Yo-Yo Ma awarded WHYY Lifelong Learning Award: ‘I’m doing my best’
The world-renowned cellist came to WHYY to be interviewed by Terry Gross. Of course, he brought his cello, Petunia.
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Writer James Patterson received the WHYY Lifelong Learning Award at an event on May 14, 2025, after a conversation with ''Fresh Air'' host Terry Gross. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Author James Patterson, one of the best-selling authors of all time, came to WHYY in Philadelphia on Wednesday night to receive the annual Lifelong Learning Award.
The event, which attracted more than 200 WHYY members and donors, featured an onstage interview with “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross. The interview will be broadcast in a future episode of “Fresh Air.”
Patterson came bearing jokes.
“Hi, I’m Stephen King,” Patterson said upon taking the stage with Gross. He and King have a well-known literary rivalry.
“I came to honor James,” Patterson said, as King. “I love the guy.”
Patterson’s numbers are staggering. He has written over 200 novels, and most have been bestsellers. He has published about 400 works in total, putting out something new roughly every six weeks, on average. He has sold 450 million copies and is regularly ranked as the highest-paid author in the world.
Much of his recent work has been collaborations, including books with former President Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton. One of his current collaborators is the YouTuber known as MrBeast.
At 78 years old, he’s still learning.
“I wrote my autobiography — a terrible thing to do but it was during COVID. I was locked in the house,” he said. “But it made me a better writer at my age, which is pretty cool, because I really started paying attention to the sentences again.”
Since 2002, WHYY has recognized high-profile people who have shown a commitment to learning and literacy with its Lifelong Learning Award. Past recipients include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, television host Henry Louis Gates Jr., Dr. Anthony Fauci and basketball coach Dawn Staley.
WHYY board director John Salveson said Patterson was chosen because he is both a literary icon and a philanthropist.
“He is a man who understands that books are more than words on the page. They are bridges to knowledge, to imagination, to empathy, and to opportunity,” Salveson said. “Through his tireless philanthropic work, James has empowered thousands of students, educators and families.”
Patterson has given almost $200 million to scholarships, literacy programs, libraries and bookstores, sometimes as small cash grants given directly to individual teachers, librarians and bookstore owners.
“That’s such a nice touch because I’m sure they’re all not paid very well,” Gross said to Patterson during the onstage interview. “It’s acknowledging not just the institution or an abstract like loving reading, it’s honoring the individuals who do the work.”
“They’ll send these notes like, ‘For the first time in three years, I gave my parents presents this year,’ or, ‘I went to the dentist,’” Patterson said. “It’s real and it’s honest.”
Patterson’s latest book may seem like an unusual pivot to longtime fans of Patterson’s Alex Cross or Women’s Murder Club series. Instead of a thriller, it’s a book of parenting advice. “The #1 Dad Book: Be the Best Dad You Can Be in 1 Hour!” is a thin volume designed to be read in a single sitting.
Though short, he said it might be the most important book of his deep oeuvre.
“Guys need help right now. Not everyone, obviously, but they’re lost, they’re overwhelmed, a lot of them are not the breadwinner, so: ‘Who am I? How do I fit in?’” he said. “In terms of being dads, they won’t talk to one another.”
During the interview with Gross, Patterson demonstrated that he can be difficult to pin down. Not just in the free-associative way that his answers circled the questions, but his constant output of content seems to be all over the map, from children’s books to nonfiction to self-help to thrillers.
In the time between the Lifelong Learning interview recording and its ultimate broadcast on “Fresh Air,” Patterson will likely have already published his next collaborative novel with actress Viola Davis, a thriller about abortion. His collaboration with MrBeast is already underway. It’s a novel loosely based on the online influencer’s reputation of giving away money to drive people into competing in dangerous stunts.
“There’s a line, and it’s not mine: ‘My time here is short. What can I do most beautifully?’” Patterson said. “I love that. I didn’t say it, somebody else did, but I love it, and it’s motivated me for the last couple of years in terms of focus and deciding what projects I’m going to do.”