139: Elliott Erwitt, with Rick Smolan

Following Elliott Erwitt's death in November 2023, Rubin and Suzanne sit down with photographer Rick Smolan — Erwitt's son-in-law and a returning guest from episode 86 — for a personal remembrance of the Magnum legend, best known for his wry, human (and canine) street photography, including iconic shots of Nixon and Khrushchev and countless dog portraits. Few have had such a close vantage on this inspiration to so many photographers today. Smolan offers intimate, humor-filled recollections (including his line about the appeal of photographing dogs: they don't ask for prints), while the conversation touches on Erwitt's late-career project of revisiting seven decades of his own archive to surface previously unseen images, published as his final book "Found, Not Lost." It's less a career retrospective than a personal goodbye from someone with rare closeness to the man behind the camera.

Topic outline:

Episode 139: Goodbye, Elliott Erwitt, with Rick Smolan — Topic Outline

Intro
- News of Elliott Erwitt's passing (November 2023)
- Introducing Rick Smolan, Erwitt's son-in-law and returning guest (previously episode 86)

Remembering Erwitt the photographer
- Iconic images discussed: "New York" (1946, 1974), "California Kiss, Santa Monica" (1955), "Krushchev and Nixon, Moscow" (1959), "East Hampton, New York" (1983)
- Erwitt's dog photography and Smolan's line about why dogs make easy subjects

Personal recollections
- Smolan's close vantage point as family and longtime collaborator
- Anecdotes from having known Erwitt personally, not just professionally

Erwitt's final project
- Revisiting 70 years of his own archive late in life
- Discovering previously unseen images he was proud of ("At 90 years old I'm back finding gems")
- The resulting book: "Found, Not Lost"

Legacy and context
- Nods to Erwitt's influence on street photography broadly
- Reference to "the decisive moment" as a framing concept (linked essay by Rubin)
- Mentions of Rick Smolan's own company, Against All Odds Productions

Close
- Likely wrap-up / where to find more on Erwitt's work and legacy

Where to see more: magnumphotos.com (Erwitt's final book "Found, Not Lost") / againstallodds.com (Smolan's company)