“Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers,” co-hosts of National Public Radio’s popular weekly show Car Talk were the 1999 Commencement speakers. Why would MIT invite the owners of a local auto repair shop to address graduates and their families? Because Click and Clack are MIT graduates themselves!
Cambridge brothers Tom (1958) and Ray Magliozzi (1972) parlayed their education and infectious humor into a variety of successful ventures, including television and movie roles, and most famously, their Peabody Award–winning radio program, proving that an MIT degree can lead to the most surprising careers.
Tom Magliozzi '58, accompanied by his brother Ray Magliozzi '72 and then–MIT President Charles M. Vest, told 1999 graduates, "being unencumbered by the thought process” leads to greater happiness. Photo by Donna Coveney.