Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

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Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. It's something we need now more than ever.

Alan Alda


    • Jun 3, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 41m AVG DURATION
    • 368 EPISODES

    4.7 from 3,282 ratings Listeners of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda that love the show mention: alan alda, michael j fox, thanks alan, thank you alan, love alan, communicate better, mash, really listening, sarah silverman, even a little, m a s h, listening to others, questions at the end, communicating, alan's, hawkeye, vivid, bloom, communication, astronomy.


    Ivy Insights

    The Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda podcast is an absolute gem in the world of podcasts. Hosted by the legendary Alan Alda, this show features fascinating interviews with a diverse range of guests, covering a wide array of topics. Alda's interview style is brilliant, as he asks intelligent and thought-provoking questions that elicit fun and surprising answers. Listening to this podcast has truly opened doors in my brain that I didn't even realize were shut.

    One of the best aspects of The Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda podcast is Alda's engaging interview style. He has a knack for making his guests feel comfortable and valued, which leads to deep and meaningful conversations. Whether it's philosophers, scientists, or authors, Alda engages with the topic at hand and makes me question my own worldview. Despite often discussing serious topics, the interviews are delightful and filled with laughter.

    Another great aspect of this podcast is its educational value. Each episode is a painlessly enlightening nugget that not only teaches me something new but also makes me think and feel deeply. The variety of guests allows for a broad range of topics to be covered, from complex scientific concepts to discussions on national discourse. I especially love the "7 questions" segment at the end of each episode, which provides unique insights into the guest's personal perspectives.

    While there are so many positive aspects to The Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda podcast, one potential downside could be the limited familiarity with some guests or topics. As one reviewer mentioned, there may be interviews with people they've never heard of discussing complex subjects that they can barely fathom. However, thanks to Alda's skilled interviewing techniques, these episodes still manage to captivate and engage listeners.

    In conclusion, The Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda podcast is an absolute must-listen for anyone seeking both entertainment and education in their podcasts. With Alda's engaging interview style and the variety of thought-provoking topics covered, this podcast has the ability to open minds, deepen understanding, and leave listeners feeling enlightened. Give it a listen and prepare to be captivated by the brilliance of Alan Alda and his guests.



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    Latest episodes from Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

    Adam Kucharski: Truth in a World of Falsehoods

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 39:54


    A mathematician and epidemiologist, his research helped save lives during the Covid pandemic in the UK by predicting the effectiveness of interventions like social distancing and masks. In his new book, he tackles the thorny problem of how you find truth in a world awash with falsehoods.

    Noah Wyle: Learning from The Pitt

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 40:59


    Playing attending physician “Robby” Robinavitch in the hit HBO Max series The Pitt has given him insights into how the harrowing world of the emergency room could be improved in real life.

    Mario Livio: Hello? Anybody Out There?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 40:31


    The recent discovery on a distant planet of a chemical that could be a sign of life has this astrophysicist intrigued if not convinced. But if it turns out to be real it would mean that not only are we not alone – “It would really mean that our Galaxy is teeming with life.”

    Colman Domingo: Magnetic. Fearless. Unstoppable.

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 40:38


    Now starring in the Netflix series The Four Seasons – based on Alan's 1981 movie – he's won an Emmy and has been nominated for two Oscars and two Tony awards. In 2024, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. And you surely didn't miss him at this year's Met Gala!

    Eric Topol: Live Longer, Better

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 40:19


    While promises of extending the human lifespan to 125 and beyond are premature, recent breakthroughs in the early detection of killer diseases of the major organs and brain offer a healthier old age – especially when paired with behavioral changes that Dr Topol calls “Lifestyle+.”

    Sarah Bell: Alexa's Ancestors

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 36:34


    AI generated voices like Alexa and Siri are now so much a part of our everyday experience that disembodied chatbots that talk are edging ever closer to being accepted as real. And not for the first time: attempts to generate artificial human voices date back over two centuries.

    Carl Zimmer: The Living Sky

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 39:33


    Stories of the discovery that the air is full of invisible life – and how that discovery was tragically overlooked when the covid pandemic struck.

