Tech journalist and commentator Andy Ihnatko discusses the influence of technology on society, including AI, privacy, data usage, regulations, market power of tech giants, impact on brain development, and the Digital Divide. The importance of deep interest and care for fellow humans is emphasized.

In troubling times, the voice of articulate optimists can lift the spirit and light a way forward. To this end, we met with feminist, movie maker, artist, thinker and founder of the Webby Awards, Tiffany Shlain. As one who made her own documentary film, "The Tribe," on Barbie and Jewish Identity 18 years ago, we began with her reflections on the recently released Barbie movie. We transitioned into several of her creative projects, including Dendrofemonology, a Feminist History Tree Ring that recounts the "herstory" of women who initially enjoyed 10,000 years of power and goddess culture. The intersectionality of her activism seeks rights for all humans because, in the end, Shlain believes in humans and in our ability to find the good in an ever-changing world. Shlain recommends navigating this unfamiliar territory with science, collaboration and grace. Technology is an extension of us, and while it can be used for ill, its powers for good emerge from pushing past our fear and engaging with it. The Webby Awards highlight this positive dimension. Her inspiration comes from ideas that stand the test of time — like a day of rest. Already we find that kids are smarter, and discovering new ways to become themselves. Her next project on neurology will debunk many common metaphors about teenagers, who she sees as "emotionally brilliant." We reassert that children are our legacy. In closing, we remember her father, Leonard Shlain, who encouraged us to think big and be present. Join us.

When we think of reconnecting to ourselves and to our society, the answers may lie in the simplest of things. To that end, we met with food revolutionary and founder of Chez Panisse - Alice Waters, to return to our roots. At the start of her journey, Waters embarked on an improbable quest to reconnect us to ourselves through delicious food and the organic and regenerative husbandry of the earth. Moving from her kitchen table, to the restaurant, to prison gardens, to gardens for the homeless and on to a national network of Edible Schoolyards, Waters found nourishment for our bodies, our spirit, our society and our planet. Listen in to hear how "we are what we eat" might make us the best we can be. Join us.

The migration to eCommerce took a massive leap forward during the COVID pandemic. Few benefited as much as Amazon and Walmart. To get a handle on this phenomenon, we met with Jason Del Rey who chronicled the rise, challenges and impact of these two behemoths on global retail. Drawing from the reporting for his recent book, Winner Sells All: Amazon, Walmart and the Battle for our Wallets, Jason Del Rey is uniquely qualified to comment. Walmart is doing about as well online as Amazon is doing in brick and mortar retail, but these two titans are in pitched, existential competition. On the one hand, the consumer gets greater choice at lower prices. On the other, mom and pops across the country have shuttered and both giants get low marks for their labor practices. How did they get here? What are their struggles and opportunities? What are the implications for us all? Join us.

At the time of our recording, Trump had just received his third indictment for his role in the January 6th insurrection. To give us some greater perspective on the state of politics in our fragile democracy, we turned to Stanford political science professor Bruce Cain who is one of our nation's great political analysts. Cain reflected on Trump's many self-made challenges, the options before the Republican and Democratic parties, the relevance of polling, the vulnerabilities of our democratic system, and ideas to help us get our system of governance back on track. On top of all that impedes our politics, reacting to changes in the climate heightens our need for timely action. We are in a perfect storm. And yet, there is hope. Cain's latest book reflects on how we will likely find ways to decarbonize in the long run, even if we don't move fast enough to avoid the inevitable disruption that climate change will bring in the short run. Cain argues that deniers change their tune when they experience extreme weather effects first hand. He adds that, "...ultimately it is a cultural thing." Our education, our religions and our journalism will be where we find ways to combat the forces that manipulate us. We'll have to find our way back to political compromise, for that is how James Madison envisioned our system must function. Join us.

