Welcome to the not old better show. I'm Paul Vogel saying and this is episode number

359. As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living Author interview series, we are joined

today by Historian, Award-winning author Dr. G. Wayne Cluff.

As a big supporter of Spassonian, I of course know this name and

have gotten to know this man, G. Wane Cluff. You'll meet him in just a moment and

if you don't know yet, you'll know soon what a wonderful articulate and

kind man will be speaking with. One introduction of Dr. G. Wayne Cluff from the

New York Times describes Dr. Cluff as someone in government who sets a good example.

I also found in my research the use of the phrase widely respected a lot.

Dr. Cluff has done that and much more as we'll learn. I get to speak with many people in my work, some wonderful people, but Dr. G. Wayne Cluff ranks very high on my list of people I'd like to talk with for a lot more time than I'm able to spend time with and learn from.

Dr. G. Wane Cluff will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates program Thursday, June 20,

2019. Dr. Cluff will be joined by Freddie Edelman, director of Smithsonian Associates who will serve as moderator.

As I say, we'll hear from Dr. Cluff in just a moment, but I caught up with Freddie

Edelman and ask her about Dr. Cluff's contribution to the Smithsonian and what makes Dr. Cluff so special.

The first thing that I want to say about Wayne is that his unending inquisitiveness and his openness to new experience is one of the most refreshing

things I think any of us saw in a secretary.

So my first encounter with him was I was working for the traveling exhibition service

and we were unpacking crates of materials related to a Jim Henson exhibition.

And we planned this whole event and invited him to come and be part of the uncrating and we gave him gloves and we expected that he would be

dazzled by these cool artifacts which were muppets and instead he laser focused on the crates and he wanted to know about crate making and

packing and the logistics of trucks and insurance and he got so deep into it that the people who were trying

to move him to his next meeting just kind of threw their hands up in the air and said,

...