Terrence Mcnally Podcast

Aired 03/14/10 Though Atul Gawande is a best-selling author, a Harvard professor, and an innovator in best practices for the W.H.O., he still performs 250-plus surgeries a year. A framed copy of Sylvia Plath's poem "The Surgeon at 2 a.m." stands on the desk in his office." Her surgeon's words: "I worm and hack in a purple wilderness." Gawande likes the Plath poem because it casts the surgeon in an ambiguous light. "Most writing about people in medicine casts them as either heroes or villains," he says, "That poem captures the surgeon as a merely human, slightly bewildered and benighted person in a world that is ultimately beyond his control." Medicine is just one area of our world that is becoming so complex that even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. In his new book, The Checklist Manifesto, Gawande offers a disarmingly simple remedy: the checklist. Now being adopted in hospitals, the 90 second practice cuts fatalities In surgery by more than a third. NOTE: This interview

Originally aired 08-04-2009 As we celebrate the holidays - religious, cultural, and annual - we're paying more attention than usual to our relationship to God at the same time that winter and the new year call us to reflect and look forward. I want to share with you this interview I recorded June 5, 2009, with ROBERT WRIGHT. That week THE EVOLUTION OF GOD, no light read, was the #8 New York Times bestseller and he was all over the media, including a feature on Bill Moyers Journal. Robert Wright takes on big questions, and in THE EVOLUTION OF GOD, he follows the changing moods of God as reflected in ancient Scripture, to see what circumstances brought out the best and worst in religions. The question of how politics might influence our God stories is relevant - due, globally, to the West's confrontation with radical Islam, and in the U.S., to the political activism of evangelical Christians - both evident in the misadventures of the U.S. and George W. Bush from Bagdhad to Teri Schiavo. According to WRIGHT,

Originally aired 4-4-2010 After a fight within the Democratic party, the House passed a spending bill this week that rolls back one of the most important provisions of Dodd-Frank. When it passes the Senate, taxpayers will be back on the hook for the big banks' gambles on derivatives and other exotic financial instruments. I thought it was time to play this interview with MICHAL LEWIS about how Wall Street's corrupt casino culture led to the Crash of 07-08 - because we've just given them license to do it again. Both Ira Glass and Malcolm Gladwell say today's guest is their favorite storyteller. In his books and magazine articles, Lewis writes about sports, business, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, political campaigns, fatherhood. Stuff that matters to a lot of people. He's smart and he has a sense of humor. Lewis was a trader at Salomon Brothers before he wrote his first best-seller, LIAR'S POKER about the excesses of Wall Street during the 1980s. He continues to write about that world with his last two books,

originally aired 7-24-2011 What's good enough for a child you love? What's good enough parenting? Good enough early education? Good enough healthcare? Good enough schools? DAVID KIRP, envisions a national effort to support and develop our children based on a simple "Golden Rule:" Every child deserves what's good enough for a child you love. David Kirp, Kids First In KIDS FIRST, he offers on-the-ground accounts of initiatives that work - and that could affordably be implemented in communities everywhere - to achieve five key priorities: 1) strong support for new parents 2) high-quality early education 3) linking schools and communities to improve what both offer children 4) giving all kids access to a caring and stable adult mentor 5) providing kids a nest egg to help pay for college or kick-start a career.Where do you think the most important changes need to take place to turn things around in terms of big issues like the economy, the environment, and social justice? His latest book, Improbable S

Originally aired 12-30-2012 Where do you think the most important changes need to take place to turn things around in terms of big issues like the economy, the environment, and social justice? Some say climate change is the critical global issue so it must be clean energy. Others say nothing will make as much difference for the world's people as educating and empowering girls and women. Closer to home, a case can be made that public financing of political campaigns would have the most impact on all issues by making it possible for the power of the United States to become a greater force for good. All good answers, but this week's guest gives another answer - and its one that I share. Frances Moore Lappe, who has herself been a force for good at least since the publication of the phenomenal best-seller Diet for a Small Planet in 1971, says that the greatest impact would follow from changing our minds. In her 18th book, ECOMIND: CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK, TO CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT, Lappé argues that much of

originally aired 02-13-2011 How much technology do you use? Email, texting, facebook, twitter, second life, etc. Has it freed you up, given you more time, or has it added new demands to your life that actually make you feel you have less time? If you're using social media regularly, do you feel more connected with your friends and family or less? Clinical psychologist SHERRY TURKLE has been studying our relationship with technology for most of her career, and has written several books about what she's experienced and learned. Of her newest, ALONE TOGETHER, she has said, "This is a book of repentance. I have been studying computers and people for thirty years. I didn't see several important things. I got some important things wrong." I was already interested in talking to her, but that really grabbed my attention. I'm interested in people, maybe especially experts, who are willing to change their minds. Turkle writes: "Technology promises to let us do anything from anywhere with anyone. But it drains us as w

