Robin Young Interviews Room to Read's John Wood

Ah...PR nirvana: the intersection of one of my favorite radio personalities (Robin Young from WBUR's Here and Now) and one of my favorite social entrepreneurs, John Wood, CEO of Room to Read. (You can read more about John here and here.)

I confess to being a WBUR junkie. On non-work days, I can easily listen to WBUR 10 hours a day as I roam about the house, run errands or putter in the garden. We staff the phones a few times a year when they're doing a fundraiser, so I've toured the station, and met a few of the folks who work there. Suffice it to say I could do one of those testimonials about why it's the most intelligent programming going.

So when I learned that John Wood would be in Boston in June, I started on a quest to secure interest with one of Robin Young's producers, having had luck with her show, "Here and Now," in the past. One of the nice reporters on the news side led me to a different producer this time, and I summed up John's compelling story, which more or less sells itself.

It's so fascinating to watch Robin conduct an interview, asking just the right follow-on questions to draw out her subject. And what is it about her voice? It's got the velvet of an aged cabernet, with just a bit of pepper at the right moments. (I asked my husband how he'd describe Robin Young's voice and he said: "At the risk of getting myself in trouble, it's sexy.") In a Boston Magazine article on "The 61 Best Things about Boston," the writer sums her up as "one of Boston's savviest and most likable journalists."

So imagine that perfect combination of this stellar interviewer with one of the most notable social entrepreneurs of our generation. Or better yet, don't imagine it - just listen here.