Wavemaker Conversations: A Podcast for the Insanely Curious

Lois Jenson's courage and tenacity have made her a historic figure in the battle against sexual harassment. She was the lead plaintiff in the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit -- a case that inspired the 2005 movie North Country. I spoke with her in 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, for an in-depth Wavemaker Conversation. I've decided to repost the conversation now, for historical context, in light of the release of She Said, the new movie about Harvey Weinstein. Jenson was one of the first four women miners in the Eveleth Taconite Mine in northern Minnesota. In our Wavemaker Conversation, Jenson shares with me the details of what a judge on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals called the “record of human indecency [that] sought to destroy the human psyche as well as the human spirit" of Jenson and the other female miners. Among other things, Jenson recalls the good guys at the mine who, she says, far outnumbered the bad guys — including some who urged her to keep up her fight. Getting to know Lois Jenson during this Wavemaker Conversation has been a source of inspiration for me. I hope it will be for you too.

My conversation with Elie Wiesel -- Holocaust survivor, author, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize -- was recorded in 2013 for the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum. Our wide-ranging conversation includes memories of his childhood village in Hungary, his experience in the Nazi death camps, and his reflections on humor and friendship. The Nobel Committee, when awarding Wiesel the Peace Prize, stated: "Wiesel is a messenger to mankind: his message is one of peace, atonement and human dignity . . . ." The Committee cited Wiesel's "belief that the forces fighting evil in the world can be victorious . . . ." I like to think Wavemaker Conversations is where curiosity meets hope. And I believe that this conversation with Elie Wiesel takes us to that place.

The former Hardball anchor on the upcoming midterms; Trump vs. DeSantis; who to watch if Biden doesn't run; the power of humor in politics; and more … In his recent memoir, This Country, Chris Matthews shares an old rule of politics: the shape of the field decides the winner. I sat down with Matthews this month for a Wavemaker Conversation about the shape of the field as we head into the 2022 midterm elections and look ahead to 2024. We also look back at his life before MSNBC — including his years as chief lieutenant to House Speaker Tip O'Neill; his work as a speechwriter for President Carter; and his campaign for a seat in the U.S. Congress when he was in his 20s.

The latest climate change developments make it feel like we are on a runaway train that will flatten the dreams of our children. With this episode of Wavemaker Conversations, I hope to play a small part in slowing down that train. My guest, Spencer Glendon, is a former Partner at the trillion-dollar investment firm, Wellington Management. His work there centered on topics ignored in the world of finance but with potential for a seismic impact. Twenty years ago, when the Chinese economy was relatively insignificant, he foresaw its meteoric rise, and its threat to America's middle class, before most others. Ten years ago, he turned his attention to climate change. And I've been following his work closely since 2019, when he gave one of the most riveting presentations on global warming that I've ever seen. After many years working on climate change from his position in the financial world, Glendon has created a nonprofit organization called Probable Futures -- which is developing powerful tools, including interactive maps, that help us visualize the different futures we will probably face with each incremental increase in the Earth's temperature. In this conversation, Glendon illustrates for us, with great clarity and detail, that we face a range of probable futures -- the most frightening of which we still have the power to avoid. I strongly recommend that you listen through to the last fifteen minutes, when Glendon shares with us the extreme health struggles he has faced through his life, and a diagnosis that, he says, ". . . provided clarity for me that, okay, I've got some number of years before I get really sick. . . . well, I've got limits. Let's figure out what I can do within those limits." Glendon's answer to that challenge -- what kind of life can we live within limits -- is inspiring on a personal level, and connects deeply to what we face in an increasingly warm and unstable climate. If, at this moment, you only have time to sample brief excerpts, you can watch and listen to them on The Wavemaker Conversations Newsletter here.

