DiscoverLife in Seven SongsENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies
ENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies

ENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies

Update: 2025-08-12
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This week, we’re revisiting a favorite – our conversation with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who just released “Coming Up Short,” a memoir that doubles as a national reckoning. The title is a nod to his height — just under 5 feet — but also to a country that, he argues, has fallen short of its ideals. He offers a blueprint for how to find its way back.


In this episode, Bob reflects on the moments — and music — that shaped his politics: being bullied as a child, narrowly avoiding the Vietnam draft, and his love for Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” Here are his songs.



  1. Stardust – Hoagy Carmichael

  2. Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers

  3. Chain Gang – Sam Cooke

  4. Baby I Need Your Loving – The Four Tops

  5. Lady Madonna – The Beatles

  6. Metaphor – The Fantasticks

  7. Suzanne – Judy Collins

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ENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies

ENCORE: How Robert Reich learned to fight bullies

The San Francisco Standard