Straight To It

In this episode, I interview Dr. Alice Siu of Stanford University’s deliberative democracy lab. The lab is devoted to research on democracy and public opinion using Deliberative Polling. It is a process that includes convening a representative sample of the group, educating the group on the issue, hearing from experts, and debating it. Consistently, the lab has found that this process makes partic...

In this episode, I interview Lara Hall. Lara is the Museum Curator of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. Lara worked as an archivist, organizing the over 45 million documents housed at the library, for about a decade before becoming the curator. She creates exhibits predominantly focused on the life, times, and legacy of President Johnson.  We discuss the challenge of communicating LB...

In this episode, I interview Dan Kurtz-Phelan. Since 2021, Dan has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Affairs , which for the past 100 years has been one of the leading publications covering foreign policy. Before his tenure as editor, Dan worked in the State Department during the Obama Administration. He went on to work for then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a speechwriter and for t...

In this episode, I interview Professor Ray Madoff of Boston College. Ray focuses on philanthropic policy, the rights of the dead (including the dead's ability to control their bodies, reputation, and property), estate taxes, comparative inheritance law, and wealth inequality and taxes. Recently, I became acquainted with Ray’s work through her award-winning book, The Second Estate . The book re...

In this episode, I interview Peter Wicks. Peter is a scholar-in-residence at the Elm Institute whose research focuses on the contemporary applications of Aristotle’s ethical and political thought, the history and philosophy of higher education, and the psychology and ethics of argument and persuasion. Recently, Peter co-edited Alasdair MacIntyre on Practical Philosophy: Essential Works , which was...

In this episode, I interview Tony Haile. Currently, Tony is the CEO of Filament, a company that aims to revolutionize professional networking through smaller, private spaces for connection.  Previously, Tony was on Twitter's Global Leadership Team, the Founding CEO of Scroll (which Twitter acquired), and the Founding CEO of  Chartbeat . Tony got his education at St. Andrews and spent a semeste...

In this episode, I interview Sherri Franklin. Sherri is the founder of Muttville, a senior dog rescue in San Francisco. After understanding how wonderful senior dogs can be and seeing how inhumanely they are treated in the shelter system, Sherri started a grassroots dog rescue that eventually grew into Muttville. Every year, Muttville rescues over 1,000 senior dogs. Sherri and I discuss Muttville’...

In this episode, I interview Janet Lindow. Janet founded the Rural Behavioral Health Institute to address the startling issue of rural youth suicide. For the past 12 years, Janet's career goal has been to improve the health of populations with limited access to effective treatment, with a primary focus on those experiencing mental disorders. After finishing her doctoral work, she taught a scie...

In this episode, I interview Matt Zeitlin, the Co-Founder of Rookly. Matt and his co-founder, Amir Moazami, have known each other since they were six. They played chess together growing up, and both eventually won National Championships. Rookly works to make school chess more fun and accessible by offering easy online competition. Students can see their opponents, play with friends, and connect wi...

Our guest today, Sunni Khalid, is the News Editor at KALW, a public radio station that has been broadcasting for over 80 years in the San Fransico Bay Area. He has reported from over thirty-five different countries at outlets including: TIME, USA TODAY, The Wilmington News-Journal, The Baltimore Sun, and National Public Radio.  We dig into the shift from the heyday of print media to today's fr...

In this episode, I interview Sam DeMello. Sam founded Evive, the leading digital health platform for gambling behavior change, serving partners across the nation. They bridge the critical gap in care by reaching the 99.5% of people experiencing gambling harm who never access traditional state-funded support services. Through an evidence-based platform and state partnerships, they have built a nati...

Earlier this month, I was lucky to have an awesome conversation with David Steinberger. David has over 25 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has served as CEO of Arcadia Publishing and the Perseus Books Group, and as both President of Corporate Strategy and President of Adult Trade at HarperCollins. Over the course of his career, David has led the acquisition and transformation of...