With the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs in full swing, I'm bringing one of my favorite sports conversations out of the archives -- my conversation with legendary hockey maven Stanley Fischler. He has written more than 90 books on the sport. The backstory:  In 2013 I stumbled upon the thrilling Stanley Cup finals between the Blackhawks and Bruins with my daughter, who was nine at the time. We were riveted.  But we couldn't follow the puck. The action was too fast. And she had so many questions, which I couldn't answer -- because  I'm a hockey novice. So I reached out to Fischler to be our guide.  Whether you're a hockey novice or an expert, I think you'll enjoy the stories and insights of the thoroughly engaging Stanley Fischler. 

In September 2022, The Buxton School, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, is becoming a smartphone-free campus. No smartphones at all. Not for students. Not for teachers. Not for administrators.  In this Wavemaker Conversation with Buxton's Director Emeritus, Franny Shuker-Haines, we discuss the tipping point (there was more than one) for this bold leap.  For parents, teachers and students who are listening, this may help you assess whether you'd like a 24/7 smartphone-free campus in your future.  I'll be following up with Dispatches From Buxton in the fall to report on how the transition is going.  To receive updates on this and other Wavemaker Conversations, please subscribe to my newsletter here. 

In order to help us process the horror being inflicted on Ukraine, and the courage exhibited by its people and president, I have reached out to Kevin Powers.   Powers, author of the highly acclaimed war novel, The Yellow Birds, is a veteran of the Iraq War, who has used his powers of prose and poetry to help us feel what is almost beyond our imagination. In this conversation, through his personal stories and reflections, I think he helps inspire us to live a more meaningful, impactful life in a world in which extraordinary suffering and extraordinary selflessness coexist.   

A rare opportunity to hear Dr. Sanjay Gupta unplugged — removed from the rush of breaking news.  In my recent conversation with the neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent, we discuss the latest science on keeping your brain sharp — well into old age;  how he weighs risk and reward; the remarkable story of the brain surgery he performed during a sandstorm in Iraq to save the life of a Marine — when the proper tools were not available.  We also discuss his latest book on the pandemic - World War C -including lessons for after the pandemic. 

Spreading the spirit, and hard-earned wisdom, of Prof. Loretta J. Ross on "Calling In the Calling Out Culture" - her inspiring alternative to canceling.

Searching for New Year's inspiration, I spoke with Daniel Pink about his new book, The Power of Regret:  How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward — paired with what legendary psychotherapist Dr. Irvin Yalom told me about how he uses regrets of the past to help people live a more regret-free future. Actionable intelligence for 2022. 

This is my conversation with Rachel Held Evans – RHE – from 2012, after the publication of her A Year of Biblical Womanhood, a provocative and entertaining account of her experiment living the Bible’s instructions for women as literally as possible. Evans died on May 4th, 2019 at the age of 37. Through her blog, books, and conferences, she built a large following challenging conservative evangelical thought on issues of women in church leadership, LGBTQ inclusion, and more. In our conversation, she opened up about the empowering example set by her parents, the driving question that shaped her reading of the Bible, what she learned from Jewish tradition, and her use of humor. #BecauseofRHE The Bible Belt meets The Borscht Belt.

This is the story, and backstory, of a workshop on feminism, led by men, for men, in an all-male prison. The Feminist on Cellblock Y is an immersive and memorable CNN documentary shot inside a California state prison. In this episode, we speak with the two inspired journalists behind the doc – CNN’s Emma Lacey-Bordeaux and Cocomotion Pictures founder Contessa Gayles. With a cameo from President Obama, who made news last week on the very subject at the heart of Cellblock Y.

What is your superpower? Is it writing, speaking, communicating with power? It could be if you listen to this conversation with Joseph Romm, author of How To Go Viral and Reach Millions: Top Persuasion Secrets from Social Media Superstars, Jesus, Shakespeare, Oprah, and Even Donald Trump. This episode is like a short master class. If you want to get the most out of it, I advise you start by listening to my October 29th episode, featuring one of the greatest speeches you’ll ever hear: Admiral William McRaven’s 2014 University of Texas Commencement Address. You’ve already done that? Now listen to Romm walk us through some of the highlights of McRaven’s speech – to point out what makes it so powerful and teach us techniques we can employ the next time we want to write or say something that matters.

