Give and Take

In this episode Scott talks with authors David Shields and Josh Rosenblatt about the cultural politics of the WNBA. Much has been made of the coverage of two of the WNBA's prominent stars: Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. What are the racial and political implications of the coverage of these two athletes? What do they tell us about wider American culture as a whole in a tense election season? Special Guests: David Shields and Josh Rosenblatt.

In this episode we are joined by Raphael Davidovich. He is the Rabbi of Cleveland's friendliest Orthodox schule. We touch on a host of issues including and especially what it means to be an American Rabbi when Israel is at war. You can find Rabbi Davidovich's podcast here: https://anchor.fm/raphael-davidovich Special Guest: Raphael Davidovich.

My guest is Rabbi Uri Allen. Rabbi Uri Allen is a guitar-playing Abba of three who loves cooking, traveling around the country to see his favorite band Phish and learning Torah. His passions in the rabbinate are in educating and teaching learners of all ages, working with young families like his own, and using music to add contour and depth to Jewish rituals and life. We had a great interfaith conversation that touched everything under the sun.

My guest is Benyamin Cohen. Benyamin Cohen manages the official social media accounts of Albert Einstein. He is the News Director of the Forward and was the founding editor of both Jewsweek and American Jewish Life magazine. His newest book is The Einstein Effect: How the World's Favorite Genius Got into Our Cars, Our Bathrooms, and Our Minds. (https://www.amazon.com/Einstein-Effect-Favorite-Bathrooms-Fascinating/dp/1728248388) It's a fascinating look into how Einstein's genius and science continues to show up in so many facets of our everyday lives and his enduring legacy as an unlikely pop culture icon. Special Guest: Benyamin Cohen.

My guest is Jane Rosenzweig. Jane has spent a career working in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion field in corporate America. She and I also spend entirely too much time on an app called Clubhouse, which is where we met. Special Guest: Jane Rosenzweig.

Work. Family. Church. Exercise. Sleep. The list of demands on our time seems to be never ending. It can leave you feeling a little guilty--like you should always be doing one more thing. Rather than sharing better time-management tips to squeeze more hours out of the day, Kelly Kapic takes a different approach in You're Only Human. He offers a better way to make peace with the fact that God didn't create us to do it all. Kapic explores the theology behind seeing our human limitations as a gift rather than a deficiency. He lays out a path to holistic living with healthy self-understanding, life-giving relationships, and meaningful contributions to the world. He frees us from confusing our limitations with sin and instead invites us to rest in the joy and relief of knowing that God can use our limitations to foster freedom, joy, growth, and community. Readers will emerge better equipped to cultivate a life that fosters gratitude, rest, and faithful service to God. Special Guest: Kelly M. Kapic.

My guest is Kirsten Powers. Her new book is Saving Grace: Speak Your Truth, Stay Centered, and Learn to Coexist with People Who Drive You Nuts. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08V4XDPZQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) In it this CNN senior political analyst and USA Today columnist offers a path to navigating the toxic division in our culture without compromising our convictions and emotional well-being, based on her experience as a journalist during the Trump era, interviews with experts, and research on what leads people to actually change their minds. Special Guest: Kirsten Powers.

My guest is Mathis Bitton. He is a student of political theory at Yale University. His writing focuses on liberalism and its discontents, Confucian and Islamic thought, city-states, and institution-building. You can follow him on Twitter at @mlbitton. His recent piece, The Rise of Post-Liberal Man, sparked the conversation. You can read it here: https://quillette.com/2021/07/22/the-rise-of-post-liberal-man/

My guest is Mark Wildes. His newest book is The 40 Day Challenge. (https://www.amazon.com/40-Day-Challenge-Mark-Wildes/dp/1947857673/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=40+day+challenge+wildes&qid=1627318296&sr=8-1) Sometimes we are spiritually frozen. This book will thaw you out and heat you up - Nissim Black, Rapper and Businessman Written in an approachable, uplifting, and accessible style, The 40 Day Challenge is an invitation for people who believe there is more to life than the daily grind. It offers the reader easily digestible and compact Jewish wisdom, each day for the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul leading up to Yom Kippur. Each daily reading is followed by a challenge question so it can serve as a spiritual diary as you approach the High Holidays. This year, instead of just “showing up,” prepare yourself with a Torah insight written by MJE Founder Rabbi Mark Wildes, who has spent his life inspiring Jews from all walks of life. Special Guest: Rabbi Mark Wildes.

My guest is Steve Krone. In addition to being an entertainment lawyer and a prolific film producer, he also was a Supreme Court clerk for Justices William J. Brennan, Jr. and David H. Souter. We talked about the two significant decisions the Supreme Court handed down this week. We also chatted a bit about film. Special Guest: Steve Krone.

In this episode I talk with Roifield Brown. Roifield Brown is an experienced podcaster and media strategist, with an impressive track record of helping companies enhance and grow their media properties to diverse audiences across a wide range of categories, including politics, history, culture and entertainment. Special Guest: Roifield Brown.

My guest is Rowan Williams. ‘As we contemplate the coming months, not knowing when we can breathe again, it’s worth thinking about how already the foundations have been laid for whatever new opportunities God has for us on the far side of this crisis.’ Rowan Williams offers these words of wisdom and many more in his new book Candles in the Dark (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NSRB4V5/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1). This powerful and timely book brings together the 26 weekly Christian meditations originally posted online from March to September 2020, during lockdown in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, for the congregation of his local parish church. Candles in the Dark (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NSRB4V5/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) is a lovely Christian book of comfort for anyone looking for the light in these dark times. Written with warmth and compassion, these meditations offer us hope and encouragement as we continue to endure the most devastating and disturbing world crisis for over a generation. They will leave you spiritually uplifted and with a strengthened faith to guide you through whatever may come. Special Guest: Rowan Williams.

My guest is James Martin, SJ. His newest book is Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0881RR2QZ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1). He is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America magazine, consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications, and author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestsellers "Jesus: A Pilgrimage" and "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything." Among his other books, "My Life with the Saints" and "Between Heaven and Mirth" were named by Publishers Weekly as "Best Books" of the year, and three of his books have received Christopher Awards. Father Martin is a frequent commentator in the national and international media, having appeared on all the major networks, and in such diverse outlets as The Colbert Report, Fresh Air, On Being, Fox & Friends, PBS's NewsHour, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe, as well as on the History Channel, BBC, and Vatican Radio. Before entering the Jesuits in 1988, he graduated from the Wharton School of Business. Special Guest: James Martin.

My guest is Nathaniel Popkin. His newest book is To Reach the Spring: From Complicity to Consciousness in the Age of Eco-Crisis. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KHKXQSW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) In the shadow of an escalating eco-crisis—a looming catastrophe that will dwarf the fallout from COVID-19—how can we explain our society’s failure to act? What will we tell future generations? Are we paralyzed because the problem is so vast in scope, or are there deeper reasons for the widespread passivity? Nathaniel Popkin explores the moral, social, and psychological dimensions of the crisis, outlining a path to a future spring. Special Guest: Nathaniel Popkin.

As computer technology advances with dizzying speed, human workers face an ever-increasing threat of obsolescence. In Human Work In the Age of Smart Machines, Jamie Merisotis argues that we can—and must—rise to this challenge by preparing to work alongside smart machines doing that which only humans can: thinking critically, reasoning ethically, interacting interpersonally, and serving others with empathy. The president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, Merisotis offers a roadmap for the large-scale, radical changes we must make in order to find abundant and meaningful work for ourselves in the 21st century. His vision centers on developing our unique capabilities as humans through learning opportunities that deliver fair results and offer a broad range of credentials. By challenging long-held assumptions and expanding our concept of work, Merisotis argues that we can harness the population’s potential, encourage a deeper sense of community, and erase a centuries-long system of inequality. Special Guest: Jamie Wright.

My guests are David Shields, Nick Toti, and Rachel Kempf. We talk about The Very Last Interview (Shields' forthcoming book), film-adapted by Toti and Kempf and released this month. Shields is the author of over twenty books including Reality Hunger, Other People, How Literature Saved My Life, The Trouble with Men, That Thing You Do With Your Mouth, etc. While The Very Last Interview will not be released until early 2022 by New York Review Books, Toti released the 30 minute short earlier this month via Vimeo. Special Guests: David Shields, Nick Toti, and Rachel Kempf.

My guest if Frederick Schmidt. He holds the Rueben P. Job Chair in Spiritual Formation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. He's also an Episcopal Priest. He recently wrote a piece entitled "6 Spiritual Truths that Won’t Change with the Election." It's a timely piece for reflection and discussion. Special Guest: Frederick W. Schmidt .

