Acclaimed actor, famed narrative voice and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote joined us in a far reaching dialogue which took in his acting and voice careers as well as his life and his life philosophy and sharp edged political views. We spoke, too, about the content in his latest book, Zen in the Vernacular and his early, preeminent family influences and the shaping influences of the Diggers, as well as his heroin addiction and his radical political beliefs and faith in what he calls radical optimism and the four noble truths of Buddhism. He named those he believes deserve to be called our greatest actors, told all about of his first meeting with Ken Burns and spoke of the inequity of wealth and CEO salaries as well as Paul Weyrich's Christian nationalist film "Bad Faith" and the infamous Lewis Powell memo. He described the U.S. presidential race as democracy versus autocracy and the rise of Trump politically as the product of a sixty year struggle. We concluded with him speaking about his name change to Coyote and defining the Buddhist concept of dharma. Time well spent with a fascinating man of many accomplishments and strong views on politics and our essential connectedness.

Leading New York Times writer and best-selling author Frank Bruni joined us for an in-depth discussion of his most recent book The Age of Grievance which focuses on American culture's fall into pessimism and the binary world of choosing sides, tribalism, and the pressing need for compromise and common ground. It is somewhat global (as with Brexit) but largely an American phenomenon of a scale never imagined and at the center, says Bruni, is ugly politics. Though more consequential and perilous from the right than from the left, there are grievance merchants and grievance entrepreneurs on both sides and Bruni went into an example on the left side of the political spectrum of the use of identity politics with Brittany Greiner and on the right with the power of Donald Trump. Though originally all about social connection, social media makes all of it worse and creates disconnection. Bruni, a Duke journalism professor, also emphasized the role of the media in exacerbating the pervasive sense of grievance and he spoke of geographic sorting after the Dobbs abortion decision being like social media. He spoke, too, of the power of consumers and the need for more open and non-partisan primaries, ranked-choice voting, and overall moderation and major change in both political and civil culture, including a deeper recognition of the common good and how our welfare is bound together as citizens. We concluded with talk about whether he missed being a restaurant or movie critic, his feelings about being a gay professor, Seinfeld's appearance at Duke, and the extent of emphasis in academia on trigger warnings. A fascinating discussion with one of the nation's leading and most respected thinkers.

Passion is an understatement when it comes to tech futurist, evangelist, creator of famous Silicon Valley blog Scobleizer, author of six prescient books, podcaster, video journalist, and former Microsoft strategist Robert Scoble. Host Michael Krasny gets down to business, exploring a mind-bending array of topics that will define our technological future:

Get Ready for the Driverless Revolution: Scoble dives deep into the world of autonomous vehicles, discussing how they will transform transportation and the impact they'll have on our roads.

Robots: Roommates or Revolutionaries?: The conversation delves into the rise of humanoid robots, exploring their potential to become helpful companions in our homes and workplaces, while also examining the possible societal shifts they might bring.

AI Ethics: Navigating the Maze: Scoble tackles the crucial yet complex issue of artificial intelligence (AI) ethics, prompting discussion on responsible development and the need for safeguards in a world increasingly reliant on AI.

Smart Cities: The Tech-Powered Metropolis of Tomorrow: The future of urban planning takes center stage as Scoble explores how cities will adapt and evolve to integrate seamlessly with new technologies…

”Competition between the Morally Unfit and the Mentally Unfit.” That was Bret Stephens' take on the U.S. presidential race. We spoke of the race and of immigration, including what Stephens described as "legitimate criticism" of the Biden administration as well as Stephens' own family history and realizing the American dream. He also spoke of the need for control of U.S. borders and a wall and the need to bring people in in a regularized way to apply for visas in a way that does not overwhelm. "We need immigrants," Stephens said and from there we went to reproductive rights which Stephens believes won't have the impact it did in the last election. Our conversation went on to Jews and Zionism and Anti-Zionism as the new Anti-Semitism and parallels of the present to the Second World War and Stephens' views that "Ukraine will change the nature of warfare" and Europe's turn to the Right and the present as "a Dreyfus and Herzl moment." Social media, Stephens said, should be called Anti-Social Media because it allows fanatics to find one another. He made his position clear in condemning students who support Hamas and made clear, too, that he blames the professors even more as well as outside money supporting encampments. Stephens then addressed how democracy allowed technologies to be born and take root in the U.S. Who, he asked, would buy Russian and he stated, "China will never overtake the United States" and he said the biggest threat from China is their decline. We went back to discussing immigration and the need for assimilatory capacity and the presidential race and the need there for a system that produces better candidates. We concluded comparing Mozart and Beethoven and The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Journalist, entrepreneur and best-selling author Steven Brill joined us to map out why opinions, disinformation and conspiracy theories have become the global death knell for truth. We spoke of why so many people no longer trust facts and Brill's own personal experience with a Russian disinformation operative. He discussed his for-profit business NewsGuard and his vested interest in exposing disinformation. We focused on false narratives from both the Right and the Left and on a young man, an Ohio State graduate, who went down the rabbit hole of the Internet and wound-up part of the violence in D.C. on January 6th. The lack of trust in the health care system and the belief in pedophilia conspiracy theories were highlighted and linked to a need for order. Brill was asked about Court TV, which was his original project, and he spoke of his regret that the trial of former President Trump was not televised. He also spoke of the inevitable worsening of our present circumstances as generative Artificial Intelligence moves forward and he provided a picture of the overall deleterious effects of programmatic advertising. We then moved on to necessary solutions with discussion of Section 230, FTC enforcement and lawsuits based on terms of service, as well as K thru 12 computer literacy education. A timely, highly engaging and illuminating dialogue!

