Poster Giving Thanks 25th Anniversary 02
MPR
Holiday

'Giving Thanks' - 25th anniversary special

Giving Thanks: 25th Anniversary Special

Giving Thanks, hosted by John Birge, is celebrating its 25th year on public radio! This year’s show presents the best moments of a quarter century of great guests, including:

• Foodies: Stanley Tucci, Nigella Lawson, Jacques Pepin and Calvin Trillin.
• Writers: Anne Lamott, Adam Gopnik, Julia Sweeney, Anna Quindlen and Deepak Chopra.
• Poets: Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni and Ada Limon — plus classic poems read by Patrick Stewart, Bill Moyers and Studs Terkel.
• Musicians: Michael Tilson Thomas, John Rutter and Stephen Hough.
• In memoriam: John Updike, Wendy Wasserstein, Nora Ephron and Rabbi Harold Kushner.

Giving Thanks sounds the way Thanksgiving feels: inviting, warm and festive. There are no clichés about pilgrims and pumpkin pies. Instead, it’s a contemporary, thoughtful celebration of the spirit of the holiday.

For listeners up early in the kitchen, on the road to a family gathering or relaxing after the feast, Giving Thanks provides the perfect atmosphere for Thanksgiving: the warmth of great music and truly memorable words.

Hour 1

• Anne Lamott, 2006

• Adam Gopnik, 2019

• Karl Jenkins: The Shepherd - Polyphony

• Julia Sweeney, 2013

• Johann Sebastian Bach: Aria from Goldberg Variations - Simone Dinerstein, piano

• Deepak Chopra, 2010

• Denny Zeitlin: Hymn - Denny Zeitlin, piano

• Anna Quindlen: A Short Guide to a Happy Life, 2007

• Roy Blount Jr. and Nora Ephron: Pumpkin Pie, 2011

• Jacques Pepin, 2016

• Nigella Lawson, 2010

• Francis Lam: The True Meaning of Turkey, 2017

• Thierry Rougier: Autumn - Xuefei Yang, guitar

• Christopher Kimball, 2015

• Stanley Tucci, 2021

• John Keats: To Autumn - read by Patrick Stewart

• Rita Dove, 2005

• Donald Hall: The Ox-Cart Man, 2004

• Jean Sibelius: The Harvesters - Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Leif Segerstam, conductor

• Nikki Giovanni, 2014

• Ted Kooser, 2005

• Ada Limón, 2022

• Joni Mitchell: Both Sides Now - Piano Demo

• Gary Snyder, 2006

• E. E. Cummings: “i thank You God for most this amazing day” - read by Bill Moyers, 1999

Hour 2

• Carl Sandburg: “Happiness” - read by Studs Terkel, 2000

• Rabbi Harold Kushner, 2008

• John Rutter: The Lord Is My Shepherd - Cambridge Singers; John Rutter, conductor

• Alice Sommer Herz, 2014

• John Updike: To a Skylark, 2002

• Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending - Julia Fischer, violin

• Wendy Wasserstein: Ah, That First Feast In Wild Manhattan, 2003

• Nora Ephron, 2011

• Sir Stephen Hough, 2011

• John Rutter, 2018

• Michael Tilson Thomas, 2020

• Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral): Shepherd’s Hymn of Thanksgiving - English Chamber Orchestra; Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor

• Traditional: Psalm of Life - Jacqueline Schwab, piano

• From Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, Chartres Cathedral Story; Psalm 104 - read by Charles Laughton

• Traditional (arr. Stephen Paulus): We Gather Together - Dale Warland Singers


Guests and readings

Here are many of the luminaries who have been featured on Giving Thanks over the years. Listen to their comments individually for the first time.

Foodies

Christopher Kimball

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Christopher Kimball

Francis Lam

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Francis Lam

Nigella Lawson

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Nigella Lawson

Jacques Pepin

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Jacques Pepin

Lynne Rossetto Kasper

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Lynne Rossetto Kasper: M.F.K. Fischer

Calvin Trillen

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Calvin Trillen

Stanley Tucci

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Stanley Tucci

Writers

Roy Blount Jr.

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Roy Blount Jr.

