Children’s Letters to Satan, and a Changing of the Guard at the New York Times

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2017

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Every year, countless poor spellers accidentally address their Santa letters to Satan. Satan—played by Kathleen Turner—always replies Matt Passet’s Daily Shouts piece is performed by Kathleen Turner, in the role of Satan. On January first, Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, who goes by A. G., will succeed his father Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., as the publisher of the New York Times. At 37, A. G. is young for the job and he’s taking over one of the world’s most important news institutions at an extremely complicated time for the business of journalism. But he is not afraid of the future: his 2014 internal report to the Times’ leadership, which Buzzfeed leaked to the world, is credited with jump-starting the paper’s transition into a digital-first news platform. David Remnick talks with Sulzberger about his apprenticeship at a small-town reporter, the “Trump bump,” and how long we can expect the print edition of the Times to remain.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the New Yorker Radio Hour.
0:10.4	I'm David Remnick.
0:11.6	I hope the holidays are treating you well so far,
0:14.4	and I wanted to share with you a little Christmas story of our own.
0:18.1	From the New Yorker's Daily Shouts,
0:20.4	here's Kathleen Turner in children's holiday
0:23.4	letters to Satan. Dear Satan, what I really want this year more than anything is a Barbie
0:32.1	dream house. It's pretty and pink, and I will keep it in my room near my bed. Merry Christmas, Allison, age six.
0:44.2	Allison,
0:49.8	huh.
0:51.6	I see what you've done here.
0:54.0	You intended for your letter to go to Santa, but due to your poor grasp of spelling, it has instead come to me.
1:05.5	It really should go without saying, but I will not be getting you this so-called dream house because...
1:15.6	Well, because I do not want to.
1:18.6	But I will suggest this. Buy it yourself.
1:22.6	Simply take $2 from your mom's wallet every day,
1:32.8	and soon enough, you'll have your useless and silly miniature house.
1:35.6	Regards, Satan.
1:40.6	Dear Satan, I am Daniel, and I love you.
1:43.0	I want an Xbox for Christmas.
1:44.9	Daniel, age nine. Dear Daniel, I love you. I want an Xbox for Christmas. Daniel Age Night.
1:50.2	Dear Daniel, am I getting your name right?
	...

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