Silicon Valley acclaimed entrepreneur and author Andrew Keen of Keen on and Keen on Substack joined us. We heard his views on the Internet and big tech companies and how new agency and a middle ground are needed rather than regulation or new technology. Andrew discussed the future of work as well as failures of Facebook despite its economic successes; the damage potential of AI; failures of the digital revolution and Israel as a U.S. junior partner. He additionally touched on privacy and surveillance; Google's "Do no Evil" and Google as the first AI company and AI's running the narrative of the 21rst century. We concluded with Andrew defending against shutting down TikTok. However, the episode took place the day after former U.S. President Donald Trump was found guilty on thirty-four felony counts and so we began by getting Andrew's reactions and analysis on all of that. Andrew opined that "the extraordinary is ordinary in politics in America" and spoke of January 6th as being more theatre than existential crisis and the Nineties as being more violent and more disturbing. He also spoke of every day seeming to be a crisis in America and his sympathy for protesting students.

Director of The Bezos Family Foundation and author of Mind in the Making, The Six Stages of Parenthood and The Breakthrough Years, Ellen Galinsky joined us for a deep dive interview starting with the role of neuroscience in understanding the teen brain and then branching out to questions related to teen risky behavior, self-control, decision making and autonomy. We talked about the student protestors who she viewed as taking positive risks and went on to helicopter parenting; kids as pals of their parents; birth order; temperaments and the two areas in which she holds some of her strongest convictions -- executive function skills and engagement. A veritable potpourri of important and interrelated topics, including the good and the bad in social media; social efficacy; home schooling; creative and critical thinking and kids who change gender.

Journalist, blogger, columnist, podcaster, and technology writer Mike Elgan joined us live from Venice to talk about being a temporary local and AI. The dialogue began with Mike explaining the life he lives and wrote about in Gastronomad, a life of constant travel and absorbing different cultures while remote work allows for a livable income and stories are gathered. We moved on to talk about nineteenth century historian Thomas Carlyle’s notion of the mechanical age and how we are presently in it as well as a hierarchical structure based on machinery use. Mike spoke of the use of avatars and Apple Vision Pros and digital twins, all imminent, and he expressed his concern that society is not ready for the adoptions ahead. He spoke of the two sides of AI -- hope in matters of health and communications and the thousands of other ways it can help us as well as skepticism about sci fi created dangers and tons of problems AI will never solve. Mike urged for AI to be seen as non-human and emphasized the need to realize we will never replace the human mind. He touched on prosthetic memory, artificial knowledge, multimodal AI, Meta Ray-Bans, the video mode in AI and digital influencers as well as dangers of artificial and AI generated people. A unique episode brimming with thoughts and ideas!

Biographer (Bobby Kennedy and Satchel) and award-winning reporter Larry Tye talked to us about his newest book, The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie Transformed America. All three of these iconic musicians, Tye noted, though from different backgrounds, had to endure Jim Crow and racial bigotry but “opened the eyes, ears and souls” of White men and the women they wooed and “set the table for the civil rights movement.” Tye took on this writing task out of a promise he made to Black Pullman porters. His many books have resulted from what he, as a journalist, was drawn to enough to devote three years to. The Jazzmen emerged from looking for what these three musical geniuses did in music and the world and despite Tye describing himself as tone deaf and knowing nothing about music and discovering the moral feet of clay of all three of these men of faith. We discussed the lives and times of each of the three and then talked about women in jazz – mostly singers except for Armstrong’s wife, Lillian Hardin, and we touched on the origin of the nickname Satchmo for Armstrong and the different class backgrounds of the three and some of their famous sidemen as well as the links between the three and Jewish managers, bandmates and mobsters and Armstrong’s adoption by a Jewish family and the Jewish origins of Superman. We spoke, too, of jazz language, Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Sonny Rollins, Dave Brubeck and what Bobby Kennedy Senior might have felt about his son and namesake running for president.

Veteran political analyst and Associate Director of The Washington Center Marc Sandalow joined us for a rich and wide ranging conversation about the political landscape -- starting with the ongoing trial of Donald Trump and proceeding to questions about who will and will not turn out to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Marc spoke of his UC Berkeley student's dissatisfaction with both President Biden and former President Trump and citizen perceptions of aging in the two as well as the liability to President Biden of Vice President Kamala Harris being his likely running mate. We also discussed the third party candidacy of Robert F Kennedy Jr and the historic role of third party candidates and touched on the electoral college, the Black vote and the efficacy of polls. The dialogue then pivoted to immigration with Marc expressing the view of illegal/undocumented immigrants being demonized and scapegoated for political purposes as responsible for high incidences of murder, rape and other violent crimes. Terrorists may be entering the U.S. illegally, Marc conceded, but for the present, he declared, more Americans are killed by cows. More illegal/undocumented immigrants, he pointed out, are coming into the U.S. and more fentanyl also is, but crime is continuing to go down and illegals/undocumenteds generally do not illegally vote. Marc spoke of how playing up the fearsome dangers of big cities also plays well politically. He discussed presidential immunity, bipartisanship, today's social media, journalism, rank choice voting, national security and the Chinese and their ownership of TikTok. A master class on civics and politics by a seasoned journalist, political analyst and university teacher!

With a client list that includes Walmart, Microsoft and Apple, Placement IO Founder and CEO Edwin Fu spoke with us about entrepreneurship. He talked about the high which comes from solving problems and building a better mousetrap and the necessity of having the passion of a mad scientist. He emphasized the necessity of craziness for founders based on tenacity and vision and an ability to execute. Money, success, and growth are all, Fu argues, byproducts of drive. He talked, too, of being burned and issues of data and privacy as well as the changing nature of advertising and the importance of being cautious about following advice. He then went on to speak of AI, social media and the U.S. economy. With nine out of ten start-ups failing here is wise and valuable advice.

The architect of the Oslo accords, Ambassador Dennis Ross, who worked in five U.S. presidential administrations trying to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, joined us on the heels of the deaths in Gaza, at the hands of the Israelis, of seven humanitarian workers. Ambassador Ross spoke of the present conflict as the worst he has witnessed and he discussed the trauma of both the Palestinian and Israeli sides as well as the differences in the Israel, West Bank and Gaza governments, the security misreadings by the Israeli government, the diversions of humanitarian aid by Hamas and the legacy of October 7th and the hostages taken by Hamas. Ambassador Ross spoke, too, of Israel's fraught political stability and the likely future for Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition. He also provided an assessment of Hamas militarily and gauged the effect on the region of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the role of Turkey's Erdogan and Egypt under El-Sisi. He spoke, too, of the perniciousness of Hamas as well as condemning the Israeli occupation and the incorrect use of the word genocide to condemn Israel. We had the opportunity as well to speak with the Ambassador about Iran's role in the region and the prospects of a single versus a two states solution and what to expect after the war is over. A wide-ranging, incisive discussion replete with first-rate insights.

Veteran Journalist, Journalism professor and author Jeff Jarvis joined us to discuss media and its history and future and the future of journalism. We zeroed in on questions of Internet regulation and the effect of AI and Jeff spoke about why he believes TikTok should be defended and not banned and focused on what he called hegemonic and corporate old journalism versus journalism which serves the community. Jeff also talked about Section 230 and its so-called shield and sword role for media at its core as well as click bait, bias and the need to reinvent advertising. A caller spurred Jeff to address the lack of tech knowledge of legislators and the need for them to be educated. He also spoke critically of a recent book by psychologist Jonathan Haidt which blames the mental health crisis of Gen Z on phones and social media. Jeff then talked about red lining in journalism and how AI is a large and cracked mirror of all of us with many practical and positive uses. We wound up talking about Google's former motto of Don't be Evil, what to do about bad actors and the likely long run benefit to libraries of AI.

