Why are we addicted to more? LEIDY KLOTZ, SUBTRACT: The Untapped Science of Less

Written on May 26th, 2022

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 

After Buffalo-CHIP BERLET (2017), investigator of hate groups, author, Right Wing Populism in America

Written on May 21st, 2022
After the latest one-two gut punch of Buffalo NY and Laguna Woods CA, we’ll replay my 2017 conversation with the author of Right Wing Populism in America, CHIP BERLET, who’s been on the domestic hate beat for decades. Congressman Ted Lieu: “Of course we need common sense gun safety measures enacted but we also need to address the misinformation and stoking of grievances that is pushing people to take these heinous actions.” 

Are Antibiotics Doomed? DAVID HYUN & ERIN DUFFY on the Crisis No One Talks About

Written on May 12th, 2022
In 2019, about 1.27M people died directly due to antimicrobial resistance – significantly more than from Covid in two years. When we lose antibiotics, we will be in a different world. Joint and organ replacement and many other surgeries will be a thing of the past. I talk about the growing dangers of antibiotic resistance and the lack of new drugs with DAVID HYUN, MD, who directs the Antibiotic Resistance Project at the Pew Charitable Trust, and ERIN DUFFY, Chief of R&D at CARB-X, the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator. You can learn more at saveantibiotics.org and carb-x.org

LINDA GREENHOUSE (2021) – JUSTICE ON THE BRINK – 12 Months that Transformed the Supreme Court

Written on May 10th, 2022
I realize this conversation with LINDA GREENHOUSE first posted only 6 months ago, but there’s no bigger domestic story right now than the rightwing Supreme Court majority’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade and do away with a woman’s right to an abortion. GREENHOUSE begins her book, JUSTICE ON THE BRINK, shortly before Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, covers McConnell’s cynical and unethical rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, and then reports on the Court through the end of its term in June 2021 – providing history and context, gathered in her 30 years covering the Court for the New York Times. 

BILL McKIBBEN-THIRD ACT-New Movement to Mobilize Boomers vs Climate Change

Written on April 28th, 2022

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.