My guest is John Burke. His newest book is Presidential Playbook 2020: 16 Nonpartisan Solutions to Save America. (https://www.amazon.com/Presidential-Playbook-2020-Nonpartisan-Solutions/dp/1942586744/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=John+Burke+2020&qid=1602635276&sr=8-1) “And sometime, at some point, do something for your country.” That quote from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough resonated so deeply with Trek Bicycle President John Burke that he set out to write a book laying out his vision for the country, an America that can once again be a shining city on a hill. Burke says it’s time to cut through the political fog and deal with the facts: The U.S. is facing serious, long-term problems, and politicians in Washington, D.C. are ignoring them. These critical issues can be resolved, he says, with the determination and shared sacrifice of the American people. From battling climate change to saving Social Security, from reducing the risk of nuclear war to rebuilding crumbling roads and bridges, from campaign finance reform to improving the health of Americans, John Burke offers his 16 Nonpartisan Solutions for putting the United States on a stronger foundation. This is his Presidential Playbook, a plan for America’s future—and a call for all Americans to come together and … do something for our country. Special Guest: John Burke .

My guest is Abdul El-Sayed. His new book is Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic. (https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Politics-Doctors-Political-Epidemic/dp/1419743023) From a rising voice in progressive politics, a combination of memoir, science, and public policy, diagnosing the challenges facing America and laying out a way forward A child of immigrants, Abdul El-Sayed grew up feeling a responsibility to help others. He threw himself into the study of medicine and excelled—winning a Rhodes Scholarship, earning two advanced degrees, and landing a tenure-track position at Columbia University. At 30, he became the youngest city health official in America, tasked with rebuilding Detroit's health department after years of austerity policies. But El-Sayed found himself disillusioned. He could heal the sick—even build healthier and safer communities—but that wouldn’t address the social and economic conditions causing illness in the first place. So he left health for politics, running for Governor of Michigan and earning the support of progressive champions like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders. In Healing Politics, El-Sayed traces the life of a young idealist, weaving together powerful personal stories and fascinating forays into history and science. Marrying his unique perspective with the science of epidemiology, El-Sayed diagnoses an underlying epidemic afflicting our country, an epidemic of insecurity. And to heal the rifts this epidemic has created, he lays out a new direction for the progressive movement. This is a bold, personal, and compellingly original book from a prominent young leader. Special Guest: Abdul El-Sayed.

My guest is Alan Jacobs. His newest book is Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind (https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bread-Dead-Readers-Tranquil/dp/1984878409/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1600890885&sr=8-1). W. H. Auden once wrote that "art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead." In his brilliant and compulsively readable new treatise, Breaking Bread with the Dead, Alan Jacobs shows us that engaging with the strange and wonderful writings of the past might help us live less anxiously in the present--and increase what Thomas Pynchon once called our "personal density." Today we are battling too much information in a society changing at lightning speed, with algorithms aimed at shaping our every thought--plus a sense that history offers no resources, only impediments to overcome or ignore. The modern solution to our problems is to surround ourselves only with what we know and what brings us instant comfort. Jacobs's answer is the opposite: to be in conversation with, and challenged by, those from the past who can tell us what we never thought we needed to know. What can Homer teach us about force? How does Frederick Douglass deal with the massive blind spots of America's Founding Fathers? And what can we learn from modern authors who engage passionately and profoundly with the past? How can Ursula K. Le Guin show us truths about Virgil's female characters that Virgil himself could never have seen? In Breaking Bread with the Dead, a gifted scholar draws us into close and sympathetic engagement with texts from across the ages, including the work of Anita Desai, Henrik Ibsen, Jean Rhys, Simone Weil, Edith Wharton, Amitav Ghosh, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Italo Calvino, and many more. By hearing the voices of the past, we can expand our consciousness, our sympathies, and our wisdom far beyond what our present moment can offer. Special Guest: Alan Jacobs.

My guest is Ariel Sabar. His newest book is Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385542585/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385542585&linkCode=as2&tag=arisab-20&linkId=9774cdc46b1a1eeccba87f6d0165a07c). In 2012, Dr. Karen King, a star professor at Harvard Divinity School, announced a blockbuster discovery at a scholarly conference just steps from the Vatican: She had found an ancient fragment of papyrus in which Jesus calls Mary Magdalene "my wife." The tattered manuscript made international headlines. If early Christians believed Jesus was married, it would upend the 2,000-year history of the world's predominant faith, threatening not just the celibate, all-male priesthood but sacred teachings on marriage, sex and women's leadership. Biblical scholars were in an uproar, but King had impeccable credentials as a world-renowned authority on female figures in the lost Christian texts from Egypt known as the Gnostic gospels. "The Gospel of Jesus's Wife"--as she provocatively titled her discovery--was both a crowning career achievement and powerful proof for her arguments that Christianity from its start embraced alternative, and far more inclusive, voices. As debates over the manuscript's authenticity raged, award-winning journalist Ariel Sabar set out to investigate a baffling mystery: where did this tiny scrap of papyrus come from? His search for answers is an international detective story--leading from the factory districts of Berlin to the former headquarters of the East German Stasi before winding up in rural Florida, where he discovered an internet pornographer with a prophetess wife, a fascination with the Pharaohs and a tortured relationship with the Catholic Church. VERITAS is a tale of fierce intellectual rivalries at the highest levels of academia, a piercing psychological portrait of a disillusioned college dropout whose life had reached a breaking point, and a tragedy about a brilliant scholar handed a piece of scripture that embodied her greatest hopes for Christianity--but forced a reckoning with fundamental questions about the nature of truth and the line between reason and faith. Special Guest: Ariel Sabar.

My guest is David Norling. He is a California native, an evangelical refugee, and has a deep interest in spirituality, spiritual direction, and human flourishing. We spend time talking about his own spiritual biography and journey. We also talk narrative therapy and spiritual direction. Special Guest: David Norling .

My guest is Mike McHargue. His newest book is You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) (https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Miracle-Pain-Ass-Understanding/dp/1984823248). Why is there such a gap between what you want to do and what you actually do? The host of Ask Science Mike explains why our desires and our real lives are so wildly different—and what you can do to close the gap, in this his newest book. For thousands of years, scientists, philosophers, and self-help gurus have wrestled with one of the basic conundrums of human life: Why do we do the things we do? Or, rather, why do we so often not do the things we want to do? As a podcast host whose voice goes out to millions each month, Mike McHargue gets countless emails from people seeking to understand their own misbehavior—why we binge on Netflix when we know taking a walk outside would be better for us, or why we argue politics on Facebook when our real friends live just down the street. Everyone wants to be a good person, but few of us, twenty years into the new millennium, have any idea how to do that. In You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass), McHargue addresses these issues. We like to think we’re in control of our thoughts and decisions, he writes, but science has shown that a host of competing impulses, emotions, and environmental factors are at play in every action we undertake. Touching on his podcast listeners’ most pressing questions, from relationships and ethics to stress and mental health, and sharing some of the biggest triumphs and hardships from his own life, McHargue shows us how some of our qualities that seem most frustrating—including “negative” emotions like sadness, anger, and anxiety—are actually key to helping humans survive and thrive. In doing so, he invites us on a path of self-understanding and, ultimately, self-acceptance. You’re a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) is a guided tour through the mystery of human consciousness, showing readers how to live more at peace with themselves in a complex world. Special Guest: Mike McHargue.

My guest is Todd Drezner. His newest film is The Campaign of Miner Bo (https://www.minerbofilm.com). It’s probably safe to say that Bo Copley never expected to run for U.S. Senate. A lifelong resident of Mingo County, West Virginia, Copley worked in the coal industry for 11 years until he was laid off on September 18, 2015. In May of 2016, Copley was invited to join a roundtable discussion with Hillary Clinton, who was campaigning in West Virginia before the state’s presidential primary. Copley, his voice breaking, showed Clinton a picture of his three children and challenged her assertion that she was a friend to coal miners. Copley’s raw emotion broke through the usual campaign chatter, and throughout the campaign, he was a regular on cable news. Copley tried to take advantage of his surprise political celebrity by running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2018. But without money, experience, or a traditional campaign infrastructure, he quickly discovered that being a politician is harder than it looks. The Campaign of Miner Bo documents that fight and shows how this most unlikely political campaign changed its most unlikely candidate. Special Guest: Todd Drezner.

My guest is Richard Kreitner. His new book is Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America's Imperfect Union. The novel and fiery thesis of Break It Up is simple: The United States has never lived up to its name—and never will. The disunionist impulse may have found its greatest expression in the Civil War, but as Break It Up shows, the seduction of secession wasn’t limited to the South or the nineteenth century. It was there at our founding and has never gone away. With a scholar’s command and a journalist’s curiosity, Richard Kreitner takes readers on a revolutionary journey through American history, revealing the power and persistence of disunion movements in every era and region. Each New England town after Plymouth was a secession from another; the thirteen colonies viewed their Union as a means to the end of securing independence, not an end in itself; George Washington feared separatism west of the Alleghenies; Aaron Burr schemed to set up a new empire; John Quincy Adams brought a Massachusetts town’s petition for dissolving the United States to the floor of Congress; and abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison denounced the Constitution as a pro-slavery pact with the devil. From the “cold civil war” that pits partisans against one another to the modern secession movements in California and Texas, the divisions that threaten to tear America apart today have centuries-old roots in the earliest days of our Republic. Richly researched and persuasively argued, Break It Up will help readers make fresh sense of our fractured age. Special Guest: Richard Kreitner .