    John Leguizamo: Meticulously Spontaneous

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 35:47


    His far-reaching career acting, writing and producing on television and film spans voicing a sloth in the movie Ice Age to hosting a PBS series on the untold history of Latinos in the US. He's fast talking, funny, outspoken and possesses a rare quality in his acting – on display in his new movie Bob Trevino Likes It.

    Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda: Season 29 Trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 28:18


    Alan and Clear and Vivid's executive producer Graham Chedd chat about and play clips from some of the shows coming up in season 29. Guests include actor John Leguizamo, science writer Carl Zimmer, and astrophysicist Mario Livio.

    Bill Pullman: From a Stage Fall to Curtain Calls

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 41:36


    A chat with an actor who does it all. After recovering from a near fatal fall on stage as his career was beginning, Bill Pullman has not only had a busy and award-winning career on stage, screen and television, he's also getting into science communication  – while working on a one-man play and making hard cider for his friends and neighbors.

    stage bill pullman curtain calls
    Alison Wood Brooks: Talking About Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 42:56


    How the letters in the acronym TALK can have a profound effect on the next conversation you have.

    Kafui Dzirasa: An Electrical Path to Mental Health?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2025 39:00


    A psychiatrist, engineer and neuroscientist, Kaf Dzirasa is researching ways to reengineer the brain to make it better able to cope with stress and so improve mental health.

    Shannon Vallor: The AI Illusion

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2025 41:21


    Artificial intelligence is poised to reshape our world, in many ways for the better. But the gains come with great risks – above all that its seductive appeal lulls us into believing that AI machines know better than we do.

    Malcolm Gladwell: Tipping Points Old and New

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2025 39:25


    His new book Revenge of The Tipping Point takes a fresh look at the tipping points of social change he opened our eyes to 25 years ago  –­ and unearths unexpected explanations for such new questions as: what really drove the opioid crisis, why diversity matters, and why Harvard University has a women's rugby team.

    Ann Patchett: Bel Canto Revisited

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2025 42:09


    In a remarkable and illuminating tour de force, the novelist recently took a fresh look at her best-known book, going through it line by line and annotating it with handwritten notes in the margins – notes on things she both loved and hated. “It shows,” she says, “a lot about how to write a novel.”

    Matt Strassler: What Are You Made Of?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 35:54


    The answer, regrettably, is unbelievable. That is, unbelievable to most of us, because we cannot imagine a universe – including ourselves – made of waves. Quantum physicist Matt Strassler braves the task of convincing Alan he is a collection of waves, and in doing so helps Alan answer a question that's haunted him for more than a decade.

    Julie Sedivy: How Language Shapes Us

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2025 41:10


    Her new book, Linguaphile: A Life of Language Love is an ode to the power of language to both shape us and be shaped by us. It's informed by her own experience with languages: she spoke five before learning English as an immigrant to Canada as a child.

    Mala Murthy: From a Fly's Brain to Yours

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2025 37:27


    The 500 feet of wiring packed into fruit fly's brain has been fully mapped – giving insights into how the more that 300,000 miles of wiring packed into your brain generates your thoughts, feelings, perceptions and actions. These insights could also lead to novel treatments for the diseases caused when the wiring goes wrong.

    Brenda Wineapple: When Evolution Was on Trial

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2025 37:57


    In 1925, a trial in a small town in Tennessee riveted the nation. In the dock was a young man named John Scopes, charged with violating a state law outlawing the teaching of evolution. The trial exposed fault lines in society that are opening again today, a century later.

    Daniel Levitin: Music as Medicine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2025 40:46


    Music can lift our spirits, bring us to tears, spark our creativity, pace our workouts. Neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin explores all these benefits of music – and adds the recent scientific evidence that in some chronic medical conditions, music is medicinal.

    Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda - Season 28 trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2025 36:32


    Alan and Clear and Vivid's executive producer Graham Chedd chat about and play clips from some of the shows coming up in season 28. A major theme of the season is language –from babies picking up clues about  their mother's language while still in the womb, to male fruit flies singing courtship songs to female fruit flies, to a best-selling novelist second guessing some of the language she used in her best known novel. 

