Christopher Hitchens in Conversation with Salman Rushdie at the 92nd Street Y
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
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Introduced by Graydon Carter at the 92nd Street Y, Jun 8, 2010, Hitchens was interviewed by Salman Rushdie.
They spoke of Hitchens' searing memoir entitled Hitch 22 that lays bare the many contradictions in his life and affirms his conviction that all personal is also political.
Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. He is the author of numerous books, including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, George Orwell, Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger and his #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award nominee, God Is Not Great.
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It is chilling to know that on the very day that this event took place, Hitchens learned he had terminal cancer. Somehow he went on to do this interview with Salman Rushdie, and later the Daily Show with John Stewart, all after learning of his illness from a doctor's appointment earlier that day. Incredible strength in the face of adversity to say the least.
Is that for real? What a dude Christopher was eh?! Legend, nothing less.
@@cosmicjive4746 yes, check out the interview he gave on 60 Minutes.
I may be being foolish but I think you can tell during this interview something is off. His eyes giving it away. A truly magnificent human being.
CH is on another level, RIP
Especially as he must have known that like all atheists, an eternity of nothingness awaited him.
Sending best wishes to Rushdie family in this awful time.
"His sail was so raised as to be ballooned by any wind of bullshit that came by." - man, what a way with words Hitchens had.
This event took place the day that he was stricken with terminal cancer and almost died in his hotel room. He also appeared on the Daily Show the same day right after leaving the hospital. What courage!
It's a nice change to see The Hitch in conversation with an intelligent contemporary, as opposed to all the other videos on RUclips where he debated (and defeated) the infantile babblings of theocratic nutbags
If only these men could dictate and set rules for this world.
@@OtisAdonisChad I think you mean influence more people not dictate because they would be against that.
Totally agree, no Garden of Eden stories that distort truth.
Oh yes. Rushdie is not only an intelligent contemporary, but a writer who Christopher respected immensely in his lifetime, and was glad to call a friend. Rushdie is a giant of modern english literature, notwithstanding the cultural influence Hitch had on American intellectualism!
He won debates only against guests at TV programs. A child could refute these neo-Atheist. And seeing him with this Iranian "freedom of speech idol" isn't surprising.
Hoping Mr Rushdie gets well soon
Christopher Hitchens is one of the most important philosophers of this age, and like the great philosophers of the past his importance will only be recognised now he is gone. Do not remember him only for his views on religion but his overall social commentary, a great mind, a great man, and greatly missed.
Well Said.
I agree with you, but he was definitely recognized for his genius while he was alive :-) Millions of people followed him, his debates and his books while he was alive and understood his importance. He knew he was loved ;-)
He was never a philosopher. He was a journalist, historian and humanitarian.
Kirk Bushell He was indeed a philosopher. The degree he acquired was a PPE. Philosophy, Politics, Economics.
***** his exposing of the evil witch, "Mother" Theresa, his constant criticism and eloquence of his arguments in respect to religion, his humanist nature, his carrying the torch, if you will - of the anti-theist movement, and more. He has inspired so many people...
The story about his mother, along with the knowledge that he had been diagnosed with cancer just moments prior to this event, had me in tears.
What an intellect, what a life and what a legacy. He is dearly missed.
Hitchens, the most articulate man of my era.
*****
Hmm indoctrination is a bitch.
*****
You continue to demonstrate your stupidity knows no bounds.
***** You attempts at humour are only preceded by your pure inanity.
*****
Perhaps when you're capable of constructing a grammatically correct sentence I'll pay more attention to what you have to say. Until then I'll accept that you are just another illiterate imbecile.
Have a nice day.
***** Where's your proof that he's burning in Hell?
Surprisingly calm. This was the day he was diagnosed.
What a great man hitchens was. He is missed dearly
I did a spit take when Hitch said "a sail so raised that it ballooned by any wind of BS that came by."
classic
Wts a spit take?
Having just read Hitchens 'Mortality' I can only say he looks ghastly here. As others here have already said, he had been admitted to hospital as an emergency case with what sounded like Pericardial Effussion (chronic) - a very serious emergency - which was symptomatic of his aggressive Cancer. He made no mention to anyone (including Rushdie) of his grave illness and vomited discreetly twice whilst on stage. It really saddens me to see him here look so poorly but presumably folk thought he had had a late night prior to this discussion. I recommend reading MORTALITY. Hitch describes his life and thoughts from initial emergency admission and diagnosis to the end. It is highly amusing, deeply sad, horribly frustrating, anger provoking and very very Hitch. Written without self pity or hopelessness and solidly standing by his principles he held throughout his life.
I wept at the end of the book. Absolutely and hauntingly brilliant.
It was a brilliant and difficult book to read. Miss Hitchens greatly. His voice and intellect are sorely needed today.
It's just carbon mate. Why so sad?
That's like looking at the mushroom cloud and saying lol, it's just some uraniam why so sad!
In his article 'topic of cancer' Hitchens says he was diagnosed with cancer only hours before this event.