@YahooSports Senior NFL Writer and Hall of Fame Voter Terez Paylor joins me in Atlanta for a Super Bowl seminar and Football 101 combined – making it the perfect prep for those across the football spectrum: from super-novices to those who follow the NFL all year – all in under 25 minutes. Paylor’s show on Kansas City’s 610 Sports Radio & Radio.com has been a destination for Chiefs fans.  Even though his Chiefs missed this Super Bowl by one drive, Paylor got over the heartbreak long enough to give us a primer on the Patriots v Rams.  His crystal clear guidance might make us the smartest people in the room this Sunday.

Yoka Verdoner was separated from her parents when she was only 8 years old. Now 84, her life story is a window into the trauma that has been inflicted on so many migrant children separated from their parents at the southern border of the U.S. I spoke with Yoka over the summer, at the height of those separations, after she'd published a piece in The Guardian that was widely shared. Her story has urgency again, following last week's news that the Trump Administration's "zero-tolerance" policy has led to the separation of many more children than we believed – perhaps thousands more. This is Yoka's journey from her childhood in The Netherlands to the United States and the trauma that follows her to this day.

A Charlottesville, VA jury today convicted a white supremacist of first-degree murder for killing Heather Heyer. He intentionally drove his car into a crowd of counter-protestors at the “Unite the Right” rally for neo-Nazis and white nationalists. A week after that rally, in August 2017, I visited Charlottesville to speak with Henry Abraham. Abraham, now 97, spent his Jewish boyhood in Nazi Germany. He tells stories of anti-Semitism and how his mother made his survival and life in the United States possible. Armed with her optimism and his love of teaching, he became a scholar of the U.S. Constitution and an esteemed professor at the University of Virginia. We spoke about his life’s journey and the déjà vu he experienced during the rally. He has much to teach us.

America is hungry for the voice of an honorable leader. So Wavemaker brings you the voice of Retired Admiral William McRaven, former Navy SEAL and Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. He was the architect of the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. This episode features McRaven’s viral University of Texas commencement address: 10 memorable lessons from Navy SEAL training for those “who want to change the world” – aka the “Make Your Bed” speech. It’s 20 minutes of uninterrupted inspiration that parents can be proud to share with our children. My thanks to the Texas Exes, the University of Texas alumni association, for permission to post the speech.

Environmentalists don’t vote. At least not nearly as much as the general population. They have a turnout problem. By Nathaniel Stinnett’s estimate, 10.1 million registered voters who consider climate change or the environment as one of their top two priorities, sat out the 2016 presidential election. An even larger number stayed home for the 2014 midterms. But for Stinnett, those big numbers mean a big opportunity. Right now, his Environmental Voter Project is targeting 2.4 million environmentalists in Georgia, Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Pennsylvania – registered voters who are considered unlikely to vote. Stinnett employs an unusual messaging strategy to get them to the polls– which he explains in our conversation. If he succeeds, he believes no candidate will be able to get their name on a ballot without talking about the environment.

Jane Alexander’s illustrious acting career was launched in 1968 by her breakthrough performance in the Pulitzer Prize winning play (and later movie) The Great White Hope. She then took the political stage as Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, when the NEA was on the political right’s hit list. She and her husband had virtually all their money stolen by an accountant who did a convincing job acting like their friend. And now, after dozens of movies and TV shows, including Kramer vs. Kramer and All the President’s Men, and some one hundred plays, she puts the spotlight on the men and women leading the conservation battle in her book Wild Things, Wild Places. So much fascinating ground to cover in this conversation, which was recorded live at the 2018 Nantucket Book Festival, courtesy of @NCTV17. We begin with an angry outburst…

