A kid with a dream - Jerry Weintraub R.I.P.

Jerry Weintraub spent more than five decades in show business. As a promoter, manager, movie and Broadway producer, his success was unparalleled and his judgement uncanny.

With great success, show business autobiographies often come with their need to tell others how to succeed. Jerry Weintraub, in his autobiography, When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man, told us of the people that have taught him. If ever there were a primer on networking, the power of mentors and chutzpa, Jerry Weintraub wrote it.




I had the opportunity to talk to him about his autobiography,  and his career, back in April of 2010.

My conversation with Jerry Weintraub:

A Singular Woman

In yesterdays NY Times, David Brooks had an insightful column about how individuals matter. He reminded us that while we have a tendency to see history as driven by deep historical forces,  sometimes it is just driven by completely inexplicable individuals, who combine qualities you would think could never go together. In some ways we could make this case about Barack Obama, but perhaps more importantly we can make it about his mother, Ann Dunham.  A woman truly ahead of her time. She defined and defied the boundaries of single motherhood and she made her own decisions. She had great success, yet no plan. She made lists of what she wanted to accomplish, yet seemed to improvise every step of  her life. She had her own ideas of what it meant to be a good mother and it certainly gave her a good son.  She was in the title of Janny Scott's brilliant new biography of her, A Singular Woman.

My conversation with for New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Janny Scott:

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Physics of the Future

Most of us remember growing up and hearing about a world of flying cars, domed living, wrist radios and robots that would take care of our every need. Whether it was the sleek world of the Jetsons, the dark world of Brazil or Bladerunner or the sci fi paranoia of the cold war, we have always been fascinated by what the future might look like. That future may not be here in its entirety, yet, the technology of today may indeed lead to the brave new world of tomorrow. Certainly we’d like to think that technology can give us more than social networking and computerized medical records. World renowned professor of theoretical physics Michio Kaku, uses the cutting edge of science and technology to paint a picture of exactly what he thinks our future, or at least our grand kids future will look like.   Kaku's Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100  is  Future Shock meets Star Trek

My conversation with Michio Kaku:

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A Visit From the Goon Squad

The way that music short circuits time and makes yesterday's events, todays reality; the state of the music business today and pushing the boundaries of the literary from, are all part of  A Visit from the Goon Squad. Jennifer Egan's fascinating novel, that's this years winner of the National Book Critics Circle award for Fiction.

My conversation with Jennifer Egan:

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Hard Goals for the New Year

In just a few days time, hundreds of millions of you will be setting those New Years Resolutions. But so few of them will be kept. Why is it so hard to keep even the simplest of goals, even when brain science proves that by setting Hard Goals and executing them correctly we can accomplish great things? According to leadership and success expert Mark Murphy, by redefining how our brain focuses on our goals, we can truly change what we are capable achieving.

My conversation with Mark Murphy:

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Morning Miracle

When we talk about newspapers today as entities, as brands, as institutions that need to change to reflect new economic and technological realities, we sometimes forget that at core they are and need to continue to be platforms for reporters and great reporting. One such institution that has been such a platform is the venerable Washington Post. Journalist Dave Kindred, in his new book Morning Miracle: Inside the Washington Post A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life, gives us an up close and personal look at today's 21st century newsroom.

My conversation with Dave Kindred:

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Roots of Steel

It's hard to imagine today that there was a time when the steel industry was booming. When steel workers could comfortably support a family, buy a boat and embrace the American Dream. A time when American icons like the Golden Gate Bridge and Madison Square Garden were proudly built with American steel. Those days are long gone. But what's left is a legacy of stories, of hard work, broken promises and anger, which still impacts our culture and our politics today. Science writer Deborah Rudacille, who grew up in a steel town outside Baltimore, gives us a powerful look inside this boom and bust world, in her new book Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an American Mill Town.

My conversation with Deborah Rudacille:

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The Great American University

Of all of the traditional institutions of America that have come under siege of late, perhaps none has held up better than the our great American research universities. However, even they have suffered. The economic crisis, a political culture that often embraces ignorance, international competition and a lack of understanding of their role in our society are all taking aim at The Great American University. Perhaps because of all of this, because we need to nurture this unappreciated national resource, it's more important than ever to embrace and examine these issues. This is what Jonathan R. Cole, the former provost of Columbia University does in his book The Great American University: Its Rise to Preeminence, Its Indispensable National Role, Why It Must Be Protected.

My conversation with Jonathan R. Cole:

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Tell Me A Story

Few journalists have been as good at capturing the personalities and zeitgeist of their time as David Maraniss. A multiple Pulitzer Prize winner and award winning biographer of Bill Clinton, Vince Lombardi, and Roberto Clemente, he has also taken us to modern day Vietnam and to the 1960 Rome Olympics. His work focuses on those important moments in the human condition, when we reveal who we really are. His new book Into the Story: A Writer's Journey through Life, Politics, Sports and Loss, is a kind of sampler of his work that, taken together, accentuates his love of politics, sports and the importance of timeless narrative non-fiction.

My conversation with David Maraniss: