Sounds About Right: Audiobooks to Help Us Understand the World

​Martin Puchner, the Byron and Anita Wien Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Harvard University, is a prize-winning author, educator, public speaker, and institution builder in the arts and humanities. His writings range from philosophy and theater to world literature and culture and have been translated into many languages. His new book, Culture: A New World History , tells a glob...

Jacob Harold is a social change strategist, author, and executive. From 2012 to 2021, Harold served as President & CEO of GuideStar and co-founder of Candid. Fast Company called Candid “the definitive nonprofit transparency organization.” Each year, more than 20 million people use its data on nonprofits, grants, and social sector practice. The NonProfit Times named Harold to its Power and Infl...

Dr. Emily Bashah is a licensed psychologist, author and podcast co-host with a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona. An expert witness in criminal, immigration, and civil courts, she has worked on high-profile cases covering issues of domestic terrorism and capital offenses, as well as first-degree murder. I spoke with Dr. Bashah about the book she co-authored with Paul Johnson,  former Mayor o...

Seth Gillihan is a licensed psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). He was a full-time faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania from 2008 to 2012, and taught in the Psychology Department at Haverford College from 2012-2015. He has been in private practice since 2012. Seth completed a doctorate in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of...

Dr. Bruce McIvor, lawyer and historian, is a partner at First Peoples Law LLP, a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing Indigenous Peoples’ inherent and constitutionally protected title, rights and treaty rights. His work includes both litigation and negotiation on behalf of Indigenous Peoples. Bruce is recognized nationally and internationally as a leading practitioner of Aboriginal law in...

Frank Marrero has lived different lives in this grace of abundant years. He was in the newspapers and on TV at the age of two, going off of high-dives; he was the only kid he knew who built his own flying machine and survived several 'flights'. He was an original 'parkour' madman; did 'free climbing' in Yosemite; mastered rope-swinging; did cliff diving for tourists; ...

Prof. Fuentes is an anthropologist whose research focuses on the biosocial, delving into the entanglement of biological systems with the social and cultural lives of humans, our ancestors, and a few of the other animals with whom humanity shares close relations. From chasing monkeys in jungles and cities, to exploring the lives of our evolutionary ancestors, to examining human health, behaviour, a...

Joseph Chapa is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and holds a PhD (DPhil) in philosophy from the University of Oxford. His areas of expertise include just war theory, military ethics, and especially the ethics of remote and autonomous weapons. His doctoral research investigates an individual rights-based account of just war theory. He is a senior pilot with more than 1,400 pilot and instr...

Joyce Tyldesley is professor of Egyptology in the Department of Classics, Ancient History, Archaeology and Egyptology (CAHAE), within the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures. She studied the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean at Liverpool University, then obtained a D.Phil in prehistoric archaeology from Oxford University. Joyce has also published a series of books and articles on ancient...

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE is a prodigy in every sense of the word. Aged 11, she was the youngest girl ever to pass A-level computing, and was just 20 years old when she received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Oxford. She is also  the co-founder of Stemettes , an award-winning social initiative dedicated to inspiring and promoting the next generation...

Howard Yaruss is an economist, professor, attorney, businessman, and activist who greatly enjoys explaining complex issues in a clear, interesting and easily accessible way.  He graduated from Brown University, studied at the London School of Economics and earned a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  He has taught a variety of courses on economics and business, and currently teaches a...

Jordan E. Taylor is a historian, writer, editor, and teacher. His  book is titled Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America Some of the topics we discussed includes:  How was news being circulated in Revolutionary America? The known phrase of 'knowledge is power' but how 'power' controlled 'knowledge' at the time. How were...

Matthew Cobb is a is professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester. His latest book is The Genetic Age: Our Perilous Quest To Edit Life Some of the topics we discussed includes:  What were his worries of genetic engineering (GE) that led him to writing the book? The business of GE and what the influx of money changed. Why was the year 1980 pivotal for GE? How did GE change cultural agricult...

Mikko Hyppönen is a global security expert, speaker and author. He works as the Chief Research Officer at WithSecure and as the Principal Research Advisor at F-Secure. He has written on his research for the New York Times, Wired and Scientific American and he appears frequently on international TV. He has lectured at the universities of Stanford, Oxford and Cambridge. He was also selected among th...

Chantel Prat, PhD  is a Professor at the University of Washington with appointments in the Departments of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Linguistics, and at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, the Center for Neurotechnology, and the Institute for Neuroengineering . A cognitive neuroscientist by training, her interdisciplinary research investigates the biological basis of individual diffe...

Daniel Z. Lieberman, M.D. is a clinical professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University . He is also a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, a recipient of the Caron Foundation Research Award, and he has published over 50 scientific reports on behavioral science. He has provided insight on psychiatric issues for the U.S. Department of Health...

As well as being an author, Susan Linn is a psychologist, award-winning ventriloquist and a world-renowned expert on creative play and the impact of media and commercial marketing on children. Her latest book is Who’s Raising the Kids?: Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children . Some of the topics we discussed includes:  The oversized and unregulated role Big Tech plays in children's...

Dr Blair Bigham   an award-winning journalist, scientist and physician who trained in emergency and critical care medicine at McMaster and Stanford Universities. He was a Global Journalism Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Associate Scientist at St Michael’s Hospital .  His work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, newscasts, podcasts and medical journals. He is co-host of the CMAJ...

Dean A. Haycock , is a science and medical writer who earned a Ph. D. in neurobiology from Brown University and a fellowship at The Rockefeller University. He is the author of several books including: Tyrannical Minds, Psychological Profiling, Narcissism and Dictatorship, Characters on the Couch, Exploring Psychology Through Literature and Film, The Everything Health Guide to Adult Bipolar Disorde...

In this episode, I sat down with Dr Rhona Morrison, she is retired doctor (consultant forensic psychiatrist) from Scotland, who spent more than 30 years working in the NHS with mentally disordered offenders. She is also the author of the book titled I Don't Talk to Dead Bodies: The Curious Encounters of a Forensic Psychiatrist.  The book delves into the minds of real people, whose actions may...

In this episode, I sat down with Aaron L Friedberg , he is Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Over the past two decades he has written numerous books and articles warning of the dangers of an intensifying economic, military, and ideological rivalry between China and the West, including : A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in...

In this episode, I sat down with Psyche A. Williams-Forson ,  she is Associate Professor and Chair of American Studies at the University of Maryland and author of the book Eating While Black: Food Shaming and Race in America. Some of topics in the episode we discussed includes: How this book is about:  'worrying about yourself' and its purpose is also to give the reader/listener a window...

In this episode, I sat down with Jon Danielsson   the author of the book The Illusion of Control: Why Financial Crises Happen, and What We Can (and Can’t) Do About It. Jon Danielsson is Reader in Finance at LSE and Co-Director of the Systemic Risk Centre. His research interests cover systemic risk, financial risk, econometrics, economic theory and financial crisis. He has written two other books,...

In this episode, I sat down with Astrid and Chinny, they are the authors of the book It's a Continent: Unravelling Africa's History One Country at a Time  Some of topics in the episode we discussed includes: What influenced their decisions regarding the topics they wanted to write about for each country Whether their views on countries such as the UK, France and Belgium has changed since...

In this episode, I sat down with Jefferson Morley ,  author of the book S corpions' Dance The President, the Spymaster, and Watergate Some of the things we discussed includes:  The process of putting the book together and the 50th anniversary of the Watergate Scandal. The relationship between President Richard Nixon and head of the CIA, Richard Helms. The CIA's handling of JFKs alleged a...