The Advice We'd Give to Our 25-Year-Old Selves

Dear Nina,

I know you want to be Nancy Drew, but in real life, fearlessness can be stupid. Getting followed by the KKK in Mississippi and shot at in Northern Ireland is not good, so use a little more caution. As for your complaint that people don't take you seriously because of your gender, I'd remind you that you have gotten lots of scoops from self-important men who were happy to blather their brains out to a "girl." Being the only woman is often lonely and difficult, but you just have to suck it up. With luck, there will be more of you soon.
—Nina Totenberg, 68, legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio