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

Thank you for visiting the Talk Cocktail Podcast. Stay up to date on all of our latest podcasts by subscribing directly to our new Substack...

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, ...

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Power Play: How Just 12 People Control America’s Economic Destiny: A conversation with John Coates

In this WhoWhatWhy podcast, I talk with Harvard Law Professor John Coates who discusses his new book, "The Problem of Twelve ," wh...

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Living History: A Conversation with Drew Gilpin Faust on the Pivotal Moments That Shaped Her and All of Us

As we mark the 60th Annerversay of the March on Washington, it takes us back to the issues of mid-century America. So it's only appropr...

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Can Boomers Ever Age Out Gracefully? A Conversation with Dr. Rosanne Leipzig

In the 1960s, baby boomers captured the world's attention with their youthful zeal, setting the cultural tone for fifty years. Today, as...

What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life: A Conversation with Sally Jenkins

Today we idolize those who excel in nearly every sport, viewing them as heroes and role models, and they are among the highest earners in ou...

What We Imagine "Out There" Reflects How We See Each Other

It appears we're not alone. No one enjoys solitude, and based on yesterday's testimony, we seem to have company in the cosmos. Scien...

Monday, July 24, 2023

Why the Fentanyl Crisis Calls for a New War On Drugs

In the latest WhoWhatWhy podcast, I talk with award-winning author Sam Quinones about the growing crisis of fentanyl in America, arguing it...

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Oppenheimer is Not The First Movie About the Deveopment of the Atom Bomb...The First One Was a Bomb

Exactly 78 years ago this week, the first atomic bomb test took place in Alamogordo, New Mexico. A scene so profound it was likened to witn...

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

How Women Changed Journalism: A conversation with Brooke Kroeger

Today, every major news network is steered by women; Fox, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, not to mention leading papers like The Washington Post,...

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

AI May Tell Us More About the Cosmos Than Telescopes: A Conversation with Andrew Pontzen

Unleashing the power of AI and supercomputers, we're on the brink of a cosmic revelation. The creation of galaxies in code, a feat akin ...

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

How the Memory of the ’60s Civil Rights Era Is Being Co-Opted

Our celebration of Juneteenth is a direct result of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. The battles led by Martin Luther King Jr. and m...

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Space: It’s Not Just for Governments Anymore: A conversation with Ashley Vance

The recent congressional budget battles have underscored the scarcity of public funds for space, science, and technology. This has paved the...

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Flying Green, Climate Justice, and Higher Prices

One of the great ironies of the world today is that while the problems we face, particularly with respect to climate, must, if they’re ever ...

Friday, May 12, 2023

The Era of Social Media Journalism Is Over: A Conversation with Ben Smith

In the early 2000s, a significant media-business mistake emerged: the belief that website traffic is a commodity like oil, which would gener...

A Conversation with Hernan Diaz about his Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel "Trust"

Hernan Diaz was just awarded the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for his novel, "Trust." Last year, I had the opportunity to talk with Diaz a...

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Are We Creating the Species That Will Replace Us?

As we hurtle towards a future increasingly intertwined with artificial intelligence (AI), what does this mean for society, for jobs, and for...

Thursday, April 27, 2023

The Value of Killing Time: A Conversation with Sheila Liming

Struggling to find time for various tasks, our multi-colored Google calendars signify the complexity of the 21st century. The TV show Friend...

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Myth, Religion, Fascism… The Recipe for Right-Wing Politics: My conversation with Jeff Sharlet

My WhoWhatWhy conversation with Jeff Sharlet about “ The Undertow. ” He explores the complex relationship between religion, religious natio...

Cyber Weapons and a New Arms Race… Without Firing a Shot: A Conversation with Nicole Perlroth

As software takes over our lives — from hospitals to schools and even our national infrastructure — we’re facing an explosive wave of cybera...

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About

Jeff Schechtman: Napa, California, United States; I grew up during the Kennedy Presidency. It was a time when the best and the brightest sat center stage in the nation's psyche. I've always remembered the story, that at an arts gala at the White House, Kennedy looked around the room and proclaimed it "the greatest gathering of talent since Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Without the benefit of such trappings, I've had the opportunity, for the past nineteen years, to have a seat at an international banquet of ideas and history. My radio program provided me a unique opportunity to "travel" around the world and speak to thousands of the most imaginative thinkers and leaders in the arenas of politics, religion, journalism, business, popular culture, academics, science, economics, history, and medicine. During these years, I have taken many people with me on this journey. It has been a momentous time. The trauma of politics, the onslaught of technology, the insights of science, and the changes in the human condition make this a period almost unequaled in history. I'm excited that technology has now made it possible for me to take more of you along with me on this journey.

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