    Marcia Bjornerud: The Wisdom of Rocks

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2025 32:37


    Offsprings of the Earth – Earthlings – we are most of us ignorant of the 3.5 billion years of experiments our planet has been through to produce us. Yet the story is there in the rocks all around us – if only we can decipher what they have to say.

    Matt Abrahams: Off the Cuff and in the Zone

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2024 40:22


    So much of our communication is spontaneous and yet we never really learn or are taught how to do it well – we're just expected to do it. How to avoid being tongue-tied, whether when called upon to give an impromptu speech or when sitting next to a stranger at a dinner party.

    Dean-David Schillinger: The Power of Patients' Stories

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2024 37:27


    Eliciting the story behind a patient's visit to the hospital can lead to better diagnosis and treatment than medical tests alone – and also reveals much of what needs fixing in health care today.

    Kristin Andrews: Is that spider conscious?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 40:53


    Alan's fleeting thought while chasing a spider around the floor sparked a conversation with an animal minds expert who argues that many more creatures than we imagine are conscious. What could this mean for our relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom – including those that annoy us and those we eat?

    spider conscious kristin andrews
    John Pollack: The Surprising Power of Puns and Analogies

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2024 39:05


    Good analogies led to cheaper cars and Apple computers; bad ones to lives wasted and lost. And while puns might not always make you smile (or grimace), they helped pave the way for written language.

    Jasmin Graham: She's Down with Sharks

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 35:38


    As a Black graduate student disillusioned with academia, she founded Minorities in Shark Science (MISS). She now pursues her passion for sharks and outreach to a public fearful of sharks as a successful independent researcher.

    Craig Foster: Life Lessons from an Octopus

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2024 36:01


    For most of us who live in the “tame” modern world, a reminder of how we can refresh ourselves by experiencing the wild world – even the wild world of our backyard or city streets.

    Joshua Greene: Games That Build Bridges

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2024 39:46


    His research figuring out how our brains make moral judgments has led to two on-line games: One aimed at overcoming political animosity (and that's fun to play!); the other to satisfy both your head and your heart when you donate to charity.

    Dan Heath: In Someone Else's (Working) Shoes

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2024 38:46


    Most of us have no idea how others – even our friends and neighbors – spend their days at work. What's it really like to be a plumber, a marriage counselor, an ice cream truck owner, an author of mystery novels? In his podcast Dan Heath talks to workers in dozens of different jobs to find out What It's Like to Be.

    Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods: How to Raise a Great Dog

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2024 39:39


    The puppy kindergarten at Duke University is discovering how to spot a future great service dog while the dog is still a puppy. And it turns out that what makes a great service dog can also make your dog great.

    Backstage at The West Wing

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 39:56


    How the acclaimed TV series came to be and what it has come to mean since, as recalled in a new book by cast members Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack. Including stories you've probably never heard before.

    Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda - Season 27 trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2024 24:54


    Alan and executive producer Graham Chedd look ahead to season 27. In a nostalgic look back at the TV series The West Wing, Alan recalls the scariest moments of his career; we visit a puppy kindergarten to spot future service dogs; a doctor tells stories that vividly illustrate the shortcomings of the health care system; and we meet a woman who can read our history as Earthlings. All that and more…

    Lynnae Quick: Could an Icy Moon Harbor Life?

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2024 36:39


    Her doctoral thesis led to her becoming a member of the team behind yesterday's successful launch of NASA's Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa. Her contribution could help find out if beneath its thick ice crust, Europa is friendly to life.

    Terry Szuplat: Speak Your Mind

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 38:46


    For eight years he wrote speeches for President Obama. Today he applies much of what he learned then in helping others with public speaking – how to craft a speech, how to connect with the audience, how to overcome the sheer terror of standing in front of dozens or hundreds of people.

    Steve Martin: Portrait of the Artist

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2024 38:31


    He's had a legendary life as a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, banjo player, even magician. As Steve talks about these threads in his life, a picture emerges of the thoughtful side of this remarkable entertainer.

