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
Mar 27, 2024 • 16min
Remembering Frans de Waal
In this special episode of Clear and Vivid we reflect on Frans’ life-long commitment to revealing how much we humans have in common with our primate cousins.
Mar 26, 2024 • 40min
Justice Stephen Breyer: Understanding What They Meant
When interpreting the Constitution, the dangers of relying solely on the words and what they meant at the time, without taking into account the purpose and values expressed in those words.
17 snips
Mar 19, 2024 • 40min
Shohini Ghose: Women’s Time and Space
Exploring the invisibility of women in science, the challenges faced by female physicists, historic contributions of women in physics, navigating the marriage-science dichotomy, promoting gender equality in science, and the passion for science communication.
Mar 12, 2024 • 42min
Tali Sharot: Take Another Look
Explore the effects of habituation on joy, motivation, and belief systems. Learn how to rediscover joy in relationships through novelty. Reflect on the dangers of incremental changes leading to major atrocities in history. Discover the impact of 'Nudge' and the power of collaborative work. Dive into the intricacies of perception and the pursuit of exploration.
Mar 5, 2024 • 39min
Keith Houston: There’s More to Writing Than Words.
Discover the intriguing history of punctuation marks, from their creation by librarian Aristophanes to the introduction of lesser-known symbols like pilcrows, octothorps, and interrobangs. Explore the evolution of writing practices, the origin of the interrobang symbol, ancient counting systems, and the transformative impact of books on human nature.
Feb 27, 2024 • 40min
Terry Greiss: Acting to Connect
The Irondale Ensemble Project, a theater company rooted in improvisation, created a program to help police and community build trust and mutual understanding through theater games.
Feb 20, 2024 • 41min
Robert Sapolsky: You Have No Choice
Neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky challenges the notion of free will, exploring how decisions are influenced by unconscious processes and societal factors. The podcast delves into the morality of punishment, determinism's impact on change, and Sapolsky's passion for teaching and human interactions.
Feb 13, 2024 • 39min
Tom Hanks: Making a Book About Making a Movie
Tom Hanks, an actor and producer, discusses his novel about making movies, sharing the challenges and excitement of working on a film set, the importance of problem-solving skills, real-life anecdotes, the need for balance in acting, and the significance of understanding and empathy in reading novels.
Feb 6, 2024 • 42min
Paul Bloom: Can AI be Moral?
Why can’t AI bots be made to be good, to be moral, so they’ll help us and not do harmful or terrible things? But just whose moral values would we want them to have? And what if they become too moral?
28 snips
Jan 30, 2024 • 40min
Eric Schmidt: AI: The Good, the Bad and the Scary.
Former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, discusses the risks and benefits of AI, including its ability to create fake people for influence campaigns. He emphasizes the need for responsible governance and regulation of AI technologies and explores the manipulation of social media and AI in the political process. Schmidt also highlights the resilience of humans and the importance of reading.
