When Studs Terkel Interviewed Me: What I Learned from Being Interviewed by the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Master Conversationalist

Before becoming an oral historian himself, Mark Larson had the unique experience of being interviewed twice by Studs Terkel, once for Race (under the pseudonym Peter Soderstrom) and later for Hope Dies Last . Larson also sat with Terkel in the WFMT studio as Terkel conducted a live interview for his radio program. Drawing on these encounters, Larson recalls what it felt like to be Terkel's interviewee and what it was like to watch one of America's great listeners at work. He reflects on what Terkel taught him about asking questions and truly listening for what's underneath the answers, and how.