My guest is David Shields. He's the author of numerous books including Nobody Hates Trump More Than Trump: An Intervention (https://www.amazon.com/Nobody-Hates-Trump-More-Than/dp/1945796995). It can be read in a variety of ways: as a psychological investigation of Trump, as a philosophical meditation on the relationship between language and power, as a satirical compilation of the “collected wit and wisdom of Donald Trump,” and above all as a dagger into the rhetoric of American political discourse—a dissection of the politesse that gave rise to and sustains Trump. The book’s central thesis is that we have met the enemy and he is us. Who else but David Shields would make such an argument, let alone pull it off with such intelligence, brio, and wit, not to mention leaked off-air transcripts from Fox News? David returns to the show to revisit his book in light of the Corona pandemic. Special Guest: David Shields.

My guest is David Gessner. His newest book is Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt's American Wilderness (https://www.amazon.com/Leave-As-Theodore-Roosevelts-Wilderness/dp/1982105046). “Leave it as it is,” Theodore Roosevelt announced while viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time. “The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.” Roosevelt’s rallying cry signaled the beginning of an environmental fight that still wages today. To reconnect with the American wilderness and with the president who courageously protected it, acclaimed nature writer and New York Times bestselling author David Gessner embarks on a great American road trip guided by Roosevelt’s crusading environmental legacy. Gessner travels to the Dakota badlands where Roosevelt awakened as a naturalist; to Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon where Roosevelt escaped during the grind of his reelection tour; and finally, to Bears Ears, Utah, a monument proposed by Native Tribes that is embroiled in a national conservation fight. Along the way, Gessner questions and reimagines Roosevelt’s vision for today. As Gessner journeys through the grandeur of our public lands, he tells the story of Roosevelt’s life as a pioneering conservationist, offering an arresting history, a powerful call to arms, and a profound meditation on our environmental future. Special Guest: David Gessner .

My guest is Alice Vaughn. She's the co-host of Two Girls One Mic: The Porncast (https://www.twogirlsonemic.com//). They review the holes and plot holes of your favorite porn. She also founded Offensive Crayons, a wildly successful company... https://www.offensivecrayons.com. We talk porn, politics, psychology and the pandemic's effect on the porn industry and the wider culture. Special Guest: Alice Vaughn .

My guest is Christian Miller. Have you ever wondered if you're a good person? Have you asked how you good be a better one? Do your moral failings bug you? Christian Miller has spent his whole life studying these questions. He's a moral philosopher and the author of The Character Gap (https://www.amazon.com/Character-Gap-Good-Philosophy-Action/dp/0190264225). If you are thinking about what it means to live the good life than this is the episode for you.

My guest is Marcus Rempel. He's the author of Life At The End Of Us Vs Them (https://www.amazon.com/Life-End-Us-Versus-Them/dp/152551024X). critics of both Christianity and culture. The end of us versus them can deteriorate into the chaos of each against each or it can open outward into freely chosen communion. It is an expectant - and apocalyptic - time. How does one live in this strange, endtime world? As a wanderer in the odd, cross-culture country Girard and Illich have mapped, the author arrives at a surprising new place in relation to those who are his other: women, queer folk, refugees, Muslims, atheists, and Indigenous people. In this collection of essays, he blinks, looks around, and makes some field notes. Special Guest: Marcus Rempel .

My guests are Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke. Their new book is Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk (https://www.amazon.com/Grandstanding-Use-Abuse-Moral-Talk/dp/0190900156). We are all guilty of it. We call people terrible names in conversation or online. We vilify those with whom we disagree, and make bolder claims than we could defend. We want to be seen as taking the moral high ground not just to make a point, or move a debate forward, but to look a certain way--incensed, or compassionate, or committed to a cause. We exaggerate. In other words, we grandstand. Nowhere is this more evident than in public discourse today, and especially as it plays out across the internet. To philosophers Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke, who have written extensively about moral grandstanding, such one-upmanship is not just annoying, but dangerous. As politics gets more and more polarized, people on both sides of the spectrum move further and further apart when they let grandstanding get in the way of engaging one another. The pollution of our most urgent conversations with self-interest damages the very causes they are meant to forward. Drawing from work in psychology, economics, and political science, and along with contemporary examples spanning the political spectrum, the authors dive deeply into why and how we grandstand. Using the analytic tools of psychology and moral philosophy, they explain what drives us to behave in this way, and what we stand to lose by taking it too far. Most importantly, they show how, by avoiding grandstanding, we can re-build a public square worth participating in. Special Guests: Brandon Warmke and Justin Tosi .

My guest is Scott Shay. Scott's second book, In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism (https://www.amazon.com/Good-Faith-Questioning-Religion-Atheism/dp/1682617920), has been recognized as one of the best books of 2018 by Mosaic Authors and earned a finalist award from National Jewish Books. Scott gives talks around the country and is interviewed on TV, radio, and podcasts many times throughout the year. Special Guest: Scott Shay.