Standup comic Pete Dominick joins me to dissect Michelle Wolf’s routine at the recent White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Why now? Because this Sunday, May 27th, Wolf’s new series, The Break, debuts on Netflix. That’s just as good an excuse as any. Dominick, with Wolf as a launching point, helps make us all more astute observers of the art of comedy. Among the issues we discuss: using the P word, punching up versus punching down, and what it was like being in the room during Wolf’s speech. Pete also takes a swing at my tennis coach in Georgia, who didn’t like Wolf’s routine. I gave Coach Ross air time to swing back. Is that punching up or down? Warning: contains some explicit language.

Here is Michelle Wolf’s entire performance at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.  Most people have only heard clips.  Here is all of it – 19 minutes and roughly 50 jokes – unedited.  This is the beginning of a broader mission on Wavemaker: exploring the deeper significance of comedy – from ancient Greece to the 2018 mid-term elections and beyond.  What’s funny?  Why?  Can comedy enable Americans of divergent political perspectives to laugh – together?  Should that even be its goal?  Those are just a few of the questions I’ll be pursuing with future guests (one of whom you’ll get to sample at the end of this episode) from my perspective as both a journalist and the son of a standup comic.  Warning: the language in this routine gets very explicit.

There’s a new surge of military veterans running for Congress.  And they’re split about evenly between Democrats and Republicans.  Do veterans have a competitive edge over those who have not served in the military?  Are they better equipped for the job?  Can they help bridge the hyper-partisan divide?  This Wavemaker episode begins looking for answers with Jeremy Teigen, veteran, professor, and author of the new book Why Veterans Run: Military Service in American Presidential Elections, 1789-2016.

Some people recognize potential threats to our democracy before others.  My guest, Barbara Simons, is one of those people.  15 years ago, not long after the infamous “hanging chads” threw the Bush v Gore vote count into turmoil and computerized voting became the new rage, Simons, a computer scientist, and some of her colleagues, concluded that in order to protect the integrity of the vote count, we would have to move to paper ballots – everywhere.  Simons became a co-founder of VerifiedVoting.Org, which is racing to inoculate America’s voting systems against hackers.  In the beginning, Simons got nowhere.  But she persisted.  With 228 days until the mid-term elections, her voice and message need to be urgently spread.  And for those of you who may not find your calling early in life, Simons will share her journey from college dropout to Ph.D.

Introducing former Army Sergeant Matt Martin, author of “I’ve Been Shot In Combat.  And As A Veteran, I’m Telling You: Allowing Teachers To Be Armed Is An Asinine Idea.”   Since writing it two weeks ago for his new hometown’s website, CharlotteFive.com, Martin’s story has been viewed more than 2-million times on Facebook. “When I saw the news flash of another school shooting,” he said of the Parkland massacre, “I couldn’t help but think of the firefights I had been involved in and how these students and teachers just encountered their own version of Afghanistan.”  Listen to Matt Martin share the insights he drew from those firefights in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and why he believes they’re so relevant as Americans assess how to move forward after Parkland, Florida.    

Introducing Saru Jayaraman.  Millions of Americans caught a glimpse of her at this year’s Golden Globes, where she was Amy Poehler’s guest – recognized for her role in the battle against sexual harassment in the restaurant industry.  Jayaraman, who was accepted to Harvard at the age of 16 and said no thanks, is the co-founder and President of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United.  Her organization's extensive research into the restaurant industry has documented pervasive sexual harassment.   It often begins with managers insisting waitresses show more cleavage.  As you’ll hear, it often does not end there.  Saru’s solution?  Listen on.

