Talk Cocktail

In this week’s TalkCocktail podcast, Nicholas Kristof , long-time NY Times journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, talks to me about his new memoir, "Chasing Hope." He takes me on a deeply personal journey through a career spanning more than four decades. Kristof's unwavering commitment to exposing injustice and giving voice to the voiceless has taken him to the far corners of the globe, fr...

In a world where the specter of nationalism looms large and the future of democracy hangs in the balance, nowhere is the current rightward shift more evident than in the recently held European Union elections, and in France, where the upcoming national elections may amplify the global surge to the far right. On this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, I talk with Elvire Camus, editor-in-chief of Le Monde ’...

Like every social construct, espeically those impacting women, the divorce landscape is changing. and as usual, California is setting the path. After all, California was the first state to introduce no-fault divorce in 1970 under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, and celebrity divorces make lots of headlines. My guest on this California Sun podcast, Lauren Petkin, has been practicing family law in Los Ange...

Cecillia Lunaparra wants to change the world at 22. A senior at UC Berkeley, she was just elected to the Berkeley City Council at that age, making her the youngest and first undergraduate to hold the office. She's not new to activism and making a difference in her community She tells me in this week’s California Sun podcast that she thinks that the young people protesting on campus today may be at...

There is still hope for local news. Over the years, the Pulitzer Prize for “breaking news reporting” has typically been awarded to major legacy media brands. However, this year a hyperlocal online publication, the Santa Cruz Lookout , received the prestigious honor for its coverage of the once-in-a-century floods that devastated Santa Cruz in January 2023. On this week’s California Sun podcast I t...

Like a shark, if we don't keep moving forward, we die. James Pethokoukis , a renowned economic policy expert, shares insights from his groundbreaking work, " The Conservative Futurist." Pethokoukis presents a captivating vision of a future where technological advancements and environmental preservation harmoniously coexist. Where the  intersection of technology, culture, and politics, and discover...

In "The Guarantee," Natalie Foster argues that our current economic system is failing too many Americans, despite signs of growth. As millennials and Gen Z build wealth amidst the greatest transfer of wealth in history, stubborn pockets of economic stagnation persist. Foster explores what it would take to create an economy that works for everyone, questioning whether the government should guarante...

Can elections be predicted like hurricanes or sporting events? American University professor Allan Lichtman believes so, and he has the track record to prove it. Using his unique “13 Keys to the White House” system, Lichtman has, according to him, correctly predicted the outcome of 10 out of the last 10 presidential elections. In this episode of my WhoWhatWhy podcast, we talk with Lichtman to unpa...

On this WhoWhatWhy podcast, we explore the potential for a total reimagining of our beleaguered American democracy. Joining me is Maxwell Stearns, a professor of law at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law. An esteemed author of numerous articles and books on the Constitution, the Supreme Court, and legal economics, Stearns’s latest work is Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means...

On this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, I sit down with the lead author of that report, military sociologist Marek N. Posard, to examine these alarming threats and what we can do to counter them. Imagine a small, seemingly innocuous hack on a local water treatment plant. A carefully timed disinformation campaign, powered by the latest in artificial intelligence. The physical security of our voting mach...

Climate change is not just threatening our planet, but also our minds. In my WhoWhatWhy podcast, I examine the hidden mental health crisis triggered by climate change with neuroscientist-turned-environmental-journalist Clayton Page Aldern. Aldern takes us on an eye-opening journey through cutting-edge research, exposing the ways our changing environment is physically altering our brains and behavi...

Max Podemski is an urban planner, writer, and illustrator who currently serves as a transportation planner for the city of Los Angeles. In his new book, “ A Paradise of Small Houses, ” he traces the evolution of American housing types, from the Philadelphia row house and Chicago workers cottage to the California bungalow. Podemski argues, in my recent California Sun podcast, that California’s rich...

In today's digital era, the unseen threads of algorithms intricately weave through our daily lives. They significantly mold our preferences, decisions, and worldviews. At the core of our modern digital experiences, algorithms curate almost every aspect of our online existence—from the articles we read to the music that we listen to and even the social interactions we engage in. This pervasive infl...