Robert McTighe
whoa ~
Wrong
Hang in there, Salman! Don’t let the bastards win!
listening to these two talk is such a pleasure
I am halfway through Joseph Anton, which was written by Salman Rushdie. It's mostly about his life after the fatwa was decreed. The fatwa was much more ghastly than what I had learned about online. Three and a half decades after the fatwa was decreed, a man who wasn't even born at the time stabbed Salman and took away sight in one of his eyes and the use of one of his arms. Christopher Hitchens said it best. We'd be better off without religion.
Geez Hitch... that part about him missing his mother's calls and how they may have steadied her broke my heart...
Same here… that hit very close to home…
DUDE! Awesome hair that guy at the beginning has.
I totally agree, the most articulate person I ever listened to.
Terribly sad to hear Hitchens talk about his mother.
"Some wounds, I think, should stay fresh"
So sad.
A terrible time, when mother died.
And terrible too, when the memories of her fade.
I agree with Hitchens words.
@@superduck97 this sentence made the hairs on my arms stand up. My grandad was my hero. I absolutely adore him. I can’t remember his voice. This pains me terribly. I have wonderful memories….but, his voice has faded.
please post the entire conversation. Christopher Hitchens and Salman Rushdie are magnificentlt illuminating.
I wish Hitch was here to give comment on what happened with Mr Rushdie last week
I understand the reference to be the fictional character Dorothea Brooke from Middlemarch by George Eliot (aka Mary Anne Evans). Dorothea was supposedly modeled on the real life nun Teresa of Ávila.
I would love to see the complete conversation.
I waited too long to buy tickets and though I went to the 92nd street Y anyway, I couldn't wait on line more than an hour. A few who waited did get lucky and the staff was very helpful and friendly.
It was only a few hours before this meeting that Christopher was diagnosed with cancer. This goes to show what an incredible professional and character he was.
yeah I read that in Mortality too
By 'Dorothea', I assume he slyly dodges the question asked to him by referring not to a 'real' person but to Dorothea Brooke, the heroine of the novel Middlemarch (1871-4, by George Eliot, aka Marian Evans). Hitchens has written and spoken of the novel admirably several times over the years.
I assume the same thing
What a wonderful man he once was...and still is to us all...He will always be in our hearts and minds forever. Hitchens' was and will always be the secularist god and leader of free thought AND AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL!
Perplexed and sad to see the tremendous support for the heinous attack on a writer on BBC Urdu. To the ignorant and extremist element, he is a hero. Is this the teaching of the so called "religion of peace?" What an oxymoron. This is a fitting example of how blind faith is not fit for today's modern societies.
What attack? its fake, a TV show.
What a beautiful captured moment.
If only technology existed for historical debates from the likes of Twain, Carnegie, Epicurus etc... :)
Definitely one of my heroes ..
you could tell part of the reason they were such great friends is because Salman had the ascerbic wit to roast him at the end...
So much social relevance in this scene... makes me want to become a writer
I love to listen to the great mind that is Christopher Hitchens but I always make sure I have a dictionary on hand too!
I was an English major and when I read his books I rarely make three pages in a row before having to look up a word. A brilliant man.
His sail was so raised as to be ballooned by any wind of bullshit that came by." Awsome.
First time I ever heard him genuinely laugh at the end of the video...
You are needed hitchens very much 😔
"I suppose that one reason I have always detested religion is its sly tendency to insinuate the idea that the universe is designed with 'you' in mind or, even worse, that there is a divine plan into which one fits whether one knows it or not. This kind of modesty is too arrogant for me". That's my personal favourite Hitch quote, but it might take up a lot of skin space should choose it as your tattoo!
Upon hearing it, I thought I wanted that very remark on my tombstone one day: "my one regret is that more people should have gone to bed with me." If there is more room, I would ask for George Carlin's: "Jeez, he was here only a minute ago."
I wrote in the question about the Arizona immigration law for this debate. The only time I ever had any kind of communication with Hitchens, who, along with Martin Amis, was very much my literary idol in those years. Had no preconceived angle particularly. Just wanted to connect ever so slightly. A bit of a moist reminiscence, I know. RIP, legend.
I often wonder who the people are engaging in these.
Nice to meet you.
We lost an intellectual giant. RIP Hitch.
Most compassionate man
"his sail was so raised as to be balloned by any wind of bullshit that came by" i've been thinking of getting a tattoo of a hitchens quote, that will be in the top 50 i have to wittle down, 'top 50?!!!' I hear you say, just remember how awesome this guy was, he's the human equivilent of pulp fiction every line from that movie can be a quote....
You probably already got it, but “i don’t think it will take me 10 minutes to disprove god.” Is the best.
Two great minds: greater than Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Buddha, Joseph Smith, etc.
You ahould have not included budha..he himself was an atheist😅..and a great and kind man.
@@yorichitsugikuni8414 but the thing is he's worshipped... Those people aren't saying themselves as atheists but budhdhists.
Highly recommend "Hitch22: A Memoir"....very moving, so well-written......
Wow his mom story 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
In a 2017 interview with Vintage Books, Salman Rushdie said he had not read Middlemarch. It's possible he didn't really understand why Christopher picked Dorothea.
thanks man. lol but it sucks I found it on both websites but couldn't watch in on either because it told me the videos were unavailable in my region. I'm from Canada
Both are my favorite warriors .
Yes how about the whole talk??? I walked across central park from West 93rd street to find it was sold out by the time I got there...so more posted on youtube would be great!!!
His mother's story is so damn sad :(
He was an amazing intellect & even though I doubt he wouldn't want to own it, he suspect he had a warm character.
@rotvolo, im thinking its the dorothea from eliot's middlemarch? just a guess.
Why is Jon Lovitz hosting this, and more importantly why does he have Krusty the Klown's hair?
You can find them on the Daily Show website or on Vanity Fair. I did as well search rather longingly.
Hey intro guy Babylon 5 wants its hair back.
Sir; wise comment, good name, and Henry as your pic. A well rounded RUclips member. A+
Rest in peace dear fellow
Love it
Why would you redact a moment of these most articulate of men!!
Christopher Hitchens is such a loss to us all.
Thanks!
@anjalielizabeth Dorothea Brooke from George Eliot's imperishable novel Middlemarch.
Many may not know...but this was the exact day that Hitchens found out he had cancer.
Nice swoop Graydon!
I really wished hitchens had of written a fiction novel, i mean he is such an impressive writer, i could only imagine the shear imagination it could be. fiction writing is a completely different world from non-fiction/journalism.
Upload the rest of the video, please :)
Thanks, and like my predecessors i'd love to see the complete vid.
i couldnt stop smiling when i watched this. this is what makes hitchens far better than the other atheist commentators of today, he's fun and entertaining as well as intelligent.
I see Cristopher Hitchens now. I see his story now.
Hitch attended this event after finding out about his terminal cancer that morning.
Hitchens' bottle of Scotch is smarter than "Mister Definitely"
This was a great talk. I want so bad to hear it again. Hell of a lot of name dropping. I want to make a reading list of the name tags. Interesting Hitch still holds Karl Marx in high regard even after his apparent turn to the right.
HAHAHA did NOT expect his hair
@TonyCH0
Dorothea Brooke, the heroine of George Eliot's Middlemarch.
Salman Rushdie is a true Muslim ,world need like him
My pleasure. See if you can find the Christopher Hitchens "land mines... very difficult to get rid of" joke that he told during a Carnival-like boat cruise. I can't recall it now.
That thought should be comforting to you.
Can anyone tell me the woman he named at the end of the program?
Thank you
Very funny, thanks for the laugh.
That was a painful response to the immigration question.
I'm curious, what did you find so painful about it? It did seem to me to be a perfectly reasonable and well-considered argument, whether I personally agree with it or not.
Hitch nailed it.
there is no videos on youtube of him on the daily show its annoying
That's brass balls for ya. My man Hitch!
Add my voice to the wish to see the rest of the vid .
Nice to know Jon Lovitz has had a career second wind hosting these type of things.
Chinning
That thing on Greydon's head - didn't Napoleon used to wear one of those, the tricorne?
How inventive! Velvet wears out relatively quickly. If you're lucky, your hair can serve as fashionable headgear for life.
But the length - no wonder the firemen kept busting him for smoking in his VA office!
The matches when first lit were only inches away from a Time Square re-enactment of the Hindenburg.
Dude, does anyone know who he’s referring to when he says Dorothea?
I'm with Anjali Elizabeth: WHO IS OR WAS Dorothea? Will someone please explain!
Who is the Dorothea Hitchens mentioned?
Never knew about the tragedy with his mom. Sad.
@MissAvatar2011 no, the comment is generally true. If you don't accept it, then you may as well have just left it at "rest in peace". As you point out, Hitch would have a problem with it but not to the condition in which he's resting, but on the proposition that he's resting at all. You were partially correct. Just curb your solipsism and you'll be quite there!
In his latest Vanity Fair article, Hitchens writes candidly about being sick before this and another interview/talk as he was dealing with the onset of cancer. He writes, "...I did vomit two times, with an extraordinary combination of accuracy, neatness, violence, and profusion, just before each show. This is what citizens of the sick country do while they are still hopelessly clinging to their old domicile."
No longer an Atheist but my adoration for Hitchens is still steadfast.
How did you change your thinking? Seriously.
what a terribly rude introduction! lol. Thanks a lot for uploading it though, very interesting discussion!
Nice hair!
Damn, John Lovitz has gotten pretty old.
Damn Graydon Carter, do something with that hair
what is up with the opening speaker's hair?????
The advert before this talk is for home schooling for Muslim children & another advert I didn't take notice off.
That's a very clever non violent counter move.
He wrote a book of fiction, I didn't know that, I figured due to the extreme response, it was non fiction.
Shame people didn't take 1984 a bit more seriously, as that needs to change topics from fiction to real life.
Too busy worry about an averagely written book, not even his best work.
An eye for an eye is gunna make the whole world blind ☮️🙏🏽☯️
Watching this, for the first time it occurs to me that the reason Hitchens never wrote fiction or poetry is that the psychic pain of his mother's fate was too difficult to wrestle with. Obviously I'm just speculating.