George Lewis was a correspondent at NBC News from 1970 until his retirement in 2012. Before moderating a panel on the future of U.S.-Iran relations, he talked about the scoop that got away (if only he’d hung out in Vietnam just a little longer) as well as the country he reported from but is least likely to return to (Guyana) in the Zócalo green room.
What do you wake up to?
I ask Siri to wake me up, so I wake up to my iPhone, followed by NPR, I think.
How would you describe yourself in five words or less?
Still crazy after all these years?
What’s the last great book you read?
I’m right now reading Robert Caro’s latest book on LBJ [The Passage of Power], and I think it’s a great book.
What country that you reported from are you least likely to return to?
Guyana. Because I think the memory of the Jonestown Massacre that occurred there is really a sad one, and I don’t think Guyana has been in the news since.
Do you have a favorite constellation?
The Southern Cross. My significant other is from the Galápagos Islands, and you can see the Southern Cross from the Galápagos.
What’s the last great dessert you ate?
I had a killer crème brûlée a couple of nights ago.
What’s the best thing about retirement?
Spending lots of time with my grandchildren.
What’s the scoop that got away?
I left Saigon when the Americans were evacuated at the end of the Vietnam War, and I didn’t hang around to watch the North Vietnamese crash through the gates of the presidential palace.
What’s your least favorite thing about the Internet?
The signal-to-noise ratio—all the crap that’s transmitted that’s untrue and exploitative and evil.
What’s your favorite (somewhat) hidden spot in Los Angeles?
There are a number of stairways in Santa Monica Canyon. I’ve found one that most people don’t know about, and I climb that stairway all by myself for exercise.