Studs Terkel (1912-2008) radically redefined the concept of radio interviews. For 45 years starting in 1952, WFMT was his homebase. His daily radio show was a pillar of WFMT’s programming, with its eclectic and astute mix of music and conversation. Studs juxtaposed interviews with the many of the 20th century’s most significant figures with the voices of uncelebrated, working people from Chicago. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Studs helped established oral history as a popular and socially ambitious literary genre. Some of his titles include: Division Street, Hard Times, Working, Race and And They All Sang (Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey). Studs was also a recipient of the National Book Award.

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Sister Helen Prejean (4/13/1994)