THOMAS FRANK, What’s the Matter w Kansas? & EDGAR CAHN, late serial social justice entrepreneur-Jan 2012 conversation-the year ahead…

Written on March 30th, 2023
I was a virtual attendee last week at an inspiring and humbling memorial for the late EDGAR CAHN, on what would have been his 88th birthday. Cahn, an unsung hero of 20th century America, authored articles and books that intentionally led to national policy, including The War on Poverty (1964) which led to the establishment of Legal Aid, Hunger, U.S.A (1968), Our Brother’s Keeper: The Indian in White America (1969), and Time Dollars (1992). He and his late wife, Jean Camper, co-founded Antioch School of Law, now the District of Columbia Law School. Here’s my 2012 conversation with Edgar and THOMAS FRANK, influential social critic and author of What’s the Matter with Kansas? and One Market Under God.

Podcast: KATHRYN PAIGE HARDEN, THE GENETIC LOTTERY: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality – though many want to pretend it doesn’t.

Written on March 22nd, 2023
Though most people now accept that genes influence our height, weight, heart health, etc., many get nervous when we apply that same perspective to things like our mental health, intelligence, or educational attainment. Here’s my conversation with KATHRYN PAIGE HARDEN, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, about the ideas in her first book, THE GENETIC LOTTERY: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality, which attempts to reconcile the findings of behavior genetics with her commitment to social justice. You can learn more at kpharden.com.

BARBARA FINAMORE (2019)-Can we cooperate on climate?-WILL CHINA SAVE THE PLANET?

Written on March 15th, 2023

Recently China led negotiations to end longstanding hostilities between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the US, we’ve seen how even one person willing to oppose the popular consensus can dictate our nation’s response to climate change. Here’s my 2019 conversation with BARBARA FINAMORE about her provocative book, Will China Save the Planet?, which explores China’s big picture, long-term strategy to reap the technological, economic, and political benefits of seizing leadership of the global response to climate.    

THIRD ACT-Mobilizing Boomers to Defend Democracy & Confront Climate-BOB FULKERSON, Lead National Organizer

Written on March 7th, 2023

10K people a day pass the 60-year mark. There’s no way to make the changes needed to protect our planet and society unless we bring our power into play. Here’s my conversation with BOB FULKERSON, Lead National Organizer for THIRD ACT, the year-old organization founded by BILL McKIBBEN to mobilize Boomers and older to defend democracy and confront the Climate Crisis. Learn more at thirdact.org and join a National Day of Action 3/21/23. Deliver a message to big banks who fund fossil fuels & climate destruction.

1) WINIFRED GALLAGHER, Attention, our most valuable resource. 2) TIM RYAN, former Ohio Congressman on meditation

Written on March 3rd, 2023
The world is a crazy place and the battle for our attention has never been more fierce. (1) In 2009’s RAPT: Attention and the Focused Life, WINIFRED GALLAGHER argues that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it. Worth paying attention to. (2) Former Ohio Congressman TIM RYAN – lost 2022 Senate race to Hillbilly Elegy author, election denier J.D.Vance – urges the practice  of meditation in A MINDFUL NATION: How a Simple Practice Can Help Us Reduce Stress, Improve Performance, and Recapture the American Spirit.