Writer, journalist, and academic Ellen Ruppel Shell discusses why baby eels are worth $2,500 a pound, how we can disrupt the baby eel black market, and what we're really eating when we order unagi at a Japanese restaurant. Ellen's new book is Slippery Beast: A True Crime Natural History, with Eels.
University of Sydney professor Peter Godfrey-Smith, author of the bestselling Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, discusses how life on Earth has changed our planet, whether there might be life on other planets, and what the future of humanity could look like. Professor Godfrey-Smith's new book is Living on Earth: Forests, Corals, Consciousness, and the Making of the World.
Yale professor Ebony Reed, a seasoned journalist who is also the Chief Strategy Officer at the Marshall Project, a news outlet focused on the justice system, discusses the intersection of race and money, how the current Black/white wealth gap compares to the gap after the Civil War, and how we should talk to our kids about wealth. Ebony’s new book, co-authored with Louise Story, is Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap.
Luke Raley, outfielder and first baseman for the Seattle Mariners, discusses how he manages stress when he walks up to the plate, how he stays grounded in reality as a major league baseball player, and what advice he has for young people who want to become professional athletes.
Daniela Rus, Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT, discusses how smart robots actually are, what the differences are between robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, and why Iron Man is her favorite superhero. Dr. Rus' new book is The Heart and the Chip: Our Bright Future with Robots.
Adam Gopnik, staff writer at The New Yorker, discusses how to overcome our anxiety about trying new things, how to redirect our kids away from having too much screen time, and what ultimately gives us the most happiness in life. Adam's latest book is All That Happiness Is: Some Words on What Matters.
R. Derek Black (they/them), a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Chicago whose father was a former Grand Wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and started Stormfront, the Internet's first white supremacist website, discusses how it felt to be the heir apparent to a white nationalist movement, how they interacted with family after renouncing white nationalism, and how we can come together as a country. Derek’s new book is The Klansman’s Son: My Journey from White Nationalism to Antiracism.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, New York Times bestselling author and Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University, discusses whether you can be a fan of consumer sports like the NFL and still criticize them, how we can disrupt America's systemic racism, unchecked capitalism, and mass incarceration, and why it's important to value and respect the leadership of our youth. Nana's latest book is Chain Gang All Stars.
Communication, collaboration, and conflict management expert Elaine Lin Hering discusses how to create a sense of safety in the workplace or at home so that people will feel comfortable speaking up, how much conflict is healthy in an organization or a family, and how to teach our children when to speak up. Elaine's new book is Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully.
Novelist, screenwriter, and Russian translator Katya Apekina discusses what to say to our kids about the Russia-Ukraine war, what it's like trying to raise a bilingual, bicultural child, and what it feels like to leave your family behind and move to a new country. Katya's new novel is Mother Doll.
Burnout management coach and TikTok star Emily Ballesteros discusses what burnout does to us, what the impacts are of not having a "third place," and how hard we really need to work. Emily's new book is The Cure for Burnout: How to Find Balance and Reclaim Your Life.
Iconic Washington winegrower Dick Boushey discusses how the Washington wine industry has changed over the years, what advice he would give to people who want to get into the winegrowing business, and what he's looking forward to at this year's Taste Washington March 16th and 17th at Seattle's Lumen Field Event Center. Info at TasteWashington.org
Jamie Peha, Executive Director of the Auction of Washington Wines and the Host and Editor-in-Chief of Table Talk Northwest, discusses how she navigated her unique career path, how we can help our kids appreciate fine wine and good food, and how Jamie sees Washington wine evolving. The 8th Private Barrel Auction takes place on March 15th at The Winemakers Reserve in Woodinville. Info at auctionofwawines.org
Award-winning journalist Prachi Gupta discusses what to do when family members become estranged, what it's like being labeled as a model minority, and what it would take for everyone in the United States to feel seen and valued for who they really are. Prachi's debut memoir is They Called Us Exceptional and Other Lies That Raised Us. She will speak at Seattle University's Pigott Auditorium on February 20.
National Public Radio Science Correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce discusses what we can say to our kids to soothe their fears, what it's like being a national science correspondent for NPR, and what Nell's primary role is as a parent. Her new book is Transient and Strange: Notes on the Science of Life.
Kliph Nesteroff, who has been called the “premier popular historian of comedy,” by The New York Times, discusses how cultural taboos have changed over time, whether the political right is better organized than the left, and when free speech should be limited. Kliph's new book is Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars.
Adam Nicolson, author of many books on history, landscape, and great literature, discusses how the pushback that the Greek philosophers endured in their time compares with today's red states versus blue states, slavery's role in how the Greek philosophers were able to make a living, and how we can make philosophy relevant to our kids, given their reality. Adam's new book is How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks.
David Brooks, one of the nation’s leading writers and commentators who is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times and appears regularly on PBS NewsHour and Meet the Press, discusses how we can get over our fear of connecting with others, how we can help our kids see others deeply and feel seen themselves, and how we can apply his principles to geopolitics. David's new book is How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen.
Dan Ariely, bestselling author of Predictably Irrational and a Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University, discusses how stress and ostracism lead to misbelief, what we can do as individuals to bring our country back together, and how big of a national problem misbelief actually is. Dan's new book is Misbelief: What Makes Rational People Believe Irrational Things.
Amy Schneider, a 40-game Jeopardy! champion - the most successful woman ever to compete on Jeopardy! and the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions, discusses how her ADHD became a Jeopardy! superpower, how she discovered her gender identity, and how good she is at bar trivia. Amy’s new book is In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life. Follow Amy on Instagram and Twitter @Jeopardamy