My guest is Bradley Klein. He's a political scientist turned renowned sports writer and golf consultant. We talk about a piece he recently wrote about the future of sports in the age of Corona. You can read Brad's piece here: https://kleincoronadiary.com/2020/06/20/arena/. Special Guest: Bradley S. Klein .

My guest is Laura Briggs. Her new book is Taking Children: A History of American Terror (https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Children-History-American-Terror/dp/0520343670). In these unprecedented times, one thing remains true--those who wish to enact racist and discriminatory practices will find a way to do so, often taking advantage of crises to make horrific changes more swiftly. As Laura Briggs shows in TAKING CHILDREN, America has a long history of using racist policies to disband and explicitly harm families of color. From forcing Native American children into schools built to pacify them, to the current administration's use of child separation as a deterrent to immigrate here -- separating children from their families has been a tool used by the government for centuries. Laura Briggs urges readers not to turn a blind eye, but rise to the occasion to fight to change it. Special Guest: Laura Briggs.

My guest is Marlena Graves. Her newest book is The Way Down Is Up (https://www.amazon.com/Way-Up-Down-Becoming-Forgetting/dp/0830846743). "Now, with God's help, I shall become myself." These words from Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard resonate deeply with Marlena Graves, a Puerto Rican writer, professor, and activist. In these pages she describes the process of emptying herself that allows her to move upward toward God and become the true self that God calls her to. Drawing on the rich traditions of Eastern and Western Christian saints, she shares stories and insights that have enlivened her transformation. For Marlena, formation and justice always intertwine on the path to a balanced life of both action and contemplation. If you long for more of God, this book offers a time-honored path to deeper life. Special Guest: Marlena Graves.

My guest is Zena Hitz. She's the author of The Intellectual Life (https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Thought-Hidden-Pleasures-Intellectual/dp/0691178712). In an overloaded, superficial, technological world, in which almost everything and everybody is judged by its usefulness, where can we turn for escape, lasting pleasure, contemplation, or connection to others? While many forms of leisure meet these needs, Zena Hitz writes, few experiences are so fulfilling as the inner life, whether that of a bookworm, an amateur astronomer, a birdwatcher, or someone who takes a deep interest in one of countless other subjects. Drawing on inspiring examples, from Socrates and Augustine to Malcolm X and Elena Ferrante, and from films to Hitz’s own experiences as someone who walked away from elite university life in search of greater fulfillment, Lost in Thought (https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Thought-Hidden-Pleasures-Intellectual/dp/0691178712) is a passionate and timely reminder that a rich life is a life rich in thought. Today, when even the humanities are often defended only for their economic or political usefulness, Hitz says our intellectual lives are valuable not despite but because of their practical uselessness. And while anyone can have an intellectual life, she encourages academics in particular to get back in touch with the desire to learn for its own sake, and calls on universities to return to the person-to-person transmission of the habits of mind and heart that bring out the best in us. Special Guest: Zena Hitz .

My guest is Satish Gaire. Satish has also started many companies to help businesses. This includes DirectPay, WooAgents, myDentalWebsite, BookSmartr and many more. Satish’s mission is to help humanity by spreading the knowledge that he has gained from his many years of doing internet marketing and running his own business. He wants to help others to achieve the same level of success. His ultimate goal is to put a smile on your face, through his podcasts, videos, speeches and courses. Special Guest: Satish Gaire.

My guest is Jennifer Michelle Greenberg. She's the author of Not Forsaken (https://www.amazon.com/Not-Forsaken-Jennifer-Michelle-Greenberg/dp/1784984388/). Jenn Greenberg was abused by her church-going father. Yet she is still a Christian. In this courageous, compelling book, she reflects on how God brought life and hope in the darkest of situations. Jenn shows how the gospel enables survivors to navigate issues of guilt, forgiveness, love, and value. And she challenges church leaders to protect the vulnerable among their congregations. Not Forsaken (https://www.amazon.com/Not-Forsaken-Jennifer-Michelle-Greenberg/dp/1784984388/) is not an easy read. But, perhaps today more than ever, it is a must-read. Special Guest: Jennifer Michelle Greenberg .

My guest is Jordan Al-Zu’Bi. He's an economist who focuses on the health insurance industry. We talk about the health insurance industry and how the pandemic will impact it. Special Guest: Jordan Al-Zu’Bi.