Between the shimmer of America’s coastlines an inferno of anger and disillusionment consumes the heartland. This week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast explores this social and political divide with Tom Schaller and Paul Waldman, guided by their book, White Rural Rage. Armed with journalistic insight and scholarly acumen, Schaller and Waldman unpack the reality of white rural America’s turmoil. They argue that...

Much of today's climate change conversation centers on the future—on potential sea walls, climate refugees, economic shifts, and geopolitical changes. However, the reality is that the impacts of climate change are unfolding every single day, in every corner of America. The discussion shouldn't just be about the future; but about the present. While many of us have faith in technology's ability to m...

Eleven years ago today, the Boston Marathon bombing shocked America, leaving an indelible mark on the nation's history. However, this tragic event is not the only unsolved mystery connected to the Tsarnaev brothers, who were responsible for the bombing. On September 11, 2011, three men were brutally murdered in Waltham, Massachusetts, in a crime that remains unsolved to this day. The older Tsarnae...

Thank you for listening to the Talk Cocktail Podcast. I count on word of mouth to grow the Podcast. Please share with a friend Sports gambling is a multi-billion-dollar business, with 38 states legalizing sports betting. The story of Shohei Ohtani's interpreter reminds us that sports and betting can still be a dangerous mix. And yet, Las Vegas, the betting and sports capital, was the home of this...

In this WhoWhatWhy podcast, I’m joined by national security journalist Andrew Cockburn. He exposes the little- known links between the Pentagon’s military-technology complex at the dark heart of Silicon Valley. Drawing from his recent cover story for Harper ’s, entitled “The Pentagon’s Silicon Valley Problem,” Cockburn delves into the military’s controversial alliance with tech behemoths. This col...

The Village Voice existed at a unique moment in journalistic history. My guest, journalist Tricia Romano, has penned ' The Freaks Came Out to Write ,' the definitive oral history of The Village Voice. It was a publication that not only captured but also shaped the zeitgeist of New York City from the paper's inception in 1955 until its closure in 2018. The Voice was more than a newspaper; it was a...

What a mess! In this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, I’m joined by Amy Wilentz, a seasoned journalist and award-winning author who has been covering the dynamic but tragedy-ridden island of Haiti since the 1980s. We delve into the underreported and deeply troubling situation in this nation just 700 miles from US shores, now beset by tribal strife, failed governance, rapacious armed gangs, and a heartbr...

A recent suggestion for a bumper sticker reading “Trump First, Putin Second, America Last” is more than just a witty jab at current political dynamics; it encapsulates the historical depth of right-wing politics in the United States.  On this WhoWhatWhy podcast I’m joined by Jacob Heilbrunn, editor of The National Interest , who offers a compelling analysis of the right wing’s enduring fascination...

In my latest WhoWhatWhy podcast I’m joined by Barbara Mcquade. Her sharp observations on the precarious state our country finds itself in are valuable, and insights from the conversation we had recently were enlightening. Every Election Day, voters are inundated with information. Campaigns, both local and national, unleash a torrent of truths, half-truths, and outright fabrications. The essential...

Professor Melissa Kearney, talks to me about the overlooked economic and social impacts of marriage and family structures and her book, " The Two-Parent Privilege." Kearney's research reveals the decline in marriage rates, particularly among non-college graduates, as an economic crisis with far-reaching consequences. She argues that the decrease in two-parent households, from 77% in 1980 to 63% to...

Matthias Gafni, an investigative reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, delves into the darkest corners of the streets of San Francisco. For a recent project , he attempted to attribute names, faces, and families to 24 overdose deaths during a particularly harrowing week in 2023. They were not mere statistics but individuals with stories: a recent immigrant dreaming of a new life; a star studen...

Not since the 1930s has the world stood at such a dangerous inflection point. On this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, I talk with, Shay Khatiri about the seismic shifts in global politics since his last appearance during the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. . With his roots in Iran and a scholarly perspective, he offers a panoramic view of today’s geopolitical landscape amid the complex cris...