Harvard College Class of 1966 share their stories

As their 50th reunion approaches, several members of the Class of 1966 share their Harvard stories.

Tony Kahn

Harvard College gave us many things as undergraduates, but a close connection with each other wasn’t one of them. Exchanging stories about what it was like to handle a very imposing and impersonal institution as very young adults was not on the curriculum. Thank God for reunions. They’ve been my main means of getting to know my classmates as individual human beings. To enrich the conversation for our upcoming fiftieth reunion, I’m spending the next few years recording the voices of my classmates, talking to me from the heart about themselves and Harvard after nearly 50 years. I edit these conversations into short narratives of three to five minutes. People have been remarkably open and confiding about their personal experiences, and, for me at least, the stories so far have been riveting and revealing. I'm making them available on my YouTube Channel. By our fiftieth reunion, I should also have DVDs (or whatever has replaced them by 2016) available to the class. I'm grateful to all the classmates who've spoken with me so far for their generosity and for keeping me busy, since my retirement from public radio, doing the thing I love best.

Below, hear several members of the Class of 1966 share their Harvard memories and stories: 










Tony Kahn ’66 has been a producer for PBS and NPR
for 40 years and is a weekly panelist on Says You, the National Public Radio comedy quiz show. He is looking for more people from the class of 1966 to interview and can be reached at tonykahn@gmail.com.   

Read more articles by Tony Kahn ’66
Related topics

You might also like

A New ‘Black Swan’ Musical Cranks Up the Tension

The creative team of the A.R.T.’s new show dish on adapting Darren Aronofsky’s thriller classic from screen to stage.

For This Poet, AI is a Writing Partner

Sasha Stiles trained a chatbot on her manuscripts. Now, her poems rewrite themselves.

The Framer Who Refused to Sign the Constitution

Harvard’s Elbridge Gerry helped draft the U.S. Constitution, but worried it might create a new monarch.

Most popular

How the American Revolution Freed a Future Abolitionist

Darby Vassall, an enslaved child freed after the Battle of Bunker Hill, dedicated his life to fighting for liberty.

America’s National Parks Are a $56 Billion Economic Engine

Harvard’s Linda Bilmes on measuring the economic value of public lands

Michael Sandel’s “The Tyranny of Merit” reviewed by Spencer Lenfield

Michael Sandel makes the case against meritocracy.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman in glasses gestures while speaking to two attentive listeners at a table.

How to Cook with Wild Plants

From wild greens spanakopita to rose petal panna cotta, forager and chef Ellen Zachos makes one-of-a-kind meals.

Mercy Otis Warren in period attire writes at a desk by candlelight, surrounded by books.

The Woman Who Penned the Case for War

Mercy Otis Warren’s poetry and plays incited the Patriot movement.

Historical battle scene with soldiers in red and blue uniforms, flags waving, chaotic action.

The Harvard-Trained Doctor Who Urged a Revolution

Before his heroic death, General Joseph Warren was dubbed “the greatest incendiary in all of America.”