My guests are Bradley S. Klein and David Shields. Klein has played golf with Trump, written about him as a sports journalist and consulted on his golf courses. David Shields has written one of the most provocative and revealing books about Trump, Nobody Hates Trump More Than Trump. If you're looking for an interesting Trump conversation in the midst of Corona, this is it. Special Guests: Bradley S. Klein and David Shields.

My guest is Yaron Weitzman. He's the author of Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports. (https://www.amazon.com/Tanking-Top-Philadelphia-Audacious-Professional/dp/1538749726) When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So were ratings. The Sixers had an aging coach, an antiquated front office, and a group of players that could best be described as mediocre. Enter Sam Hinkie -- a man with a plan straight out of the PE playbook, one that violated professional sports' Golden Rule: You play to win the game. In Hinkie's view, the best way to reach first was to embrace becoming the worst -- to sacrifice wins in the present in order to capture championships in the future. And to those dubious, Hinkie had a response: Trust The Process, and the results will follow. The plan, dubbed "The Process," seems to have worked. More than six years after handing Hinkie the keys, the Sixers have transformed into one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. They've emerged as a championship contender with a roster full of stars, none bigger than Joel Embiid, a captivating seven-footer known for both brutalizing opponents on the court and taunting them off of it. Beneath the surface, though, lies a different story, one of infighting, dueling egos, and competing agendas. Hinkie, pushed out less than three years into his reign by a demoralized owner, a jealous CEO, and an embarrassed NBA, was the first casualty of The Process. He'd be far from the last. Drawing from interviews with nearly 175 people, TANKING TO THE TOP brings to life the palace intrigue incited by Hinkie's proposal, taking readers into the boardroom where the Sixers laid out their plans, and onto the courts where those plans met reality. Full of uplifting, rags-to-riches stories, backroom dealings, mysterious injuries, and burner Twitter accounts, TANKING TO THE TOP is the definitive, inside story of the Sixers' Process and a fun and lively behind-the-scenes look at one of America's most transgressive teams.

My guest is Bob Holman. On December 3, 2019, Bowery Books simultaneously released two new books of poetry by Bob Holman—written 50 years apart. LIFE POEM and THE UNSPOKEN serve not only as bookends to a lifetime immersed in words, performance, and the avant garde, but they also show the evolution of an artist, an art form, and a downtown art scene that’s gone from Allen Ginsberg to Lou Reed to Eileen Myles to Mahogany L. Browne. He's also a New Yorker in the midst of the epicenter of the Corona pandemic. LIFE POEM is a recently rediscovered book-length poem Holman wrote at age 21, new to poetry and first in its thrall. Filled with “jounce and pounce,” as Gwendolyn Brooks says, it’s a hippy diary full of communes, Vietnam, romance, and a driving love for language that ended up lasting a lifetime. THE UNSPOKEN is a collection of recent works, written by Holman, A WIDOWER in his 70s, still devoted to poetry, but now with decades of experience, memories, and loss to inform it. There are poems of all sorts: personal, confessional, poems set to music, poems that are meant to be shouted or whispered; there are poems addressed to his late wife, the painter Elizabeth Murray, to their children, and to the countless artists and poets he’s encountered over the last half century. The books show the roots of Holman’s own personal mix of Appalachian storytelling, spoken-word poetry bravado, and New York whimsy and humor. Both poems are a raucous celebration of a life lived as art, and an invitation to the reader to join the party. In the words of poet Naomi Shihab Nye, "His life gusto and poetry voice keep the world turning.” Special Guests: Adam Hamilton and Bob Holman.

My guest is Jonathan Haber. He's the author of Critical Thinking (https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-Press-Essential-Knowledge/dp/0262538288). Critical thinking is regularly cited as an essential twenty-first century skill, the key to success in school and work. Given our propensity to believe fake news, draw incorrect conclusions, and make decisions based on emotion rather than reason, it might even be said that critical thinking is vital to the survival of a democratic society. But what, exactly, is critical thinking? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Jonathan Haber explains how the concept of critical thinking emerged, how it has been defined, and how critical thinking skills can be taught and assessed. You can check out Jonathan's site, LogicCheck.net (https://www.logiccheck.net), where uses the news of the day to teach practical critical-thinking skills. You can read more about his work in critical-thinking education http://www.degreeoffreedom.org. Special Guest: Jonathan Haber.

