Jeff Schechtman's "Talk Cocktail"
"To discover to the world something which deeply concerns it, and of which it was previously ignorant; to prove to it that it had been mistaken on some vital point of temporal or spiritual interest, is as important a service as a human being can render to his fellow creatures..." John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Monday, September 18, 2023
When the Game Was War: The 1987-88 NBA Season: A Conversation with Rich Cohn
Teams and athletes often define more than games; they encapsulate eras and collective memories. While some teams symbolize a specific year, like the 1998 Yankees, others represent an entire era, such as the Celtics from 1960 to 1966. Rarely, individual athletes like Tiger Woods in 2000 become the face of a time period. Even rarer is a year that defines an entire league, and for the modern NBA, that was the 1987-1988 season. It was a pinnacle year featuring iconic battles and drama with legends like Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Today, we're joined by Rich Cohen, a New York Times bestselling author and columnist, to discuss his latest book, "When the Game was War," which delves into this unforgettable NBA season.
My conversation with Rich Cohn:
To access my conversation with John Coates, please go to our new Substack page By doing so, you'll receive them directly in your email and ensure that you don't miss anything during our transition to Substack.
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Power Play: How Just 12 People Control America’s Economic Destiny: A conversation with John Coates
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Living History: A Conversation with Drew Gilpin Faust on the Pivotal Moments That Shaped Her and All of Us
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Can Boomers Ever Age Out Gracefully? A Conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig
My conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig:
What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life: A Conversation with Sally Jenkins
Undeniably, these individuals bring innate talents to their respective sports. However, these talents alone are insufficient. Their success hinges on what they do with their abilities—the discipline, practice, conditioning, resilience, and dedication to their sport.
The question we face today is what we can learn from their success. In all aspects of our lives, some, if not all, of the skills exhibited by these athletes are crucial. How we utilize our talents, how we 'come to play' every day, as the saying goes, can make the difference between success and failure in life.
The narratives we construct internally are what distinguish greatness from mediocrity.
These are some of the topics discussed by the great Sally Jenkins, in this podcast and in her new book, "THE RIGHT CALL
What We Imagine "Out There" Reflects How We See Each Other
Science fiction has certainly presented us with a myriad of interpretations of what might exist beyond our planet. However, the individual manner in which we conceptualize the possibility of extraterrestrial life becomes a sort of Rorschach test—reflecting our worldviews, our notions of life, and our innate longing to connect with something larger than ourselves, even on an intergalactic level.
This flight of imagination is a significant element of what my guest, Jamie Green, discusses in her book, The Possibility of Life. In it, she delves into our evolving understanding of the cosmos and underscores our need to pose an even deeper question: What does it mean to be human?
Monday, July 24, 2023
Why the Fentanyl Crisis Calls for a New War On Drugs
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Oppenheimer is Not The First Movie About the Deveopment of the Atom Bomb...The First One Was a Bomb
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
How Women Changed Journalism: A conversation with Brooke Kroeger
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
AI May Tell Us More About the Cosmos Than Telescopes: A Conversation with Andrew Pontzen
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
How the Memory of the ’60s Civil Rights Era Is Being Co-Opted
Hajar is an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Southern California, and she has critically examined how various movements, including those on the far right, have appropriated the symbols and rhetoric of the civil rights era to advance their cause. She examines this in her new book The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
Space: It’s Not Just for Governments Anymore: A conversation with Ashley Vance
Thursday, May 18, 2023
Flying Green, Climate Justice, and Higher Prices
And yet, the airline industry has committed to at least making the effort towards zero emissions by 2050. Like so much of what must save us from the ravages of climate change, technology lies at the heart of the solution. Along with it, the forces of the market, of innovators, investors, entrepreneurs, and scientists, must move with the same vision that the Wright brothers took to create the idea of flying itself.
Telling this modern story is renowned British journalist Christopher de Bellaigue, a historian, and journalist, known for his reporting and books on the Middle East and environmental and ethical issues. His latest is Flying Green: On The Frontiers of a New Aviation.
Friday, May 12, 2023
The Era of Social Media Journalism Is Over: A Conversation with Ben Smith
In this podcast, Ben Smith, former founding editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed, former media columnist for The New York Times, and author of Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion Dollar Race to Go Viral, discusses the rise and fall of new media like Gawker and BuzzFeed, the impact and consequences of megaplatforms like Facebook and Twitter, and the shifting landscape of contemporary journalism.
Smith examines the fluctuating trust in legacy news brands and the growing power of individual voices over faceless institutions, drawing parallels to developments in Hollywood, sports, and politics. Smith highlights the recent decline in both social media’s influence, and as a destination for news and information, and how this has led to more readers visiting homepages directly. He also emphasizes that conservative media outlets appear to have derived the most valuable insights from the social media era, adapting their strategies to thrive in the changing landscape.
Looking ahead, Smith suggests that journalism must help beleaguered consumers navigate the vast information landscape by providing context and a clear voice. He speculates that this may involve a return to some of the principles of print journalism — concision and an editorial perspective — while adapting to the digital era’s demands.
A Conversation with Hernan Diaz about his Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel "Trust"
Last year, I had the opportunity to talk with Diaz about the book, his perspective on the Gilded Age, the persistent myths surrounding wealth, and the impact of these narratives on society as a whole. We also explored how the affluent can essentially "buy" their own reality amidst the enigmatic allure of money. Diaz's novel TRUST couldn't be more relevant to our current times. .
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Are We Creating the Species That Will Replace Us?

At a time when AI is reshaping our reality and pushing the boundaries of what was once considered mere science fiction, this technological revolution demands our attention. On thisWhoWhatWhy podcast, I delve deep into the realm of AI and its potential impact on humanity with Matthew Hutson, a contributing writer at The New Yorker. Hutson’s work, featured in publications such as Science, Nature, Wired, and The Atlantic, reflects his background in cognitive neuroscience, and his emphasis on AI and creativity. His article “Can We Stop Runaway AI” appears in the current issue of The New Yorker.
At the heart of our conversation lies the concept of the technological singularity — a moment when AI surpasses human intelligence. Hutson details the role of machine- learning algorithms in AI’s remarkable progress, highlighting its capacity to continuously learn and improve. We also explore the growing trend of using AI to enhance AI itself, uncovering the implications and potential risks inherent in this self-improvement process.
Thursday, April 27, 2023
The Value of Killing Time: A Conversation with Sheila Liming
This era allowed for unstructured, agenda-free time spent with friends, which now seems like a quaint memory. Nowadays, we hang out less frequently and with fewer friends, often while multitasking or participating in structured activities.
The once-common late-night dorm room hangouts have become nostalgic. Are we losing something valuable by giving up this unstructured time? Sheila Liming explores the potential disconnect between socializing and our ever-growing to-do lists in Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time.
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Cyber Weapons and a New Arms Race… Without Firing a Shot: A Conversation with Nicole Perlroth
The US — a hacker’s favorite playground — is a ticking time bomb, with 80 percent of its crucial systems tied to the internet and in private hands, with ZERO government control.
Join me in my WhoWhatWhy podcast for a conversation with New York Times cybersecurity reporter Nicole Perlroth. We are diving deep into her book This is How They Tell Me The World Ends, freshly updated with new revelations.