Wavemaker Conversations

Meet three emerging literary stars. Three young authors, three highly acclaimed new books. All have insights for writers and for parents who would love their children to do more reading and writing. Justin St. Germain investigates the life, and violent death, of his mother in his memoir "Son of a Gun." LaShonda Katrice Barnett, historian & student of jazz, channels two path-breaking African-Americ...

Schulder speaks with Harper Lee biographer Charles Shields about the To Kill A Mockingbird - Go Set A Watchman saga. Shields, author of "Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee," relays captivating stories of Lee's life including her close friendship with childhood neighbor Truman Capote, her painful relationship with her mother, who suffered symptoms of bipolar disease, the real feelings about race...

Michael speaks with best-selling historian Nathaniel Philbrick. Philbrick identified 14 year old boys at the center of two fascinating chapters in American history, including the sinking of the whale ship Essex in 1820 by a huge whale, a true story Herman Melville drew on for Moby Dick. Director Ron Howard has turned the dramatic tale of survival into a major movie, releasing in December. This epi...

Michael speaks with former child soldier Ishmael Beah. His best-selling memoir, A Long Way Gone, led a New York Times book reviewer to wonder "how anyone comes through such unrelenting ghastliness and horror with his humanity and sanity intact." This conversation, at the Nantucket Book Festival, at times disturbing yet thoroughly uplifting, provides us with some answers.

Schulder speaks with Azar Nafisi, Iranian-American author of the number one New York Times bestseller "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and "Republic of Imagination: America in 3 Books," in front of a live audience at this summer's Nantucket Book Festival. Nafisi insists that remaining in Iran after the Islamic Revolution and teaching the works of great western authors in ways the rulers of the Islamic R...

Schulder speaks with former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, for the National Women's Hall of Fame oral history project. Mrs. Carter shares stories from her active role in the women's rights movement, the resistance she encountered advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment, the backstory of the first federally funded National Women's Conference, the personal encounters that triggered her early advocac...

In the run-up to the Stanley Cup finals, Schulder pays a visit to hockey maven Stan Fischler. When the 83 year old historian of hockey is not fighting city traffic on his bicycle, he is analyzing games for the MSG Networks and writing books on the sport -- the count is roughly 100. Fischler provides insights on speed versus power, the best players he's ever seen, and his own journey into the world...

Miles O'Brien shares inside stories of his 15 years as CNN's science, space and aviation correspondent, his passion for piloting, how close he got to flying on a space shuttle, the unusual sequence of events that led to the amputation of his left arm, and the childhood roots of the resilience which led him to belay 12 feet beneath the surface of a glacier so soon after the accident. Miles and Mich...

Ben Sollee is a cellist/singer/songwriter whose music defies all categories. His unique sound, which you will hear during this conversation, is influenced by classical, bluegrass, and R&B, and was described by New York Times music critic Stephen Holden as "meticulous, fluent arrangements continually morph[ing] from one thing to another." Sollee loves to interact with audiences in small venues, whi...

Fellow Parents: May is the month of the inspired college commencement address. But many of us need inspiration for a different age. With college admissions mania bathing entire families with anxiety, I’m seeking commencement address wisdom for parents whose children will soon be heading to high school. My guest is Michael Thompson, a psychologist and author who has been embedded in the world of hi...

As the Supreme Court considers whether the Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry throughout the U.S., Schulder considers a different question. Is there something he and other heterosexual husbands and wives can learn from same-sex couples who already are married? Schulder explores dynamics unique to gay and lesbian couples -- including how they argue with one another, and how...

A Christian perspective on the sentencing phase of the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Not the only Christian perspective, of course. But one uniquely articulated by Schulder's two guests, Mark Osler and Jeanne Bishop. Osler is author of the book "Jesus on Death Row: The Trial of Jesus and American Capital Punishment." Bishop is a Cook County public defender whose pregnant siste...

Schulder speaks with The New Yorker's Evan Osnos. This week Osnos was named a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for his book "The Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China." Ambition in Mandarin means "wild heart." The wild hearts of China are driving that country's 24/7 economic growth. In his conversation with Michael in front of a live audience at last summer's Nantucket Boo...

One of America's most esteemed political reporters gives her first in-depth interview since leaving her position as CNN's Chief Political Correspondent. Candy shares with Michael her early impressions of the new campaign season as well as her personal experiences with Hillary, the Bushes, and other major political figures. And she reveals why she enjoyed covering losing candidates more than winnin...

This is the inside story of life at college fraternities and sororities. In the aftermath of a wave of scandals and the Rolling Stone debacle, Michael Schulder speaks with University of Kentucky Professor Alan DeSantis -- a veritable Fraternity Anthropologist. DeSantis wrote the book Inside Greek U. In addition to the good, he paints a picture of "breeding grounds" for dangerous ideas about gender...

The man chosen to replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show is more than the sum of his tweets. How much more? Joining Michael Schulder to discuss Trevor Noah and the challenges faced by all comedians is standup comic Pete Dominick, Host of the radio show Stand Up With Pete Dominick. Special features: excerpts from Dominick's interview of Noah two years ago and from Director David Paul Meyer's film "Y...

My conversation with the only person qualified to use the Twitter handle @MathMeetsFball -- Baltimore Ravens' offensive lineman John Urschel. Urschel is getting major buzz this week after linebacker Chris Borland retired from the NFL to avoid the long-term health risks of football. Urschel weighed in on Derek Jeter's new website The Players' Tribune with a piece called "Why I Play Football." But t...

With Spring Training in full swing, Schulder goes to the top -- to the President of New York University, John Sexton. Sexton is the author of "Baseball As A Road To God," based on his popular class of the same name. Baseball watched properly, he insists, can help develop skills that enable us to reach a higher spiritual plane. The sport has its saints and sinners. We name names, and debate who des...

Fellow Parents, Teachers, Coaches: Why do some children avoid tough challenges while others thrive on working through them? Why does failure cause some children to fall apart and others to become more motivated? Psychologist Carol Dweck has unlocked the secrets and shares them here with Michael Schulder. Dr. Dweck is the author of Mindset. Her Ted Talk has been viewed nearly 2 million times. In th...

Schulder speaks with the man anyone would want on their speed dial, esteemed negotiator William Ury. Ury is co-author of the classic Getting to Yes. His new book, Getting to Yes with Yourself (and Other Worthy Opponents) is about how we often unwittingly sabotage our own interests. Ury shares inside stories from his work with a Brazilian billionaire, Syrian commanders fighting for and against Assa...

The latest wave of stories about cheating and lying and cutting corners - from the Patriots' deflated footballs to Brian Williams' inflated war story - led my teenage son - who is passionate about fair play - to wonder: Can you still play by the rules and win? I'm seeking answers from two guests who have an international reputation for their work on what makes some people do the right thing while...

A perspective changing conversation with one of the leaders in the world of brain plasticity -- best selling author Dr. Norman Doidge. His new book, The Brain's Way of Healing, provides the latest insights from the frontiers of brain science on how to better address conditions ranging from Parkinson's Disease, to chronic pain, to anxiety disorders. Doidge is joined by pain medicine leader Dr. Mich...

Michael Schulder speaks with Hall of Fame Super Bowl Champion Linebacker Nick Buoniconti, who, at 5’11”, was almost overlooked in the draft. Former HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg provides a behind the scenes view of the game. And NFL Special Teams veteran Rik Bonness describes his surreal experiences on the field. Listen to this episode and you’ll enter Super Bowl Sunday with the sharpest set...