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"

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...

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Science Is Simply Curiosity Writ Large: A conversation with Dr. Suzy Sheehy

We live in a world that's constantly evolving, driven by innovations in digital technology, AI, and space exploration. Yet, we often ove...

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

How the Police Became Untouchable: A conversation with Joanna Schwartz

Recent police shooting victims Tyre Nichols and Anthony Lowe highlight the ongoing trend of officer impunity. The recent report on the Louis...

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Dissecting the Silicon Valley Bank Debacle: A conversation with Dean Baker and Brad DeLong

It has been a momentous week for banks and markets. What some have dubbed an “extinction-level event” was, at its core, the failure of a cou...

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Spies in Hollywood: A conversation with Jonathan Gill

The hacking of Sony Pictures back in 2014, by North Korea, made us all wonder about spies in Hollywood. Today, our paranoia tells us that th...

Friday, February 24, 2023

A Real Life "Succession" Drama: The Story of Sumner and Shari Redstone

The constantly changing landscape of business, finance, entertainment, and medicine is influenced by technological advancements and cultural...

Monday, February 13, 2023

Joe Biden Fought To Get To The White House. Is He the President We Need Now?: My conversation with Chris Whipple

Joe Biden is the oldest President to take office in the past 234 years. He has a long public life, and has grown into the person and politic...

Thursday, February 9, 2023

We Have No Democracy Without Good Citizens: My conversation with Richard Haass

A recent Gallup survey of American concerns showed that foreign policy is nearly at the bottom of the list, with inflation and prices near t...

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

We Each Have the Personal Answer to Our Larger Divisions: A Conversation with Pico Iyer

Division and conflict have been the default setting for civilization. It’s what wars, shifting alliances and even relational conflict is all...

Thursday, January 26, 2023

Citizenship Is Just A Commodity: A Conversation with Atossa Abrahamian

Citizenship used to be a cherished status, taken seriously by those who held it. But in today’s globalized world, it has become a commodity ...

Friday, January 13, 2023

In Spite of Many Problem, Flying is Safer Than Ever...Why?: A conversation with John Nance

In spite of deregulation, airline and air traffic control systems in need of updates, pilot shortages, airport overcrowding and even a pande...

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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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