Former Kaiser Permanente CEO and one of modern healthcare's most influential physician leaders, Dr. Robert Pearl joined us for a deep discussion focusing on his recent book "ChatGPT, MD" and the exponential changes generative AI can bring to American medicine and healthcare. We initially heard a poignant personal story from Dr. Pearl about how he went from studying cardiac surgery to becoming a plastic surgeon as a result of watching surgical repairs of cleft palates in Mexico. From there he went on to his bullish views on the future role of his book's co-author, Chat GPT, though all depends, he made clear, on clinicians taking the lead and the next generation of them being committed to change. Still, he made clear that the present antiquated system can be changed by technology and transformation can and will occur. He addressed concerns such as security, privacy, data breaches and bias, but spoke overall with abundant optimism, despite touching as well on the unsustainability of medical costs. He spoke, also, of achievements of the Kaiser Permanente model and the necessity for humanity to keep pace with technology. An enlightening, inspiring call to action hour.

Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi joined us to dispense his usual passionate and illuminating clarity on the April 8 total solar eclipse and eclipses per se and more. He spoke of best places to view, optimal weather conditions, proper eyeglasses and what not to wear, as well as how to observe with a colander and why we cannot see a total solar eclipse from any other planet in our solar system. We were able to touch, too, on some eclipse myths and include sidebars about a bright sight twelve billion light years away, astrology and what may have been here before the big bang. Andrew spoke of Harvard Professor Avi Loeb's searches for extra terrestrial life and provided answers for educators on how best to deal with the total eclipse and prepare for and experience it, including why to use a snap device in photographing it and what to do if one is visually impaired. A truly fascinating hour with a bevy of good questions from listeners deftly answered by one of America's leading astronomers.

Former UC Berkeley Chancellor and President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences Nicholas Dirks joined us to discuss his latest book, City of Intellect. We began with an assessment of the free speech movement and the trajectory to more recent efforts by protestors to shut speakers down. The dialogue proceeded from there to questions about hate speech and so-called safe spaces and trigger warnings as well as broader questions of what a university is for, who it serves and what it can and cannot do. We discussed access and costs and the economics of universities as well as questions of diversity and differences between public and private universities and we then turned to a consideration of leadership and the example of former UC Berkeley President Clark Kerr. Our expansive dialogue took up the importance of a liberal arts education, AI and online education, job training in higher ed and the role of community and junior colleges, which Dirks called "the real workhorses," and the apparent revival of admissions tests. Dirks concluded with wise and thoughtful reflections on how universities need to look toward the future and emphasize the transformation of lives, exposure to the world of possibilities and what it means to be human.

Long-time Apple expert, podcaster and tech savant Rene Ritchie joined us in his role as YouTube liaison to discuss monetizing and revenue sources for aspiring and established YouTube content creators. Rene talked about YouTube as “the most accessible culture endeavor ever seen,” and provided useful and practical points for content creators in our work shifting world -- including thinking like a viewer, not relying on algorithms and making use of cliffhangers. Rene spoke of his own personal work history and his role as a leading expert on Apple products, and we explored a range of other issues, including platforms as publishers, AI, personal branding, non-profits and encryption. A range of live listener questions were answered adroitly by Rene. An illuminating tech hour!

We spent an hour with twenty-year CEO of The World Affairs Council and foreign affairs expert Jane Wales discussing the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and the far less media focused civil war in Sudan with illuminating views from her on trends away from liberal democracy and the rise of autocrats. The Information Revolution, which has allowed war to be seen as never before, prompted us to explore questions of sovereignty, rising nationalism and ongoing expansion of Artificial Intelligence. Philanthropy trends also emerged in the conversation as Jane, in her leading roles in philanthropic work, spoke about the phenomenon of more donations by fewer people each year coupled with more volunteer hours with fewer volunteers. We touched, too, on other global hot spots -- China, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Afghanistan, as well as ongoing humanitarian crises and changing outlooks on foreign policy within the Biden administration. A wide ranging, trenchant and enlightening dialogue!

Allbirds co-owner and CEO Joey Zwillinger joined us for a wide-ranging discussion focusing on the ups and downs and successes and challenges of the international shoe company as well as decarbonization and sustainability; entrepreneurship and branding; innovation and capitalism. We talked about the fashion industry and the CEO's role in the public company which makes over 200 million shoes a year. Worker's rights, DEI and factory conditions also emerged in the conversation which concluded with advice from Joey Zwillinger to aspiring entrepreneurs and those who want to make a difference against the existential threat of climate change.