    Ayana Johnson: We Can Do This!

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2024 40:30


    A clarion call to those of us acutely aware of the peril facing our planet yet feel powerless to help save it. Ayana Johnson urges us to stop fretting about what “I” can do and instead think about what “we” can do, by joining our own skills and passions with those of others – and have fun doing it. Then, she asks in her provocative new book, What If We Get It Right?

    Frank Barry: Taking the Lincoln Highway to America

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2024 37:07


    Escaping the Covid lockdown in 2020 he and his wife Laurel set out in an RV to travel across America along the Lincoln Highway – a road more aspirational than real. But with Abraham Lincoln's spirit as their guide they talked with the people they met along the way to explore the urgent question of what can hold our fractured country together.

    Randy Fertel: Improv Everywhere

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 37:32


    Is improvisation at the heart of Western culture — music, art, literature, politics, even artificial intelligence?  Author Randy Fertel thinks so. And he warns that as much as it's a positive force, there's also peril in it.

    Roger Rosenblatt: Wounds and Other Blessings

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2024 35:36


    Alan talks with Roger Rosenblatt about his new book “A Steinway on the beach.” It explores that great mystery of how being wounded—emotionally or physically—is both an inescapable part of life and a chance to illuminate it. It's seeing the wound as the place where the light enters you.

    Lisa Kaltenegger: Alien Hunter

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2024 37:58


    She's a pioneer in figuring out how we might tell if any of the trillions of planets out there in the galaxy might harbor life – and if so, what kind of life.

    Mark Rank: As Luck Would Have It

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2024 40:16


    Chance events not only change lives, they can change history – as when a soviet sailor's briefly stuck foot prevented a potential nuclear catastrophe. You can't predict when luck, good or bad, will intervene. But you can learn to take advantage of it.

    Anne Curzan: Say What? Says Who?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2024 40:37


    Over time, the meaning of words often changes. The history of these changes suggests they're inevitable and that some of us (like our host) could be a little more relaxed about it and a little less peevish.

    anne curzan
    Mo Rocca: Late Comebacks

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2024 38:27


    Older people, says Mo Rocca, have better stories. And he tells many of them – stories of people as different as Colonel Sanders and Henri Matisse – in his new book Roctogenarians – older people who even in their 90s have achieved great things.

    Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda - Season 26 trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2024 21:25


    Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd chat about and play excerpts from Alan's conversations with some of the guests in the new season, beginning next week. Guests include writer Roger Rosenblatt, writer Anne Curzan, and journalist Mo Rocca.

    David Toomey: Want to play?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2024 36:50


    Most creatures – including unlikely ones like octopuses, crows and bees – make room for fun. But play is much more than fun and games. Play teaches life skills, empathy – even morality. And it may help shape evolution.

    Sanjana Curtis: Sprinkling Stardust on TikTok

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 38:03


    An astrophysicist brings the universe down to earth. In brief captivating videos she tells the stories of how everything our world is made of – including ourselves – was created in cataclysmic explosions and collisions far out in space.

    Chris French: Would you believe it?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2024 41:00


    When we experience things that seem beyond explanation, are they evidence of the supernatural? Or instead, a quirk of our brains? A skeptical but open-minded psychologist has some entertaining answers. 

    Cady Coleman: Sharing Space

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 39:29


    Sharing her experiences of three space missions – including 159 days as the only woman on the 6-person crew of the International Space Station – Cady Coleman also shares lessons about getting along:valuable insights for the rest of us down here on earth.

    Charles Duhigg: Connecting and Communicating

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 39:47


    Alan and the author of a new book called Supercommunicators share their thoughts on what makes a great conversation.  The result? A great conversation!

    When Small is Big News

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 38:28


    The world of the very small is very different from the one we are familiar with. (Gold for instance turns red.) Chad Mirkin and Robert Langer's skills in crafting this bizarre micro-world into medical breakthroughs earned them the 2024 Kavli Prize in nanotechnology.

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