Talking Books

Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. Jon Batiste is a New Orleans-bred, New York-based musician, educator, and humanitarian, and the new band leader of “The Late S...

Why do some conversations succeed while others stumble? The neurology and psychology of communication offer surprising explanations for why human connection goes right or wrong. Join in a live experiment — and explore how the right conversation, at the right moment, can change everything.

(3:04) Thomas presents "The State of the Unicorn Economy" (21:34) Venture capital's relative underperformance over the past decade (30:45) Fixing what's broken in startups and VC

(10:26) Woody and Friedberg demonstrate how far the Moon is from Earth (13:51) Artemis timelines, going back to the Moon after decades, how astronaut assignments work (17:39) How NASA will use the Moon as a training ground to get to Mars

(0:54) Thoughts on JD Vance, the importance of bipartisanship, civil disagreements, and independent thinking (6:21) Political pressure and growing toxicity in DC, Senator Sinema's controversial filibuster vote (12:21) Money in politics, following "The Machine," the cost of a competitive Senate race (15:10) Behind the scenes of Build Back Better (21:43) Chances of a viable third party...

(2:56) How to build great businesses, lessons from his time at Google (6:30) Lessons from working with Masa at SoftBank, risk tolerance (11:51) Scaling Palo Alto Networks, handicapping cybersecurity, M&A strategy (20:02) State of cyber threats (24:23) Age of AI: How agents will change consumer apps, how AI is impacting cybersecurity

(2:22) How Ovitz got started in Hollywood (10:06) Closing Palantir's first enterprise deal (15:56) AI's impact on film and TV, how streaming killed Hollywood's business model (23:11) Free speech and censorship in Hollywood, protecting creatives (28:11) Can Hollywood be recaptured by the auteurs?

Aaron Sorkin and David Brooks discuss their approaches to creating compelling characters. Sorkin emphasizes the importance of understanding a character's desires and obstacles, using examples from his own work like "The Social Network." David Brooks shares anecdotes about encounters that inspired his writing and the empathy required to portray complex characters. Both writers stress...

🤖 AI is here, and it’s evolving faster than we ever imagined. How do we adapt when the rules of the game are shifting under our feet? Is the future one of abundance, or are we heading toward disaster? 🌍 Are we missing the warning signs again? The world is changing fast, faster than we can keep up. From the pandemic to AI advancements, it feels like we’re all being caught off guard. But are we pa...

Dr. Neal Barnard discusses the potential benefits of eliminating certain foods from the diet for various conditions. While not everyone is sensitive to gluten or dairy, some may find relief by avoiding these foods. He suggests looking into supportive foods that can help bring the body back into balance. Dr. Barnard provides tips for improving sleep hygiene, recommending organic food and a cast-iro...

Jordan Peterson discusses the impact of technological revolutions on education and intellectual engagement, his motivation for writing his books, and his experiences with workplace unconscious bias training and the controversy surrounding his perceived transphobia. Peterson attributes his widespread influence to the technological transformation brought about by YouTube and podcasts, which have led...

(2:19) Defining the polarizing forces in American society (5:11) How institutions like the New York Times were captured by radicals, giving up "the heroin needle of prestige" (16:39) Avoiding audience capture while building The Free Press (22:09) Sacks's strategy to find reliable media sources (27:26) Ideological capture of medicine, building a new institution

(1:43) Joining Waymo, breaking down their approach vs competitors (9:57) Focus on reducing deaths, impact on Uber, creating an AV ecosystem (16:44) Thoughts on Cruise's issues in SF, operating at scale, unit economics (22:09) Selling to carmakers, US focus vs international (27:51) Hardest challenge while leading Waymo

Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years--as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues--Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: p...

For the last 100,000 years, we Sapiens have accumulated enormous power. But despite all our discoveries, inventions, and conquests, we now find ourselves in an existential crisis. The world is on the verge of ecological collapse. Misinformation abounds. And we are rushing headlong into the age of AI—a new information network that threatens to annihilate us. For all that we have accomplished, why a...

(2:27) What Travis is working on at Cloud Kitchens (12:32) Travis's operating playbook (16:16) Strategy at Uber: Competing with Lyft, surge pricing, dealing with bad press (26:12) Being a "War time CEO" and competing in China (34:09) Travis reflects on getting ousted as CEO of Uber and his future

(2:32) Funding Shinya Yamanaka's research (11:38) Marc on building philanthropy into Salesforce (17:15) AI's impact on enterprise software and the cloud (27:56) Salesforce's AI approach

(1:19) Succeeding as an independent media personality (8:11) Thoughts on trans issues (15:30) Handicapping Trump's chances in 2024 vs 2016 and Kamala Harris compared to Hillary Clinton (24:05) Thoughts on legal action against Trump (30:10) How politicians have changed; improving life in America through community

Dedicated to Lewis’s friend and colleague J.R.R. Tolkien... The narrative takes the form of a series of letters from Screwtape, a devil high in the Infernal Civil Service, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior colleague engaged in his first mission on earth trying to secure the damnation of a young man who has just become a Christian. Although the young man initially looks to be a willing victim, he ch...

Neither plant nor animal, they are found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. They can be microscopic, yet also account for the largest organisms ever recorded. They enabled the first life on land, can survive unprotected in space and thrive amidst nuclear radiation. In fact, nearly all life relies in some way on fungi. These endlessly surprising organisms have no brain but can solve prob...

Until it was pulled down, the Walled City was Hong Kong's most foreboding territory. It was a lawless place, dominated by the Triads, and which the police hesitated to enter. Strangers were unwelcome. Drug smuggling and heroin addiction flourished, as did prostitution and pornography, extortion and fear.

Until it was pulled down, the Walled City was Hong Kong's most foreboding territory. It was a lawless place, dominated by the Triads, and which the police hesitated to enter. Strangers were unwelcome. Drug smuggling and heroin addiction flourished, as did prostitution and pornography, extortion and fear.

Exploring love in all its forms from romance, friendship, and parenting to grief and heartbreak. 

Atlas of the Heart maps out a series of human emotions and their meaning  and explores the psychology behind a human's feelings and how they make up our lives.

A memoir by Lori Gottlieb highlighting the transformative power of therapy through Lori's personal journey and experiences working as a therapist.