Tom Bodett

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Tom Bodett

Katy Butler

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Katy Butler

Deepak Chopra

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Deepak Chopra

Antoine de St. Exupery: Flight to Arras

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Antoine de St. Exupery: Flight to Arras

Michael Feldman

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Michael Feldman

Adam Gopnik

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Adam Gopnik

Kevin Kling

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Kevin Kling

Anne Lamott (2002)

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Anne Lamott (2002)

Anne Lamott (2006)

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Anne Lamott (2006)

Anne Lamott (2013)

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Anne Lamott (2013)

Abraham Lincoln: Thanksgiving Proclamation

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Abraham Lincoln: Thanksgiving Proclamation

Anna Quindlen

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Anna Quindlen

Julia Sweeney

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Julia Sweeney

Poets

Billy Collins

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Billy Collins

Rita Dove

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Rita Dove

Dana Gioia

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Dana Gioia

Nikki Giovanni

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Nikki Giovanni

Ted Kooser

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Ted Kooser

Ada Limon

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Ada Limon

Bill Moyers reads E. E. Cummings

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Bill Moyers: E. E. Cummings

Naomi Shihab Nye

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Naomi Shihab Nye

Gary Snyder

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Gary Snyder

Studs Terkel reads Carl Sandburg

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Studs Terkel: Carl Sandburg

Musicians

Pamela Frank

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Pamela Frank

Stephen Hough

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Stephen Hough

Brooklyn Rider

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Brooklyn Rider

John Rutter

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - John Rutter

Michael Tilson Thomas

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Michael Tilson Thomas

In memoriam

Maya Angelou

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Maya Angelou

Baxter Black

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Baxter Black

Nora Ephron

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Nora Ephron

Donald Hall

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Donald Hall

Bill Holm

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Bill Holm

Galway Kinnell

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Galway Kinnell

Rabbi Harold Kushner

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Rabbi Harold Kushner

W. S. Merwin

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - W. S. Merwin

Alice Sommer Herz

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Alice Sommer Herz

John Updike

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - John Updike

Wendy Wasserstein

00:00
0
Giving Thanks - Wendy Wasserstein


‘Giving Thanks’ archive

Here are the full two-hour versions of every Giving Thanks episode from the past 25 years.

2022 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2022


2021 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2021


2020 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2020


2019 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2019


2018 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2018


2017 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2017 - Hour I
00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2017 - Hour II


2016 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2016


2015 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2015


2014 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2014

2013 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2013

2012 - Playlist

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2012

2011

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2011

2010

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2010

2009

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2009

2008

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2008

2007

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2007

2006

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2006

2005

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2005

2004

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2004

2003

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2003

2002

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2002

2001

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2001

2000

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 2000

1999

00:00
0
Giving Thanks 1999

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Holiday Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Holiday Episodes

It's time to rank YourClassical Christmas Favorites!

It's time to rank YourClassical Christmas Favorites!

YourClassical Christmas Favorites is back! This year, we’re taking the top 25 songs from last year as voted by you, our listeners, and are asking you to rank them so we can create the YourClassical Christmas Favorites special that will air in December. Vote now!

Listen to the Holiday Stream
2024 YourClassical Holiday Programming Schedule
'Songs of Thanks' with Cantus

'Songs of Thanks' with Cantus

Join us for ‘Songs of Thanks,’ an innovative new production by Cantus presenting stories and songs celebrating gratitude and community. Listen now — and then tell us why you’re thankful for next year’s program.

59:00
'Every Good Thing'

'Every Good Thing'

On Thanksgiving, host Andrea Blain and classical music fans from all around the country take time to give thanks and celebrate one of life's most meaningful gifts: music. It's ‘Every Good Thing’ — an hour of stories and music to celebrate Thanksgiving.

59:00
Top 12 Thanksgiving classical music pieces
1:54:42
Listen to our 2024 winter holiday specials on demand
59:00
'Giving Thanks' - 25th anniversary special

'Giving Thanks' - 25th anniversary special

'Giving Thanks,' hosted by John Birge, is celebrating its 25th year on public radio! This year’s show presents the best moments of a quarter century of great guests amid the perfect atmosphere for Thanksgiving: the warmth of great music and truly memorable words.

1:59:00

'Lurkey Is Lost!'

Thanksgiving is coming, but Lurkey the turkey is nowhere to be found. Can you help the farmer find the wayward bird? Grab paper and crayons and follow along as narrator Melanie Renate and artist Xee Reiter tell the story, with guitar music by Justin Holland, in the latest episode of YourClassical Storytime.

9:59
A Thanksgiving Meditation

A Thanksgiving Meditation

This episode of ‘Extra Eclectic’ presents a cornucopia of works on themes of America, travel, autumn and the idea of home. Bill Morelock is the guest host.

2:00:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES