Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

An in-depth preview of the upcoming eleventh season of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They did their military service, not in Vietnam, but in the world's largest research hospital – and over the years their work has saved millions of lives. You’ve probably never heard this story, even though someday yours may be a life that is saved by the Soldiers of Science. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We not only need to sleep, we need to dream, too. Robert Stickgold explains why we must go to the movies every night when we sleep – it’s to make sense of our waking world. And it’s all in his book When Brains Dream. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we see a magic trick, is the magician fooling us, or are we fooling ourselves? Penn Jillette, the talking half of the magic team Penn and Teller, tells Alan how tricks are a test of how we process reality. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently nominated as the first presidential science advisor with a seat in the cabinet, Eric Lander talks with Alan about his leading role of the Human Genome Project and how the insights it’s revealed into diseases as different as Covid-19 and cancer are leading to treatments, and even cures, that he never imagined possible. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A passionate astronomer and a vivid writer, Emily Levesque describes a life of watching what’s out there in the universe so vividly, you may want to run out and get a telescope. Her new book is The Last Stargazers. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First impressions are supposed to tell us a lot, and they often do. Problem is, as Malcolm Gladwell explains in his latest book Talking to Strangers, sometimes what they tell us is wrong – dangerously wrong. Even deadly. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They walk among us. Some percentage of the genes of many modern humans have been handed down to us from Neanderthals. Alan, who has about 2% of those genes, is more than a little excited to hear from expert Rebecca Wragg Sykes how Neanderthals looked, lived and loved. Her new book is Kindred. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The British actor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, started his career later in life and is glad he did. He didn’t try to portray human experience until he actually had some. It’s led to useful wisdom, both on the stage and off. Fans of Masterpiece Theatre will recognize him as the co-star of the crime drama Unforgotten. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Propelled by events in her own life, Reisa Sperling is working hard to defeat this disease that cruelly destroys brains and crushes families. As we live longer lives, more of us are in danger of contracting Alzheimer’s. But Reisa’s work is exciting. And so are the signs that we’re making progress. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.