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Five weeks ago my wife suffered a stroke. She’s fine physically, but has language challenges and some processing issues. She improves every day and our connection is stronger than ever. Daily life is punctuated by moments of joy and others of crushing frustration. I share with you my recent conversation with JILL BOLTE TAYLOR, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist, who in 1996 at the age of 37, experienced a stroke that left her unable to walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. It took Taylor 8 years to recover all physical, emotional, and thinking abilities. She’s author of the bestselling MY STROKE OF INSIGHT: A BRAIN SCIENTIST’S PERSONAL JOURNEY and her TED talk of the same name has been viewed 27 million times. 

Here’s part 2 my 2013 conversation with HAZEL HENDERSON – who as a mom in the 70’s who’d never been to college got upset about pollution threatening her young child, became a local NYC activist, and developed into a global expert on economics and sustainability. She’s creator of the television show and website Ethical Markets, and author of 10 books, including Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World. Hazel passed away May 22 at the age of 89.

Here’s part 1 my 2013 conversation with HAZEL HENDERSON – who as a mom in the 70’s who’d never been to college got upset about pollution threatening her young child, became a local activist, and developed into a global expert on economics and sustainability. She’s creator of the television show and website Ethical Markets, and author of 10 books, including Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World. Hazel passed away May 22 at the age of 89.

Our homes are full of stuff. Our minds are full of information. Our economies are built on never-ending growth while our planet chokes on pollution. In his book, SUBTRACT: The Untapped Science of Less, LEIDY KLOTZ reminds us that across challenges big and small, we neglect a basic way to make things better: we don’t subtract. What is it in our biology, our psychology, or our culture that leads us to often ignore even the possibility? Could the cultivation of subtraction reveal the path to both a better quality of life and an effective response to the climate crisis? You can learn more at leidyklotz.com 

I’m excited to replay for you my late 2021 conversation with BILL McKIBBEN, author, and co-founder of the global climate campaign 350.org. In it which he  introduces Third Act, the new activist organization he’s founded. While millions of young people are effectively engaging to confront climate change, those over 60 are not yet delivering what the crisis demands, and Third Act is dedicated to changing that.

ELIE MYSTAL, Justice Correspondent for The Nation magazine and a contributor to MSNBC, opens his first book, ALLOW ME TO RETORT: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution, with the following words: “Our Constitution is not good. It is a document designed to create a society of enduring white male dominance, hastily edited in the margins to allow for what basic political rights white men could be convinced to share.” The starting point is that far from perfect, this document of compromises necessary to win ratification from slaveowners is unworthy of the veneration promoted by the Right and accepted by too many on the Left. Once we get over that, perhaps we can roll up our sleeves and get to work to bring some of its underlying ideals to fuller realization in the real world.