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From the Archives: Cynthia Lennon's Life with John.

Cynthia Lennon was the first wife of Beatle musician John Lennon. Terry talked with Cynthia in 1985. She wrote a book about her years with Lennon in 1978 called A Twist of Lennon by Avon. They met in art school in 1957 and were married in 1962. During the years John toured the world, as a member of the most popular rock group in history, Cynthia was at home raising their son Julian. Cynthia and John Lennon divorced in 1968 after John fell in love with Yoko Ono. John Lennon was killed 12 years later. As their son, Julian, launched his own career as a musician, Cynthia Lennon developed her work as a designer. (Originally aired 8/6/85)

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Other segments from the episode on November 24, 1995

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, November 24, 1995: Interview with Cynthia Lennon; Interview with Harry Belafonte; Review of the television show "Lipstick on Your Collar"; Commentary on shopping.
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18:40

From the Archives: Actor and Singer Harry Belafonte.

Actor and singer Harry Belafonte. He stars in the new movie White Man’s Burden with John Travolta. Belafonte was born in Harlem and raised in the hills of Jamaica where he absorbed the song and music of the island life around him. Belafonte's first love was theater, but he wasn't convinced that popular singing would take him as far emotionally as Shakespeare did. By embracing the calypso music of his childhood he introduced it to America. This week, he performs his first public concert in New York City in over thirty years. (Originally aired 9/8/93)

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01:52

Robin Becker Reads Her Poem "Shopping."

Since today is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year, we asked Robin Becker to read her poem Shopping. It’s about some of the darker reasons we head to the stores. She teaches poetry writing at Pennsylvania State University.

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50:35

Lennon and the F.B.I.

Historian Jon Wiener spent 14 years fighting to gain access to the FBI’s secret files on former Beatle John Lennon. Wiener’s Freedom of Information case went all the way to the Supreme Court before the FBI decided to settle. His new book “Gimme Some Truth” (University of California Press) outlines and reproduces the most important pages of the file, revealing that the Nixon administration plotted to deport Lennon in 1972 and silence him as a voice of the anti-war movement.

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