originally aired 05-05-2013 You're busy trying to make ends meet. The news is filled with celebrity gossip, natural and corporate disasters, the latest mass homicides, and dysfunctional politics. How much do you know about the covert wars the US is involved in around the globe? JEREMY SCAHILL'S best-selling book and Oscar-nominated documentary, DIRTY WARS, begins as an investigation into a US night raid gone terribly wrong in a remote corner of Afghanistan, and quickly transforms into a high-stakes global investigation into the rise of JSOC, Joint Special Operations Command, the most secret and elite fighting force in U.S. history. In military jargon, JSOC teams "find, fix and finish" their targets, who are selected through a secret process. No target is off limits for the "kill list," including U.S. citizens. DIRTY WARS reveals covert operations unknown to the public and carried out across the globe by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress, raising questions about freedom and

originally aired 03-03-2012 In the early 1960s, MARSHALL GANZ dropped out of Harvard to join the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. He then spent 16 years working with César Chávez and the United Farm Workers. He returned to Harvard in the 1990's, graduated, earned his Ph.D., and now teaches the power of public narrative at the Kennedy School. Marshall Ganz During Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, he was lead organizer of the grassroots for the former community organizer. GANZ offers a valuable perspective on the Occupy/99% movement.

Originally Aired: 03/16/14 We all deal day to day with a lot of questions and a lot of fears – around work, money, health, politcs, relationships. And at some point, we will all deal with the final fears and the final questions – fear of death and questions about what it means and what if anything comes after. At his request, today’s guest, SARA DAVIDSON met every Friday for two years with 89-year-old RABBI ZALMAN SHACHTER-SHALOMI, the iconic founder of the Jewish Renewal movment, to discuss what he calls THE DECEMBER PROJECT. “When you can feel in your cells that you’re coming to the end of your tour of duty,” in tHe rabbi’s words, “what is the spiritual work of this time, how do we prepare for the mystery?” Davidson, who describes herself as having a seeker’s heart and a skeptic’s mind, feared death would be a complete annihilation, while Reb Zalman felt certain that “something continues.” He didn’t want to convince her of anything, but to loosen her mind.” Through their talks, he wanted to help people “

Originally aired 07-28-2013 I say that in a past life I worked in the entertainment industry, comedy in particular. I co-wrote and co-produced novelty records THE HOMECOMING QUEEN'S GOT A GUN, I LIKE EM BIG AND STUPID and EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY all performed by Julie Brown. I directed comic music videos for some of these songs, and ended up co-writing and co-producing the film EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY. I've produced and hosted this show since 1996 and I consult and speak primarily to non-profits and foundations, working with them on communications, encouraging them to tell better stories. My transition seems mild compared with that of this week's guest, TOM SHADYAC, whose phenomenally successful writing/directing/producing career included the hits ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE, LIAR LIAR, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, BRUCE ALMIGHTY, and PATCH ADAMS . His films grossed nearly $2 billion and earned him four People's Choice awards and a ton of money. His 2011 documentary, I AM recounts what happened after a cycling accident

Originally Aired 5/6/12 After 3.8 billion years of R&D on this planet, failures are fossils. What surrounds us in the natural world is what has succeeded. Nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts here on Earth. In January 2009, Harvard received the largest philanthropic gift in its history -- $125M -- to create the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and today's guest is its founding director, DON INGBER. Our bodies - and all living systems - accomplish tasks far more sophisticated and dynamic than any entity yet designed by humans. By emulating nature's principles for self-organizing and self-regulating, Wyss researchers develop innovative engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing.

Aired: 3/24/14 I'll share with you my views on a number of issues, large and small. I'll deal with a lot of the questions I ask others about on a regular basis. What are our biggest challenges? Are there some critical issues that don't get enough attention? Can I connect the dots among pieces of the puzzle of a world that just tight work? Can humanity turn things around? What gives me hope? I hope you find this hour provocative, stimulating, informative, challenging, and lively.