Lois Jenson is a historic figure in the battle against sexual harassment – the lead plaintiff in the field’s first class action lawsuit.  As one of the first four women miners in a northern Minnesota mine, Jenson shares what one judge called the “record of human indecency” that she and the other female miners endured for many years – extreme harassment, including one miner grabbing her crotch while other miners watched and laughed.  As you’ll hear, it would get even worse than that.  The company failed to act.  Jenson decided it had to stop, so she took it to court.  The years of harassment and seemingly endless legal battles left Jenson physically ill and suffering from PTSD.  Yet, still, she recalls the good guys, who, she says, outnumbered the bad.  How she regained her health is an inspiring story near the end of our conversation that can inspire so many others who are suffering.

Astrophysicist Sara Seager joins me for a conversation about her leading role in the search for earth-like planets outside our solar system.  When she began her search as a graduate student – not just for any “exoplanets” as they’re called, but planets that may have just the right atmosphere to support life – she was greeted with plenty of “no’s.”  Not anymore.  Our conversation about her search led to insights on creativity, resilience, parenting, and the importance of sleep and free time doing nothing as key ingredients of success.  Seager, a Professor of Planetary Science and Physics at MIT and recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, also shares the details of a side project that could, one day, change the nature of space exploration: mining asteroids for precious metals.  Her thrilling journey began as a child, when she noticed something in the night sky for the first time and asked herself: “Why hadn’t anyone told me about this?”

Mary Koss has been on a 40-year quest for justice – “to understand why women are hurt and how we can stop it.” As a young professor, with a PhD in clinical psychology, Koss was asked by a more senior male colleague to join him on a study that proposed “to have women that he employed sit and wear different sizes of padded bras, while they interacted with male college students.”  What that colleague proposed to do afterwards, which you’ll hear at the beginning of this episode, would have made some women run in the other direction.  Not Mary Koss.  Koss has never run from controversy.  That helps explain why, during her own personal battle against sexual harassment, which she shares in this episode, she was willing to withstand “an entire year when no one spoke to me.”  And it helps explain why this University of Arizona Professor is pursuing a mission to spread an approach to justice that, instead of fighting in the criminal court system, has victim and perpetrator come to an understanding about the wrong that has occurred and the appropriate consequences.

Professor Louise Fitzgerald is a pioneer in sexual harassment research. At this moment, when women who have broken their silence have led to the downfall of so many prominent men, I speak with Fitzgerald about how to assess the continuum of acts – ranging from bad to horrific – that have made the headlines. She also shares stories of harassment happening under the radar, including the extreme vulnerability of women in low-income housing to predatory landlords, and a case she is working on in which every new woman hired to work in a particular factory was greeted by chants of “fresh meat.” And, as usual on Wavemaker Conversations, we’ll hear our guest’s personal journey to success – which, for Fitzgerald, meant transforming from a college dropout with a 1.2 GPA to a university professor with a PhD. This is the first in a series of reports from the front lines of sexual harassment and assault – stories that don’t make the headlines.

This conversation will help make your children (and you, too) better writers. Last time Jack Gantos was on Wavemaker Conversations, he shared his unforgettable journey to a terrifying prison sentence in a federal penitentiary and then to a prolific writing career. Now, with his new book, Writing Radar: Using Your Journal to Snoop Out and Craft Great Stories, his goal is to help young writers who find the blank page terrifying. The book is written for 3rd grade and up. That includes all of us. All you need to begin is a blank journal, 15 minutes a day, and the willingness to “dump” some lines on a page. It’s that easy to start. The structure will come. How? Allow this Newbery Award-winning master raconteur to be your guide. And make sure to stick around for the end – when his mom realized he was hanging out with the wrong kids after discovering chicken-wire-shaped burn marks on the seat of his white underwear.

