Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

As the James Webb Space Telescope starts peering out into space this summer, mother and daughter astronomers Natalie and Natasha Batalha will each have major roles in the search for signs of life on planets beyond the solar system.

In a widely praised new book, The Quiet Before, Gal Beckerman paints vivid pictures of how throughout history, radical change has only come about through quiet preparation.

A successful playwright with plenty to smile about – a new play opening on Broadway and the birth of twins – suddenly lost her ability to smile. Her struggle to regain it is the subject of her new book, a story that – perhaps surprisingly – will give you plenty to smile about.

His descriptions of living in space make you feel you’re on the ship with him. His performance of the David Bowie song Space Oddity in a video he beamed down to earth was a worldwide hit. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is a veteran of three space missions, including as commander of the International Space Station. He takes us with him.

His poems are loved by millions. Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003, Billy Collins achieves both depth and accessibility in the same moment. His words often surprise us because they have a way of surprising him.

The author of the wonderful memoir Lab Girl turns her turns her ability to be both clear and vivid to providing a path forward for a new generation tackling the climate crisis.

After making the astonishing discovery that what he and his fellow cosmologists thought they knew about the universe was wrong, Saul Perlmutter began a course at his university explaining why catching mistakes is at the heart of science. It’s also a lesson in life for the rest of us.

The multitalented singer, actor, songwriter, author tells Alan how her childhood in Hawaii shaped not only her career but also now moves her to bring nature back to the city of New York.

While filling out an on-line dating app – listing his traits and those of an ideal partner – neuroscientist David Linden began to wonder what makes each of us unique. Why is even each person in a pair of identical twins unique? The answer, he tells Alan, is far richer and more interesting than the old false division of "nature versus nurture".

Putting herself as she says, “inside the tech worlds to come,” reporter Kashmir Hill explores how the technology that’s making our lives easier is also eroding our privacy. Her experiences are both amusing and downright scary.