People

Akua Devall is GBH News’ news intern for spring 2024.

Al Davis is a host of Jazz on 89.7 for GBH.

Al Franken is an American satirist, comedian, best selling author, and radio host with a predominantly liberal point of view. Franken was half of the comedy duo "Franken & Davis" which wrote for and performed for NBC's Saturday Night Live. He is currently the host of Air America Radio's flagship program, The Al Franken Show. He is currently the junior US Senator from Minnesota, and is a member of that state's affiliate of the Democratic Party.

Al Gore is the former Vice President of the United States. He is chairman of Current TV, an independently-owned cable and satellite television nonfiction network for young people based on viewer-created content and citizen journalism. He also serves as chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm that is focused on a new approach to sustainable investing. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Apple Computer, Inc., and a senior advisor to Google, Inc. Mr. Gore is the author of *An Inconvenient Truth*, a best-selling book on the threat of and solutions to global warming, and the subject of the movie of the same title, which has already become one of the top documentary films in history. In 2007, *An Inconvenient Truth* was awarded two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song.

Al Hunt, Chairman of the Profile in Courage Award Committee, is Washington executive managing editor of Bloomberg News. He was previously a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, where he covered national politics as a columnist and served as Executive Editor of the Washington DC Bureau.

Soul-stirring, interdisciplinary work has garnered Al Letson national recognition and devoted fans. In 2008 Letson created, hosted, and executive produced State of the Re:Union (SOTRU). Every episode SOTRU examined America through the lens of community. The program aired on more than 300 NPR stations, receiving critical acclaim, and numerous awards, including a Peabody Award (2014), three consecutive National Edward R. Murrow Awards (2012, 2013, 2014). In 2015 SOTRU ended production and Letson joined the Center for Investigative Reporting to help launch and host public radio's first hour-long investigative journalism show, Reveal. Reveal’s first pilot, The VA’s Opiate Overload, won a Peabody Award (2013). Since that time Reveal has gained a large audience and is heard on over 400 public radio stations and over 1 million downloads a month. In 2016 Letson launched his own podcast, showcasing a little bit of errthang. Errthang is just that, everything: storytelling, radio drama, pop culture reviews, and interviews. Letson is basically taking all the things that are floating in his head and turning it into a mixtape of delight for listeners. Image: [Reveal News](https://www.revealnews.org/author/al-letson "Reveal News")

Alaa is a New Mobility Planner at the Boston Transportation Department. She leads work on revamping the transportation development review process, which includes the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) point system, creating a methodology for maximum parking ratios for new large developments, and developing new tools such as the citywide bicycle level of traffic stress map. Alaa also managed the Boston Main Streets Free Public Transit Pilot, and is thinking about how the City can incentivize mode shift in a post-COVID world. Alaa last worked at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) in Boston where she was a Planning and GIS Analyst with the Data Services Department. She managed and led spatial and technical analysis for a wide variety of projects, including Housing Production Plans, transportation studies, and zoning projects. Alaa holds a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a Master in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.).

Alain Dubos, former Vice President of Medecins Sans Frontires (also known as Doctors Without Borders), was born in Tunisia and trained in Greco-Roman studies before pursuing a career in medicine. In 1978 he joined Doctors Without Borders and practiced in Thailand, later becoming vice president of the organization. He has written several books describing his experiences in countries as varied as Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Algeria, and about the life of "French Doctors" in general. He is also the creator of the thematic television station, Canal Sant, and travels the world sharing his experiences and ideas.

Alan Alda recently had the distinction of being nominated for an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy. In the same year, he also published a bestselling book.

The screenwriter and co-producer of *American Beauty*, Alan Ball earned almost overnight acclaim and recognition for his screenplay for the film, which won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar and Golden Globe, as well as numerous other honors. Ball's success was a long time coming; much of the frustration and anger felt by *American Beauty*'s protagonist, Lester Burnham, was inspired by the screenwriter's own dissatisfaction with his years spent working as a television writer and producer.

Alan Bean was born in Wheeler, Texas, on March 15, 1932. He received a bachelor of science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Texas in 1955 and was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from Texas Wesleyan College in 1972. He was also presented an honorary doctorate of engineering science from the University of Akron (Ohio) in 1974. Bean helped establish 11 world records in space and astronautics. He was awarded two NASA distinguished Service Medals, the Navy Astronaut Wings and two Navy Distinguished Service Medals. Alan Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions. Captain Bean was lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, mans second lunar landing. He was spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II (SL-3), from July 29 to September 25 in 1973. Captain Bean has logged 1,671 hours and 45 minutes in space and has flown 27 types of military aircraft as well as many civilian airplanes. He has logged more than 7,145 hours flying. Bean resigned from NASA in June 1981 to devote his full time to painting.

Alan Berger joined *The Boston Globe* in 1982 as an editorial writer. He is an expert on foreign policy and security issues. Berger wrote a column about the world press for the *Globe* before joining the editorial page, and also was a freelance writer for several publications. He taught literature and philosophy at MIT, where he was an assistant professor. Berger has a BA from Harvard in history and literature, and an MA in comparative literature from Cornell.

Alan Brinkley is the 20th Provost and the Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University in New York City. An eminent scholar of twentieth-century United States history, he has chaired the Department of History since 2000. Brinkley has been a prolific writer and published numerous works including, *Voices of Protest: Huey Long*, *Father Coughlin and the Great Depression*, which won the 1983 National Book Award, *The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People*, *The End of Reform; New Deal Liberalism in Recession and War*, and *Liberalism and its Discontents*. His latest book is The *Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century*. In addition, Brinkley is a frequent commentator on current events, government policy, and economic and social trends. Before joining Columbia, Brinkley taught at M.I.T., Harvard and the City University of New York Graduate School. He has received fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Center, the National Humanities Center, the Media Studies Center, Russell Sage Foundation and others. Brinkley is chairman of the board of trustees of the Century Foundation (formerly the Twentieth Century Fund), a member of the editorial board of The American Prospect, a member of the board of directors of the New York Council for the Humanities and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1998 and 1999, he was the Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University. He received his A.B. from Princeton and his Ph.D from Harvard.

Alan Brinkley is the Allan Nevins Professor of History at Columbia University, where he was also Provost from 2003-2009. He is a historian of the New Deal. Brinkley writes regularly in magazines such as The New York Review of Books, the New York Times Book Review, Newsweek and The New Republic and is an advocate for progressive issues.