Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

A look ahead at the people we have in the new seasons of both C+V and SC+V, starting next week. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Walter Isaacson’s latest exploration of the lives of creative geniuses focuses on Jennifer Doudna, the co-inventor of the revolutionary gene editing tool CRISPR. Alan explores with Isaacson his fascination with people who have changed the world, from Leonardo to Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a moving and frank conversation – punctuated by laughter – Alan talks with Rabbi Steve Leder about the unavoidable subject, which people usually avoid — only adding to their loss. Their talk is inspired by Rabbi Leder’s new book, The Beauty of What Remains: How Our Greatest Fear Becomes Our Greatest Gift. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wonderful Laura Linney really knows how to relate, on stage and off. The way actors have to be present for one another can be a good model for how we relate in life, too. But it’s not always easy. Like, what do you do when the other actor doesn't relate back? Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Something is pushing the Universe apart. We don’t know what it is, but Michael Turner named it: Dark Energy. This cosmologist’s way with words helped raised the public profile of what Michael calls the greatest question in all of science.  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian May, famed guitarist and founder of the rock group Queen, is also Dr. Brian May, astrophysicist. His research on the dust that swirls around the solar system and his fascination with 3-D imaging has led to his working with NASA on projects ranging from tracking asteroids to the Perseverance mission on Mars. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In her new book, The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir, Sherry Turkle movingly—and candidly—weaves together events in her own life with her dawning understanding of the way technology can weaken human connections. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Bryson loves finding out about stuff – like how much the earth weighs and why you have a spleen – then letting the rest of us know what he’s learned in books that are delightfully clear and vivid – and funny. In conversation with Alan, he tells why and how he does it. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A searing experience with an apparently uncaring doctor when she was young helped make Dr. Jillian Horton a passionate advocate for a radical rethinking of how doctors are trained. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Journalist John Colapinto blew out his voice singing too loud and too long in a rock band. The good news is that it inspired him to find out what happened – and that led to a terrific book about that remarkable instrument, the human voice. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.