Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

Tom Hanks, aside from being a legendary two-time Oscar Award winner, is also a deeply fascinating person with some really fun and eclectic interests. In this episode of Clear+Vivid®, Alan Alda sits down with Tom as they explore finding the human element in pop entertainment. They also discuss Tom's recent role as Mr. Rogers and what he learned about communicating with children. And, of course, the...

Alan Alda and our production team sit down for an impromptu "Table Talk" about our upcoming season's highlights. We'll discuss and play clips from Alan’s conversations with Tom Hanks, Paul McCartney, Betty White and many more! Alan, Graham, Jean, and Sarah take you behind the scenes of season 7. You'll find out what it's like to live in an actual "Octopus's Garden" tended by a real Giant Pacific O...

From Saturday Night Live, to Late Night, from The Simpsons to Conan Needs a Friend - Conan O'Brien is an unstoppable force of comedy. In this happy back and forth among Alan Alda, Conan O'Brien, and Conan's hair — these two students of communication and comedy invite you into a conversation that's full of joshes, jives, jokes, a few shared jitters, and a whole lot of joy. The producers wish to tha...

Do animals – other than we humans – have thoughts, feelings? Are their emotions similar to ours? Carl Safina is an ecologist who explores our relationship with the living world—and how it could be better. His recent work, and new book, probes how free-living animals experience life - and takes a serious look at their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Carl's love of nature has led him to a lifet...

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee is the author of the best-selling book, “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer." The book won a Pulitzer Prize and became the basis for a Ken Burns documentary series on the subject of cancer for PBS. In this fascinating conversation with Alan Alda, Dr. Mukherjee talks about the extraordinary power scientists like him have now to edit our genes using the tool...

Is there life in the universe beyond planet Earth? It's the question everyone, including Alan Alda, wants to understand. In this episode, Alan asks Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger, the head of the world-renown Carl Sagan Institute, about life in the cosmos. What Dr. Kaltenegger has to say is surprising and inspiring. Before you stare up at the sky tonight, be sure to hear what Dr. Kaltenegger has to say abou...

What do microbes, the soil, and climate change all have in common? Dr. Jo Handelsman studies microbes at the University of Wisconsin. She researches the vast array of microbes that live on us or in us, and also the even greater number that lurk in the soil beneath our feet. In this fascinating episode, Alan Alda talks with Dr. Handelsman, who served as the previous science advisor to President Bar...

Dr. Lucy Jones is a seismologist, who has a talent for translating the scary uncertainties of earthquakes into a language the rest of us can relate to. She is now putting her communication skills to work not only to help communities prepare for the inevitability of future earthquakes in her home state of California, but also for the inevitability of global climate change. In this episode, Alan Ald...

In this special bonus episode of Clear+Vivid, BBC America’s Executive Director Courtney Thomasma and Executive Producer of Seven Worlds, One Planet’s Jonny Keeling speak with Alan Alda about the surge in popularity of nature programming and how audiences around the world have connected to the projects that the BBC Studios Natural History Unit has produced in partnership with BBC America. Courtney...

Dr. Jamil Zaki is a Stanford scientist who has a way for you to sharpen you empathy skills. It’s a little like going to the gym to strengthen your muscles and improve your flexibility. In fact, he calls it the "empathy gym". It's not an actual place you can go to, but rather, it's things you can do to get a work-out for those empathy skills. That’s something we all seem to need - now more than eve...

How does an actor adapt to becoming a director? In this episode, Alan Alda and Ben Stiller compare notes about the delicate art of communicating director to actor, actor to director, and actor to actors. Ben Stiller is an Emmy Award winning actor who has been in over 50 movies. And, recently, he produced and directed the critically acclaimed hit Showtime series, Escape at Dannemora. This 7-part se...

What does a director look for in actor? How does a director create a sense of family and community on a set? How does a director get an actor to relate? Noah Baumbach is the director of films like "The Squid and the Whale," "Frances Ha," and now the critically-acclaimed film, "Marriage Story." Alan Alda sat down with Noah to ask him about his career as both a writer and director, and his take on w...

She’s an icon of stage and of screen, with one of the most recognized voices in the world. And, no matter where she is in the world, Julie Andrews always brings a little bit of home with her. In this episode, Alan Alda sits down with Julie and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, to talk about how they've learned to collaborate as writing partners and how Julie has worked tirelessly throughout her...