Author Will Schwalbe is one of the funniest serious readers you’ll ever hear.  In our conversation, before a packed house at The Nantucket Book Festival, Will and I talk about his latest work, Books for Living, in which he treats us to a tour of books we might love to read – but may have missed – and shares his perspective-changing takeaways for how to live a more meaningful life.  Imagine: the hero Odysseus taught Schwalbe about the importance of mediocrity, exemplified by his story of getting a C on a high school paper and the unusually clever response from his teacher when Will objected; and the book Wonder taught him about how to increase his kindness quotient.  Schwalbe also shares his unique insight on resilience, based on his conversations about books with his mother when she was dying of cancer, which led to his NY Times Bestseller The End of Your Life Book Club.  He recommends a book that made it impossible for him to feel sorry for himself when he was at his worst, and explains why he’s “the last gay man in America who does not want children.”  Finally, after touring the country, he has a special message about why the “tribe of readers” may help heal the divisions in our nation.

When Ruth Reichl became the restaurant critic for The New York Times, she learned there was a bounty on her – $1,000 for any worker who recognized this make-or-break critic when she sat down to eat.  Reichl shares the backstory of her elaborate, yet necessary, disguise; her courageous first review of how New York’s most heralded restaurant treated her when they didn’t have a clue who she was; and what changed once they realized.  Reichl also explores the connection between food and social justice, and how the act of cooking saved her (and could benefit us all) when she was at her lowest point in life.  Plus the moving story of how her mother learned to live a meaningful life at age 80.  The former Critic in Disguise engages in a thoroughly transparent conversation with Michael before a large audience at The Nantucket Book Festival.

New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims says she is “so American it hurts.”  Why so much pain in this American success story? How did this daughter of a prominent black physician and white teacher come to loathe herself despite her academic success as an undergraduate at Stanford and a law student at Harvard, followed by her professional accomplishments as Stanford’s Dean of Freshmen and a best-selling author? In our conversation about her new memoir, “Real American,” Lythcott-Haims reveals, with powerfully poetic transparency, how she came to internalize the often shocking stories of the racial prejudice she experienced growing up as a biracial black woman – how they became embedded in her, and how she, ultimately, became comfortable in her own skin. Featuring a conversation about “The Talk” that Lythcott-Haims and so many black parents  give their children – the one designed to keep them safe without crushing their self-esteem.  

Michael visits one of the most influential and beloved figures in the field of psychotherapy on the eve of the release of his memoir:  Becoming Myself.  At 86, after a recent health scare, The Atlantic magazine wrote:  "As a psychotherapist, Irvin Yalom has helped others grapple with their mortality. Now he is preparing for his own end."  Not quite.  Yalom's legions of fans will be gratified to hear his impassioned response to that analysis in this intimate Wavemaker Conversation.  He is still actively creating ripples, a therapeutic concept he explains here and which any of us can apply to our lives. He also shares a never-before-heard story about a recent patient who believed she was "beyond repair."  In Dr. Yalom's orbit, it's hard to imagine that anyone is beyond repair. 

6’2” Carey Kauffman, a March Madness veteran of the Duke University Blue Devils, couples her insights from a life in basketball with her experience as the mother of two children born with rare diseases.  Kauffman, the daughter of an NBA all-star. will help make you one of the most insightful people in the room during the Final Four – and help give your kids an edge if they play the game.  But it’s her mission in life, which she pursues through her company WellSelf 360, that will inspire you.  She applies what she learned on the court to empowering those who suffer from rare and chronic health conditions.  If you listen to the entire episode, I think you’ll find Carey Kauffman’s resilience is contagious.

You may be tempted to scream -- “don’t do it, Jack!” -- at the outset of this podcast.  My conversation with author Jack Gantos, at the Nantucket Book Festival, begins with a choice he made in 1971 that led him to a horrifying year-and-a-half as an inmate in a federal penitentiary.  He describes the crime and the time in unforgettable detail.  Where did he find the resilience to survive prison, catapult himself to college, and become a prolific and acclaimed author?  It begins with reading, which taught him how to “spelunk down” into the emotions.  Gantos won the Newbery Medal for his book “Dead End in Norvelt,” and other honors for his young adult fiction and his riveting memoir, “Hole in My Life.”  This is a long episode – 50 minutes.  I believe you’ll agree that listening to Gantos tell his story is worth every second.

Bob Chapman turned a small, teetering 19th century manufacturing company that served the beer industry, into a 2.5 billion dollar enterprise. He owes his success to a traumatic experience, which forced him to find value that others couldn’t see. He figured out how to protect thousands of American jobs, rejecting the option of cheap, foreign labor. And he developed a new way of leading – focused on empathetic listening -- that he believes can help businesses, families, and our nation thrive. His journey as the Chairman of the Barry-Wehmiller companies is worth hearing and sharing.  So is his book, "Everybody Matters:  The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family."

Former NFL Head Coach Dan Reeves, who led the Atlanta Falcons to their only other Super Bowl (and the Broncos to three) takes us beyond the play-by-play.  His 101 on the “silent count” – essential for the offense to communicate when the stadium noise is deafening – is a perspective changer.  Plus – how to be ready for the Patriots’ master of surprise – Bill Belichick.  Reeves shares what he learned playing under the Cowboys' legendary Tom Landry, including what Landry noticed watching game film that others would miss.  Cameos from Georgia’s own Super Bowl champ Bill Curry and Nick Buonico

After 52 years of war, on the eve of the signing of a peace deal between the Colombian government and the FARC guerilla force, I speak with William Ury, author of a seminal book on negotiating, Getting to Yes.  Ury was part of the Colombian President’s “kitchen cabinet” of peace advisers. He recounts a risky, secret move, deep in the jungle, that jump-started the peace process, and an exercise critical to the peace effort – in effect, writing your adversary’s victory speech, as well as your own.  Ury speaks to us by phone from Cartagena, site of Monday’s historic signing.  

Introducing Cathy Salit -- a master of improvisation. Salit started improvising young. When she was only 12, she was so miserable at school, her mother convinced her to drop out and create her own school.  She has been improvising ever since.  Like any great improviser, when Salit sees a “crappy” situation, she sees an opportunity to create something better.  Do you know what happens when you take that improvisational mentality out of the theater and into almost any other workplace? That’s what Salit reveals in her new book, “Performance Breakthrough:  A Radical Approach to Success at Work.” What she shares during our half-hour conversation will, I believe, help make your work life a more satisfying production – and your home life too. 

“The Sports Gene” author, David Epstein, joins me for a conversation that will empower young athletes, their parents, and coaches.  Our launching point is the case of late blooming QB Carson Wentz, the number 2 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.  Did Wentz rise to the top despite the fact that he was a late bloomer, or because of it?  The answer has profound implications for youth sports. Epstein’s superb synthesis of sports science studies (combined with his personal experience as an athlete) finds that, in most sports, specializing early puts young athletes at a disadvantage as they approach college age.  What is the best approach to maximizing a person’s athletic potential?  Epstein provides actionable intelligence on the key concept of “trainability.”  And it does not depend on 10-thousand hours of practice.  

Mary Norris tells me she prefers to be called a Prose Goddess.  But Comma Queen has stuck.  Norris, a copy editor at The New Yorker for more than 30 years, is author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen – just out in paperback.  Mary Norris -- with her wonderful sense of humor – helps make us feel more secure in our use of language.  She demystifies fine points of grammar and punctuation.  She liberates us to break rules that were never really rules to begin with.  Her journey -- from a teenager hired to check swimmers for foot-fungus at a public pool in Cleveland -- to published author -- is worth sharing.  So is her experience, recounted 23:30 into our conversation, of learning that her brother was becoming her sister (a singer/songwriter known by many New Yorkers) – which leads us back to grammar and the debate over the correct pronoun for transgendered individuals.  