My guest is Lee McIntyre. He's the author of The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience (https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Attitude-Defending-Science-Pseudoscience/dp/0262039834). Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn't settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians' rhetorical repertoire. Defenders of science often point to its discoveries (penicillin! relativity!) without explaining exactly why scientific claims are superior. In this book, Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls “the scientific attitude”―caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence. The history of science is littered with theories that were scientific but turned out to be wrong; the scientific attitude reveals why even a failed theory can help us to understand what is special about science. McIntyre offers examples that illustrate both scientific success (a reduction in childbed fever in the nineteenth century) and failure (the flawed “discovery” of cold fusion in the twentieth century). He describes the transformation of medicine from a practice based largely on hunches into a science based on evidence; considers scientific fraud; examines the positions of ideology-driven denialists, pseudoscientists, and “skeptics” who reject scientific findings; and argues that social science, no less than natural science, should embrace the scientific attitude. McIntyre argues that the scientific attitude―the grounding of science in evidence―offers a uniquely powerful tool in the defense of science. Special Guest: Lee McIntyre.

For decades, statisticians, social scientists, psychologists, and economists (among them Nobel Prize winners) have spent massive amounts of precious time thinking about whether streaks actually exist. After all, a substantial number of decisions that we make in our everyday lives are quietly rooted in this one question: If something happened before, will it happen again? Is there such a thing as being in the zone? Can someone have a “hot hand”? Or is it simply a case of seeing patterns in randomness? Or, if streaks are possible, where can they be found? In The Hot Hand (https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Hand-Mystery-Science-Streaks/dp/0062820729), Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Cohen offers an unfailingly entertaining and provocative investigation into these questions. He begins with how a $35,000 fine and a wild night in New York revived a debate about the existence of streaks that was several generations in the making. We learn how the ability to recognize and then bet against streaks turned a business school dropout named David Booth into a billionaire, and how the subconscious nature of streak-related bias can make the difference between life and death for asylum seekers. We see how previously unrecognized streaks hidden amidst archival data helped solve one of the most haunting mysteries of the twentieth century, the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg. Cohen also exposes how streak-related incentives can be manipulated, from the five-syllable word that helped break arcade profit records to an arc of black paint that allowed Stephen Curry to transform from future junior high coach into the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history. Crucially, Cohen also explores why false recognition of nonexistent streaks can have cataclysmic results, particularly if you are a sugar beet farmer or the sort of gambler who likes to switch to black on the ninth spin of the roulette wheel. Special Guest: Ben Cohen.

My guest is Patrick Murrary. He was named the Monmouth University Polling Institute’s founding director in 2005. He is frequently called upon by the media to provide commentary on polling and the political world, including appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS, and National Public Radio. During federal election years, Murray also serves as a national exit poll analyst for major networks. In the institute’s home state, Murray has appeared on numerous Power Lists of the most influential people in New Jersey politics.

My guest is Carol Ann Davis. Her new book The Nail in the Tree (https://www.amazon.com/Nail-Tree-Essays-Violence-Childhood/dp/1946482269) narrates her experience of raising two sons in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, on the day of and during the aftermath of the shooting there. Part memoir, part art-historical treatise, these meditations lead her to explore crucial subjects, including whether childhood can itself be both violent and generative, the possibility of the integration of trauma into daily life and artistic practice, and the role of the artist. Davis is the author of two previous poetry collections, Psalm (2007) and Atlas Hour (2011), both from Tupelo Press, and a professor of English at Fairfield University. Special Guest: Carol Ann Davis.

My guest is Tony Jones. He's the author of numerous books, including Did God Kill Jesus? (https://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Kill-Jesus-Searching/dp/006229797X) He also is the host of the Reverend Hunter podcast (https://reverendhunter.com/podcastepisodes) and the co-host of the Killer Serials podcast. (https://killerserials.podbean.com) Special Guest: Tony Jones.

My guest is Barbara Freese. Her newest book is Industrial-Strength Denial: Eight Stories of Corporations Defending the Indefensible, from the Slave Trade to Climate Change. (https://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Strength-Denial-Corporations-Defending-Indefensible/dp/0520296281) In it she argues that corporations faced with proof that they are hurting people or the planet have a long history of denying evidence, blaming victims, complaining of witch hunts, attacking their critics’ motives, and otherwise rationalizing their harmful activities. Denial campaigns have let corporations continue dangerous practices that cause widespread suffering, death, and environmental destruction. And, by undermining social trust in science and government, corporate denial has made it harder for our democracy to function. Special Guest: Barbara Freese.

My guest is Luke Conway. He is a professor of psychology at the University of Montana. He just wrote a piece summarizing his research on conservative and liberal experiences of the pandemic. You can find the piece here. (https://heterodoxacademy.org/social-science-liberals-conservatives-covid-19/) Special Guest: Luke Conway.

My guest is Jennifer Briney. She's the host of the wildly popular Congressional Dish podcast (https://congressionaldish.com) which offers granular and entertaining coverage of the U.S. Congress. Special Guest: Jennifer Briney.