Clear+Vivid returns next Tuesday, November 26th with the legendary Julie Andrews! In the meantime, check out our new favorite podcast, Curiosity Daily, presented by your hosts Ashley Hamer and Cody Gough! The Curiosity Daily podcast relies on science to help listeners understand the world — and themselves — better. In this special presentation, you'll hear some of of Cody and Ashley's favorite sto...

As a special treat for listeners of Clear+Vivid, we're publishing two bonus episodes of Curiosity Daily on Tuesday, November 12th and Tuesday, November 19th, so you can discover this great podcast for yourself! The Curiosity Daily podcast taps the latest scientific research to make you smarter about the world. In this special presentation from hosts Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer, you'll hear some of...

What's brown fat? How do you tell when someone is lying? What's the healthiest way to cook broccoli? Ashley Hamer and Cody Gough are the hosts of the wildly popular podcast, Curiosity Daily. They've been helping listeners learn about our minds and bodies, outer space, the depths of the sea, and how history shaped the world into what it is today. In this episode of Clear+Vivd, Alan Alda, who, himse...

Her 1982 novel The House of the Spirits , was a breakthrough for women writers in Latin America and today Isabel Allende has written 23 books, sold 74 million copies, and had her work turned into 2 major motion pictures. Alan Alda talks with Isabel about her lifelong advocacy for women’s reproductive rights, economic independence and freedom from violence. In this spirited conversation, Alan asks...

Allison Schrager set out to examine unusual subcultures, looking for clues that would deepen her understanding of risk and other economic realities. The result of her curious adventures is a book with the wonderfully provocative title, An Economist Walks Into a Brothel . In this episode, Allison offers her sage advice to Alan Alda on topics as varied as how to take risks and how hearing the word “...

What makes a good joke? Why do some fall flat while others are met with a LOL, even an ROTFL? Is a joke ever out of bounds? In this episode, we examine the art of communicating with humor. Alan Alda talks with writers Frank Santopadre and Alan Zweibel, who have spent their lives finding the funny in the meaningful and the meaningful in the funny. Join them as they explore the heart of "ha." Suppor...

Despite many positive changes, women in science report continuing problems. When a colleague ignores your contribution, belittles your work, or even harasses you, what do you do? Women have been leading a revolution in science for many years, and their voices are now being heard like never before. In this special episode of Clear+Vivid, Alan Alda and his producers speak with pioneers in the revolu...

As Clear+Vivid listeners know, we love improvisation because of how important it can be to communication. In this episode Alan Alda had the opportunity to speak with someone who is at the forefront of combining improv and music. Alan's guest this week is legendary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. As it happens, Pat lives close to Alan's apartment in Manhattan, so we asked him to drop by. Pat and Alan p...

What can animals teach us about our own decision-making process? Every summer for 25 years, Dr. Robert Sapolsky has been studying baboons on the plains of Africa, where he's learned a surprising amount about why we behave the way we do. In this episode Alan Alda speaks with Dr. Sapolsky about his experiences with animals (both human and baboon) and learns about the fascinating similarities in our...

How can scientist’s better bring their complex and deep understanding of nature up to the surface? How can they help us see the marvels they see and revel in the hidden beauty of nature? Brian Greene is not only a brilliant theoretical physicist, but he's also someone who's completely dedicated to bringing the wonder of science to the rest of us. Alan Alda has always been curious about how the wor...

Can music be a story? And, can that story, and the emotions it stirs in us, be something that can unite us? In this conversation, Alan Alda explores this idea with his friend Yo-Yo Ma. Alan has just heard Yo-Yo play all six of the Bach Cello Suites in a concert. An amazingly moving performance – and just one of the performances of the cello suites that he'll be doing in 36 different locations arou...

Laura Brown is the Editor in Chief of InStyle Magazine. Recently, she had the graceful chutzpa to feature Alan Alda in her magazine as a badass. Alan had no idea what that meant, so he couldn’t let it go unexplored. It turns out, being called a badass can be a really good compliment, and this led Alan and Laura to an interesting discussion of what style is, what it communicates, and how it spreads...