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Lives Less Ordinary

Sex, love, Rock 'n' Roll... and The Sopranos

Lives Less Ordinary

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.6814 Ratings

🗓️ 20 July 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Robin Green is an American writer who has been dizzyingly successful, but she describes herself as a 'clueless girl'. At times, she didn't even realise she could actually write. In the early 1970s when Robin was in her 20s, she had an interview with Rolling Stone magazine's creator and editor Jann Wenner. She initially thought it was for a secretarial role, but instead, he hired her as a writer - and the only woman on the editorial masthead. What followed were Robin's raucous, wild, rock 'n' roll years. She interviewed the likes of David Cassidy, Dennis Hopper and Bobby Kennedy Jr, who she recalls sleeping with on his dorm-room water-bed. After failing to produce a story on him, her time at Rolling Stone ended and Robin began to question her future. It was then that she met the love of her life, an aspiring writer called Mitch. But their relationship fell apart and she spent a decade going from one thing to another.

Nearing 40, Robin had an epiphany while watching daytime television and her career as a writer took a dramatic turn. She picked up her pen, and with Mitch, they began writing for the TV show Northern Exposure. They became extraordinarily successful writing partners, winning multiple Emmys, including for their work on The Sopranos - where, once again, Robin was the only woman in the room for most of her time there. When Robin was almost 60, Mitch proposed and now married, they created their own hit show - Blue Bloods.

Robin has written a memoir, The Only Girl: My Life and Times on the Masthead of Rolling Stone.

Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Sarah Kendal

Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to [email protected] or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Get closer to the action with live commentary from the world's greatest sporting events on BBC Sounds.

0:06.1

It is all over!

0:08.4

Bulls are edge, caught behind.

0:10.6

Including cricket Super League, women's Euros 2025, Wimbledon, Formula One and much more.

0:17.6

It's all right to the lights and foot to the floor.

0:20.0

Oh, what a's done it!

0:21.3

Drop shots!

0:22.9

Winner!

0:23.6

On five sports extra, sports extra two and sports extra three.

0:27.6

Listen, only on BBC Sounds.

0:31.5

How did you prepare for that meeting?

0:34.7

Well, that's interesting.

0:36.9

I took my dog. What kind of dog was it? Oh, it was a mutt. His name was

0:41.5

Ruben airliner, big dog, like 70 pounds. So I took him with me and I borrowed my friend Francie's jacket,

0:48.7

which had a patch of people having sex on the back. Bold choice. Yeah, you know, my little miniskirt.

0:55.3

You know, I just thought, the heck with it.

0:57.5

I'm just going to go as myself.

1:03.0

Hey, I'm Asi Fuchs, and from the BBC World Service,

1:07.1

this is Lives Less Ordinary.

1:09.6

Today, the rock and roll tale of writer Robin Green.

1:16.4

In the early 1970s, she was an out-of-work 20-something on her way to a job interview at Rolling Stone magazine, decked out in her miniskirt and colorful jacket, accompanied by her dog.

1:27.9

She thought she was interviewing for a secretarial role.

...

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