Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. It's something we need now more than ever.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 18, 2023 • 42min
Valerie Fridland: English evolves, like it or not
Annoyed by all those likes and so’s and you knows, not mention ahs and ums? In her delightfully titled book Like, Literally, Dude, Valerie Fridland argues that we should stop grumping about language tics and recognize that they are inevitable – and actually useful.
Apr 11, 2023 • 40min
Dava Sobel: The Women Who Brought the Stars to Earth
Starting in the late 19th century, a group of women at the Harvard Observatory pored over hundreds of thousands of glass photographic plates bearing images of billions of stars. It was the beginning of a revolution in understanding what stars are made of and how far away they are.
Apr 4, 2023 • 43min
Judd Apatow: Funny, With a Side of Feeling
For decades now, he’s been building a comedy empire as writer, director and producer of a string of movies and TV series. Judd Apatow explores his early experiences soaking up the comedy writing of others and how he came to understand that the richest kind of humor is personal.
5 snips
Mar 28, 2023 • 42min
Kieran Setiya: Facing up to Life
Life is hard. But drawing on the insights of philosophers ancient and modern, Keiran Setiya has written a witty and hope-filled book chronicling his own realization that, even with chronic pain, while his life may not be perfect, it can still be richly rewarding.
Mar 21, 2023 • 42min
Nita Farahany: The Battle For Your Brain
Her new book takes a deep dive into neurotechnology – the ability to read and record your brain waves. While there are many potential benefits – Nita herself uses a simple device to help control her migraines – she is alarmed at the prospect of others, be they employers or governments, being able to peer into your mind.
Mar 14, 2023 • 42min
Liev Schreiber: The Ukrainian Connection
Inspired by his Ukrainian grandfather, Liev has launched a campaign to fund humanitarian relief for the people of Ukraine. His several trips there included a meeting with a fellow actor, now president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mar 7, 2023 • 44min
Alan chats with the bots
Mike Farrell makes a guest appearance to perform with Alan the first new MASH scene in 40 years – a scene written by a chatbot. Most of Alan’s other guests are themselves chatbots, including one that falsely claims to be a person and another that insults him horribly when Alan seeks advice.
10 snips
Feb 28, 2023 • 42min
Kevin Kelly: Help Wanted – AI Whisperers
Alan is a little obsessed with chatbots, and he’s become only too aware that these products of artificial intelligence can become seriously – even dangerously – stupid. What’s urgently needed, argues tech guru Kevin Kelly, are people with a particular talent – the ability to coax chatbots into being useful – AI whisperers.
Feb 21, 2023 • 41min
Sy Montgomery: For the love of hawks… and turtles
Her almost uncanny ability to connect with creatures from rhinos to octopuses led her to a love affair with one of the planet's swiftest and fiercest predators. Meanwhile Sy Montgomery has been in a nurturing relationship with a collection of creatures who are the hawks’ polar opposites – turtles.
Feb 14, 2023 • 37min
Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda - Season 20 trailer
Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd chat about and play excerpts from Alan's conversations with some of the guests in the new season, beginning next week. Guests include naturalist Sy Montgomery; comedian Judd Apatow; and founding executive editor of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly.