Aired: 03/16/14 We all deal day to day with a lot of questions and a lot of fears - around work, money, health, politcs, relationships. And at some point, we will all deal with the final fears and the final questions - fear of death and questions about what it means and what if anything comes after. At his request, today's guest, SARA DAVIDSON met every Friday for two years with 89-year-old RABBI ZALMAN SHACHTER-SHALOMI, the iconic founder of the Jewish Renewal movment, to discuss what he calls THE DECEMBER PROJECT. "When you can feel in your cells that you're coming to the end of your tour of duty," in tHe rabbi's words, "what is the spiritual work of this time, how do we prepare for the mystery?" Davidson, who describes herself as having a seeker's heart and a skeptic's mind, feared death would be a complete annihilation, while Reb Zalman felt certain that "something continues." He didn't want to convince her of anything, but to loosen her mind." Through their talks, he wanted to help people "not freak

Aired: 03/09/14 Last summer author and scholar of religions REZA ASLAN came out with a book that utilized a great deal of historical research to give readers a sense of the man, Jesus of Nazareth. ASLAN had taken on a similar task seven years earlier with his first book NO GOD BUT GOD, in which he tells the story of Mohammed. But the problem for some folks this time around is that Reza Aslan is a Muslim. In an interview that has been viewed at least a million and a half times on YouTube, Lauren Green of Fox News demanded to know, "You're a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?" - and that interview sent Aslan's book, ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, to the top of best-seller lists for weeks. REZA ASLAN has been a guest on Free Forum a number of times in the past, and I'm happy to welcome him back again, to talk a bit about the reaction, but much more about the content and meaning of his book. He examines Jesus through the lens of the time and place in which h

Aired: 2/2/14 I am going to take a hiatus from this show in a few weeks, for the first time in 17 years. I need to focus on some other projects, including a book I'm writing, and won't be able to afford the time to produce and host this show probono. In anticipation of this upcoming break, I will be the guest this week and SARA DAVIDSON, best-selling author of Loose Change and Leap, whose new book, The December Project will come out in March, will be interviewing me. I've long thought it is only fair that I have to answer a few questions and this week it's going to happen.

Aired: 1/26/14 As we begin a new year, let's look at where we are in the big picture. What are the most critical issues facing the US and the world? How do you see things moving in those areas? How are things getting worse or better? What should we be keeping our eyes on in the year to come? My guest this week will be HAZEL HENDERSON, who's been asking these sorts of questions for at least the last 40 years. We're going to approach this exploration globally as well as nationally, with a long-term view, and with an eye toward relationships and systems that we often miss in our day-to-day focus on the latest news and events. If this sounds familiar, it's because this was my plan a few weeks ago when Hazel was my guest. But we ended up spending so much time on her journey - a remarkable journey it is, a mom in New York who'd never been to college got upset about pollution threatening her young child, became an activist, and developed into a global expert on economics and sustainability.

Aired: 01/19/14 I don't have to tell you how many messages, interruptions and distractions you are inundated with every day. Add to that the stress placed on so many of us by the many roles we play everyday - parent, partner, friend, worker, citizen. The very critical skill or quality of attention is under siege. DANIEL GOLEMAN, the psychologist, journalist, and best-selling author who wrote the book on Emotional Intelligence, has a new book, Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence. In it, he delves into new, surprising findings from neuroscience labs and explains why attention is a little-noticed mental asset that makes a huge difference in how well we find our way in our personal lives, our careers, and in virtually everything we do. Like a muscle, use attention poorly and it withers; work it in the right way and it strengthens. But Goleman doesn't only consider the personal need for attention but also the way evolution has presented humans a challenge when it comes to dealing with long term threats lik

Aired: 1/13/14 According to NOREENA HERTZ, we to make up to 10,000 trivial decisions every single day, 227 just about food. Caffeinated or decaf? Small, medium, large or extra large? Colombian, Ecuadorian, Ethiopian? Hazelnut, vanilla or unflavored? Cream or milk? Sugar or sweetener? If you make the wrong choice when it comes to your coffee, it doesn't matter very much. But make the wrong choice when it comes to your finances, your health, or work, and you could end up sicker, poorer, or without a job. NOREENA has been a guest on this show on her earlier books. But they were both about global economics. Her new book, Eyes Wide Open is sub-titled How to Make Smart Decisions in a Confusing World, and you can bet I'm going to ask Noreena how she decided on such a departure. In any case, I think this is a welcome subject as we face the choices of a new year, and I hope you'll decide to tune in.

Aired: 12/29/13 My guest this week is RICK HANSON, neuropsychologist, and author of the best-seller BUDDHA'S BRAIN. We're going to talk about his latest book, HARDWIRING HAPPINESS, where he brings together mindfulness and neuroscience and offers pro-active practices to actually shift the brain's neural structure - the hardwiring - toward calm, contentment, and confidence. This time of year can be challenging for people. Holidays bring us in contact with family, which for many carries a charge. We're all asked to be more social than usual. We need a story to tell. And it feels natural to take stock and self assess at the end and beginning of a calendar year. We can be hard on ourselves. Rick Hanson and I are going to talk about how you can use new lessons science is learning about the brain to overcome it's -- so far evolutionarily successful -- negativity bias - the brain's tendency to hardwire negative and threatening experiences more easily, more quickly than positive ones. It's important that you avoid