In this episode, I interview Jim Irizarry. Jim has been working in elections for over fourty years, and currently, he is the Asst. Assessor-Clerk-Recorder & Asst. Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County. We had an a wide-ranging conversation covering the importance of youth civic engagement, the power of one vote, and the threats he sees to elections in the near future regarding AI. I rea...

For the past forty years, Steve Staiger has worked as a historian at the Palo Alto Historical Society. He works in PAHS' archives, helping others research information about Palo Alto, and he promotes information about the city's history. During our conversation, we discussed Palo Alto's founding, Stanford's impact on Palo Alto history, and some of Palo Alto's more curious chara...

In this episode, I interview Mark Polizzotti. Mark has translated over sixty books from French to English, including works from authors such as Jean Echenoz, Gustave Flaubert, and Patrick Modiano. Mark leads publishing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is also the author of many books, including Sympathy For The Traitor: A Translation Manifesto and Why Surrealism Matters . We discuss the art o...

In this episode, I interview the Legal Director of the Northern California American Civil Liberties Union: Shilpi Agarwal. Shilpi, formerly a senior staff attorney, has worked as the Legal Director for 5 years, managing litigation and advocacy. We had a wide-ranging conversation covering the case surrounding the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, the Trump administration's handli...

In this episode, I interview Micah Hauser. Micah is a Story Editor at the New Yorker, where he has worked for the past seven years. We discuss Micah's career at the New Yorker, where he started as a Fact Checker. We cover the fact-checking process and how each New Yorker issue comes together. We also hear Micah's writing advice and what he thinks makes writers great. I hope you enjoyed thi...

In this episode, I interview Charlotte Howard, Executive Editor and New York Bureau Chief of The Economist. Charlotte has been working at The Economist for over 20 years and co-hosts the Checks and Balance podcast. We discuss what makes The Economist special, its transformation into the digital age, and how each issue comes together. Enjoy!

In this episode, I interview Risto Uuk, the EU Research Lead at the Future of Life Institute in Brussels. He researches European Union Artificial Intelligence policy, including the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Risto is a PhD researcher at KU Leuven studying the assessment and risk-mitigation of general purpose AI models. We have an expansive conversation covering the most groundbreaking parts o...

In this episode, I interview Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a legendary leader in the Bay Area. In her 32 years in Congress, Congresswoman Eshoo has passed over 70 bills, benefiting not only the Bay Area but the entire country. Congresswoman Eshoo joins us on Straight To It to reflect on some of her biggest accomplishments, like securing over a billion dollars to electrify CalTrain. We also discuss how...

In this episode, I interview Nicole Sorger. Nicole is head of the History Department at Crystal Springs Uplands School. An expert in the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Nicole teaches Middle Eastern History. As we explore the past and present of the Israel-Palestine conflict, we go through Israel's founding, previous wars, and the lead-up to the current conflict. We also discuss the current Israeli...

In this episode I interview Dr. Bruno Verdini, who has taught leadership, diplomacy, and communication techniques for stakeholders from over 80 countries. He created, then earned a unique Ph. D. at MIT, and then designed two MIT courses, The Art and Science of Negotiation and Leadership in Negotiation: Advanced Applications. Both courses have been in the top 1% of MIT’s most popular courses for 8...

In this episode, I interview Nani Jansen-Reventlow, a human rights lawyer who formerly argued free speech cases with Media Defense, a non-profit defending journalism around the globe. Now, Nani works on Systemic Justice, a non-profit she founded with the purpose of making change through litigation. We discuss some of her biggest cases, the importance of journalism, and why she wanted to become a l...

In this episode, I interview Yoav Saarony, a tennis coach who has coached players at all 4 grand slams, over a 30-year career. Yoav grew up in Israel and immigrated into the US at eight years old. When not on the court, Yoav is also an amazing DJ! As we dig into his tennis journey, we focus a good bit on mental toughness and how he helps players develop it. Enjoy the episode!

In this episode, I interview Laker Newhouse, an AI and Mathematics Major at MIT. This past summer, Laker taught at a program in Barcelona to teach Ukrainian high school students about AI. We discuss how AI works, its potential and risks, and his experience at MIT. Enjoy the episode!