We met with business magnate and patriotic philanthropist, David Rubenstein, to discuss his new PBS series - Iconic America. This entertaining and informative eight-part series is an exploration of our glorious and inglorious history as symbolized by eight key American icons. For students of history, our conversation illuminates some of the key stories revealed in the series, as well as some of their backstories and a little inside baseball. For fans of David Rubenstein himself, our conversation dipped into his origins, his motivations, his successes and his aspirations. Rubenstein is a believer and a beneficiary of the "American Dream," and his philanthropy supports this country's further perfection of the dream. Convinced that we ignored George Santayana's advice and are making some of the same mistakes of our past, Iconic America is an enticing invitation to dig deeper and learn more. Join us.

We met with social psychologist and business school professor Brian Lowery to explore the foundations of the self - nothing short of what makes us who we are. Lowery argues that our social communities construct us, but that there isn’t a single "genuine self." Rather, we are the composite of all the masks we wear. This paradox reveals a deep tension between the structure we seek because we like to think the world is stable and coherent, and the complete freedom of becoming our more expansive selves through broader relationships. Lowery challenges Maslow to say that meaning is a fundamental human need as critical as basic safety. We want to be seen, and we want to have what is reflected back by others match how we see ourselves. When we talk about the self, are we talking about the physical self of cells, hormones and DNA, or are we actually talking about the meaning attached to those things? If the latter, those exist in our social relationships. Prepare to question your assumptions. Join us.

We met with columnist, journalist, editor and author Pamela Paul for a conversation about her life of words. We spoke of her career at the New York Times, and surveyed the topics of her columns and eight books. At the outset, it seemed that our conversation would focus on writing. Paul has written extensively on numerous thought-provoking and controversial topics, and she is equally eloquent speaking extemporaneously, especially on consumer culture or on a topic from a recent column or a book she happens to be reading. As we delved into her book "How to Raise a Reader," the questions from our audience began to flow in. By the end, we found ourselves in a deep reflection on the writer's creative counterpart - the reader. The hour flew by, and left us with a renewed inspiration to pick up a book. Join us.

We met with photographer and podcaster Frederick Van Johnson to learn about the latest developments in photography and philosophize with him about the outsized role it plays in our evolving world. Van Johnson contends that photos like Jeff Widener's 1989 shot of Tank Man in Tiananmen Square have always had the power to communicate immense meaning in the glance of an eye. A photo can tell a story and can change minds. Advancements in photography are expanding access to the stories that need to be told. And yet, a photo is half the capture of the image, and half the "performance" of modifying the image to tell the stories that want to be seen and heard. Can we assume that any photo today reflects the "truth?" No. But this science fiction future need not be doom and gloom if we are solving for humans and trying to make the world better for humans. AI and technology advancement is not a zero sum game. It is always changing and growing, as are we. The key is to see where things are going and press forward smartly to take advantage of the bigger "wrenches" that are now within reach. We can do more with less, and live more meaningful, human lives. Join us.

We met with psychiatrist, professor emeritus and best selling author, Peter Kramer, to explore depression, antidepressants and his fiction and non-fiction body of work. His most recent novel is Death of the Great Man, a political who-done-it satire about the improbable clinical relationship between a narcissistic despot and his psychotherapist. Our conversation covered equal parts general psychiatry and book discussion. His clinical work has served and shaped Kramer's work as a novelist. As Jennifer Egan described in an earlier Grey Matter episode, Kramer sees literature as a unique vehicle for putting ourselves into other peoples' shoes. This is similar to the task of the psychotherapist, who seeks to assist patients by getting into their minds to spur them to self-examination. Spoiler alert - The Great Man is fashioned after Donald Trump. Among the many dimensions of the book, it wants us to think about standing behind and accepting someone who uses lying as a prime political technique. Other themes are selfishness versus selflessness, intimacy versus autonomy, death, truth, and the perils of giving way to despotism over the long term. Woven throughout the conversation is commentary on the efficacy of antidepressants and their impact on personality, depression as a multi-system disease, "retirement" when still working, psychiatrists giving advice, self-assessment, non-attachment, the Media's portrayal of mental health, psychiatric diagnoses using bots, the fluidity of diagnoses, Freud, sidelining intellectuals, and the difficulty of "out-trumping" Trump. Join us.