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David Hoffman on the Life You Build When You Keep Reinventing Yourself

Episode 227: David Hoffman on the Life You Build When You Keep Reinventing Yourself

From carrier-current radio to Kurt Vonnegut films to PC Magazine, David Hoffman traces a life of reinvention on this special birthday episode of Correct Me If I'm Norm.

Show notes

On Norm's birthday episode, guest David Hoffman looks back on a life shaped by curiosity and reinvention. He recalls early radio days in high school, studying engineering at Case Western, earning a third-class FCC license in Detroit, and landing at Vassar, where he fell in love with both '60s music and the college's carrier-current station. From there, Hoffman found his way into filmmaking, including a short inspired by Kurt Vonnegut, a documentary on Vassar's history, and festival screenings, before moving to New York to work in film and animation on an Oxberry stand. Then came the 1981 IBM PC and Lotus 1-2-3, which redirected his career entirely toward consulting and writing for PC Magazine, where he met his editor and future wife, Jane. Norm and Hoffman also share a laugh over a tennis mishap that inspired Norm's birthday gift. In closing, Hoffman describes his volunteer work as treasurer and bookkeeper for the Ulster Immigrant Defense Network, which provides food pantry access, legal aid, transportation, school coordination, and emergency rent assistance to those in need.

Produced by Norm Magnusson, Jennifer Hammoud, and Matty Rosenberg @ radiofreerhinecliff.org

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David Hoffman

David Hoffman

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