Backstage with the pianist who has been called “the hottest classical artist on the planet” – Lang Lang.  Featuring a rare appearance by his mom, speaking in Mandarin with such emotion that her son’s translations are barely necessary.   Michael first sat down with Lang Lang more than a decade ago, for CNN. Lang Lang had recently graduated from Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute via China and was emerging as a star.  It was the very first international news profile of Lang Lang.  Back then,he was not ready to reveal what he shares with Michael now about the struggles of his journey to the top. Lang Lang’s mom shares with us the painful sacrifice she made for the sake of her son’s future.  And she movingly describes the piece she most loves to hear her son play and why.  He honors her request, for a memorable musical ending to this episode. 

The Wavemaker Parenting Wisdom Tour brings you the compelling personal story of Trinity College squash coach Paul Assaiante. He entered a sport without formal training, and took a second tier team to 13 straight national championships.  Along the way, through his "imposter syndrome" nightmares, he demonstrated what one can accomplish with single-minded determination, and the collateral damage that can ensue. Coach A shares the painful tale of his son's heroin addiction, and his insights of the young men and women entering college these days:  "They look more put together than they’ve ever looked before.  They just look perfect.  And the first time they face adversity, the fall to pieces like a porcelain doll."

Bill Curry played center in three of the first five Super Bowls, winning with the Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Colts. One of the great head coaches in college football and an inspiring leader, Coach Curry shares memorable stories of the mind-boggling mental processing that goes on before each snap, the training it takes to withstand the violence of the game, and lessons from football that transcend the sport, including his first huddle with African-Americans and how Vince Lombardi's refusal to tolerate racism helped make the Packers a great team. This episode will help make you the smartest football fan in the room on Super Bowl Sunday.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon & CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, weighs in on over-parenting, the unforgettable chores that shaped his childhood, his transformation from unmotivated to driven high school student, and the legacy he hopes to leave. That plus the latest on how physical exercise impacts the brain -- and advice to kids who might want to try marijuana.

Jessica Lahey -- author of "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed" -- joins Michael as he continues to tap into the most creative and respected thinkers addressing the growing phenomenon of over-parenting in America. Lahey, a middle-school teacher and the mother of two, realized she was making the same mistakes as the parents of many of her students -- which drove her on her quest for actionable intelligence to set her own kids up for success -- and ours too. On this episode she shares that intelligence, including some techniques that will require parents to step back in ways they never have before, in order to enhance their children's autonomy, competence, and confidence.

Julie Lythcott-Haims has emerged as a powerful new rudder for parents. As the Dean of Freshmen at Stanford University, she recognized the first signs that overparenting was damaging our kids' abilities to function as independent adults. Then she realized, she was making the very same mistakes with her own children -- which led to her perspective-changing new book: "How To Raise An Adult: Break Free Of The Overparenting Trap And Prepare Your Kids For Success." In our conversation, @DeanJulie shares stories from the front lines, where high-achieving young adults are poorly equipped to handle the new struggles they face, and identifies the "critical mindset shifts that must take place in the head, heart, and soul of every parent."

Master mediator William Ury dissects Michelangelo's 500 year old letter to the Pope, a powerful example of how saying No can lead to a wiser Yes. The letter, recently circulated by the inspired Maria Popova of Brainpickings.org, contains wisdom that can be applied to our professional and personal lives today. Ury even ties its insights into his mediation of the longest-running war in South America. Get ready to say No more often in 2016 - Positively.

Daniel Pink, put on the spot, begins writing his living obituary -- and more. Pink is author of the best-sellers "Drive," "A Whole New Mind" & "To Sell Is Human." His "Puzzle of Motivation" is one of the top ten most-viewed TED Talks ever. Michael explores Pink's powerful "basket of ideas" on motivation, innovation & leadership, including his latest insights on the often neglected importance of purpose in life -- not Purpose with a Big P ... purpose with a small p.

Emma Sky was U.S. General Odierno's chief political adviser during the the surge - building alliances with the Sunni leaders who would defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq. She also administered a key Kurdish area for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Her memoir of her time in Iraq is: "The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq." She now teaches at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. This is the first in an occasional series of Wavemaker briefings from leading authorities on ISIS and the region.