Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

Do you believe people are worse now than they use to be? That smarter people are happier people? That you know when to quit a conversation? Wrong on all counts, according to Adam Mastroianni, a social psychologist. He’s also a professional improv performer and uses those skills teaching business school students. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about ou...

Nancy Kanwisher has discovered many areas of the brain that are specialized for one particular purpose— like recognizing faces – which is interesting to Alan because of his inability to remember the faces of people he meets. Other specialized areas include identifying food, which Alan so far has no trouble with. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about ou...

She managed to write a lyrical, moving book about her journey to a massive glacier in Antarctica that, if it collapses into the ocean, would cause a catastrophic rise in sea level. Unexpectedly, it’s also a book about her difficulty in choosing motherhood in a time of radical climate change. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

The actor/writer/comedian has been an inspiration to comedians like Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld. And he’s been inspired himself by greats of the past in the exacting art of finding what’s funny in our daily lives – when observed from just the right angle. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd chat about and play excerpts from Alan's conversations with some of the guests in the new season, beginning next week. Guests include comedian Robert Klein; writer Elizabeth Rush; and neuroscientist Nancy Kanwisher. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Counterfeit people, the seductively appealing Deep Fakes made possible by AI, are just the beginning of what the distinguished philosopher Dan Dennett says is a threat to humanity. This spring, he joined hundreds of other thought leaders in signing a starkly scary statement: AI threatens to make us extinct. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col...

Most of us don’t know most things. Yet most of us also think we understand a lot (OK, not quantum mechanics or Federal Reserve policy). We are all living with what Sloman and Fernbach argue is an Illusionof how much we know: a knowledge illusion. And this is fueling the fracturing of society. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use...

Torn between astronomy and acting, she has landed in the sweet spot: leader of a research team judging other planets for their hospitality for life, while using the skills she learned as an actor to connect with and encourage a new generation of girls to become – as she was – entranced by the stars. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

A physicist whose world has no room for spirits, but who has experienced many eerily transcendent moments – both in nature and in his work – sets out to understand the unexplainable. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A member of the US House of Representatives for 16 years before retiring – unindicted and undefeated as he likes to say – Steve Israel knows the value of good communication, and the cost to us all when it’s missing. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Every atom in your body – and there are more than all the grains of sand in the world­ – came from outer space, many of them created moments after the Big Bang that began it all. Dan Levitt tells the stories of the remarkable people who figured out how all those atoms got into you. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of persona...

The New Yorker essayist explores the mystery of mastery as he tackles skills he believed he could never learn. Including boxing, figure drawing and – in his 50s – driving. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Of all the attributes that make us humans unique – or in archeologist Brenna Hassett’s view,  weird  – the weirdest of all is our extraordinarily long childhood. In her delightful book, Growing Up Human, she explores the many tricks evolution has invented to lengthen our childhoods, including her favorite: Grandmas. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abou...

When funding for the James Webb Space Telescope was in doubt, cosmologist Michael Turner argued passionately that it would transform our understanding of the origin and fate of our universe. Today, with the spectacular images being taken by the Webb exceeding even its designers’ dreams, Turner is “awed and ecstatic.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information abo...

The prizewinning architect has designed some of the world’s most dramatic, daring, and memorable buildings. Inspired by optimism, wonder, music, and light they challenge their visitors to experience them as a story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With the national state of emergency for Covid-19 now officially over, we invited physician and author Topol to reflect on his experience writing a regular online newsletter attempting to counter the misinformation flooding the internet. Called Ground Truths, it takes an unsparing dive into what went right and what went wrong over the last three years. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See...

Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd chat about and play excerpts from Alan's conversations with some of the guests in the new season, beginning next week. Guests include architect Daniel Libeskind; bioarchaeologist Brenna Hassett; and a return visit from congressman Michael Turner. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of pe...

Chief medical officer of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Dr Duckworth has written a guide for those with mental health problems that along with advice from experts tells of the lessons to be learned from people and families who are themselves struggling to live with mental illness. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use o...

Decades spent studying the way we use our hands when we talk has convinced Susan Goldin-Meadow that not only do gestures help our listeners understand us; gestures help us understand ourselves. They help us think, and as children, even to learn. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Annoyed by all those  likes  and  so’s  and  you knows , not mention ahs and ums? In her delightfully titled book  Like, Literally, Dude , Valerie Fridland argues that we should stop grumping about language tics and recognize that they are inevitable – and actually useful. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data fo...

Starting in the late 19th century, a group of women at the Harvard Observatory pored over hundreds of thousands of glass photographic plates bearing images of billions of stars. It was the beginning of a revolution in understanding what stars are made of and how far away they are. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal...

For decades now, he’s been building a comedy empire as writer, director and producer of a string of movies and TV series. Judd Apatow explores his early experiences soaking up the comedy writing of others and how he came to understand that the richest kind of humor is personal. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal da...

Life is hard. But drawing on the insights of philosophers ancient and modern, Keiran Setiya has written a witty and hope-filled book chronicling his own realization that, even with chronic pain, while his life may not be perfect, it can still be richly rewarding. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertis...

Her new book takes a deep dive into neurotechnology – the ability to read and record your brain waves. While there are many potential benefits – Nita herself uses a simple device to help control her migraines – she is alarmed at the prospect of others, be they employers or governments, being able to peer into your mind. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information...

Inspired by his Ukrainian grandfather, Liev has launched a campaign to fund humanitarian relief for the people of Ukraine. His several trips there included a meeting with a fellow actor, now president, Volodymyr Zelensky. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.