A Bend in the Road

Also available on Youtube.

Imagine this: you get a warning on  your phone: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” Who would you become in the face of imminent danger? Roberta sits down with Vincent Yu to explore that provocative question in his new book Seek Immediate Shelter. 

Things We Talked About in this Episode

• Seek Immediate Shelter by Vincent Yu
• 2018 false missile alert, Hawaii
• The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
• Olive Kitteridge/Lucy Barton series by Author Elizabeth Strout
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• The Yale Literary Magazine
• Longfellow, MA

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producers for this episode are Kaleigh Diamond and Elias Rosner.
• Our Editor is Kaleigh Diamond with additional edits by Elias Rosner. 
• Our Audio Engineer is Matt Giannotti.
• Our Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond.
• Our Marketing Coordinator is Cara Scott.
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

What if the key to resolving conflict isn’t avoiding it, but learning to navigate it better? Columbia University professor Dr. Peter Coleman thinks so. An expert in constructive conflict resolution and a sustainable peace expert, he's explored the forces that drive conflict, from our families and workplaces to communities and nations. Join Roberta as she and Dr. Coleman discuss how even our deepest disagreements can be navigated with greater wisdom, adaptability, and understanding. 

Things We Talked About in this Episode

• Peter Coleman’s The Way Out and other publications
• Columbia University’s Difficult Conversations Lab
• Gottman’s Love Lab
• Morton Deutsch, International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution
• Join or Die documentary directed by Peter Davis and Rebecca Davis
• Bob Putnam and Bowling Alone 

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producers for this episode are Kaleigh Diamond and Elias Rosner.
• Our Editor is Kaleigh Diamond with additional edits by Elias Rosner. 
• Our Audio Engineer is Matt Giannotti.
• Our Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond.
• Our Marketing Coordinator is Cara Scott.
• Original theme music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, the haunting images remain etched in our collective memory. But some of the most extraordinary stories began after the smoke cleared.

Lyndon Harris was the priest-in-charge of St. Paul's Chapel, just steps from Ground Zero, where he led a massive volunteer effort caring for first responders around the clock. To the world, he became a symbol of hope. Behind the scenes, however, he was struggling with profound grief, trauma, and bitterness.

Roberta sits down with Lyndon to see how his unexpected journey toward forgiveness transformed his life and became the inspiration for his book, Forgiveness at Ground Zero.

Things We Talked About in This Episode

• Lyndon Harris official website: Books, forgiveness resources
• St. Paul’s Chapel
• TED Talk: A Journey to Forgiveness: From 9/11's Devastation to New Beginnings (2022) with Rev Lyndon Harris
• New York Times article announcing Lyndon Harris’s resignation from St Paul’s Church in November 2022
• 9/11 Memorial and Museum: “Remembering the Little Chapel that Could”
• Dr Fred Luskin forgiveness work
• Calling of the Names Ceremony
• Author Pat Conroy
• "A Meditation on the Thin Space at Saint Paul's Chapel" composed by Peter Ostroushko'

Episode Credits

• Our thanks to Lyndon Harris for joining us today.
• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer for this episode is Elias Rosner.
• Our Editor and Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond. 
• Our Technical Director and Audio Engineer is Matt Giannotti.
• Original theme music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

What happens when one of America's most celebrated chefs meets one of television's biggest hits?

At Ever, the worlds of fine dining and 'The Bear' collide. As the inspiration and filming location for the series' acclaimed restaurant, Chef Curtis Duffy's two-Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant helped bring some of the show's most memorable moments to life, including the iconic “Forks” episode.

This month, as 'The Bear' closes out its 5-year run, we re-broadcast an episode from 2022 where Roberta as she sat down with Curtis to hear the riveting story of a tumultuous childhood and the drive that made him into a world-renowned Michelin-starred chef.

Things We Talked About in This Episode

• Curtis Duffy
• Ever restaurant
• The Bear and Curtis Duffy/Ever connection
• For Grace documentary about Curtis

Awards/Stars

• Ever: two Michelin stars (2022), AAA Five-Diamond rating, and Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating
• Grace: three Michelin stars, four years in a row (2015-2018)
• Avenues (The Peninsula, Chicago): two Michelin stars
• Forbes Travel Guide’s Five-Star rating
• James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef, Great Lakes Award in 2016.

Episode Credits (Rebroadcast)

• Our thanks to Curtis Duffy for joining us back in September 2022.
• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producers and Editors for this episode are me, Elias Rosner, and Kaleigh Diamond. 
• Our Technical Director and Audio Engineer is Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond.
• Original theme music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

Live! From Portrush, Northern Ireland, it's host Roberta Panjwani and Laura and Gavin, the founders of the Belfast-based band House of Gael! They discuss blending traditional Irish sounds with a modern spirit, the power of music to celebrate unity and diversity, and how music helped transform their lives after a devastating loss. You'll also hear “Calling Me Home,” their new song written for the Festival of Ireland—Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann—which returns to Belfast this August for the first time in more than 75 years.

Things We Talked About in this Episode

• House of Gael Laura, Gavin, James, Jordie, and Sean
• Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Festival of Ireland)
• Coney Island, Country Down, Ireland
• Northern Ireland’s “Troubles”

Music

• “Zombie” by the Cranberries
• “Grace”: Music and lyrics by Jim McCann 
• “When You Were Sweet Sixteen” by the Fureys
• Amble
• Kingfishr 
• The Chieftans
• Christy Moore
• Van Morrison
• Paddy Reilly

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer and Editor for this episode is Ryan Sabnani. 
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Ryan Sabnani, Matt Giannotti, and me, Elias Rosner.
• Our Videographer in Portrush is Alyssa Panjwani.
• Our Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond.
• Original theme music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Our credits song this episode is House of Gael's cover of "Beeswing."
• Our thanks to Laura and Gavin for coming up from Belfast to join us in Portrush, Northern Ireland.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

Apple TV+’s Plur1bus is one of the most talked-about shows of the year. Why? Well, the tagline says it all: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.”

This month, Roberta sits down with Plur1bus Executive Producer and Writer, Alison Tatlock, to talk storytelling, world-building, and creating shows that stay with you long after the screen goes dark. Tatlock is an Emmy-nominated producer and WGA-nominated writer, previously having worked on Better Call Saul, Stranger Things, and Halt and Catch Fire.

Things we talked about in this episode

• Pluribus
• Rhea Seahorn
• Vince Gilligan 

Movies and Shows:

• In Treatment
• Dreamyard
• Stranger Things

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer for this episode is Elias Rosner. 
• Our Editors are Kaleigh Diamond and Elias Rosner.
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Matt Giannotti and Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producer is Kaleigh Diamond.
• Original theme music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Clips from Pluribus are courtesy of Apple TV+ and Sony Pictures Television.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.
• Our thanks to Alison for joining us today. 

At the beginning of April, the Ridgewood Library Friends Foundation hosted their 36th Annual Author Luncheon with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen. It sold out - 416 tickets! - in an unprecedented 5 days. We are so pleased that Anna allowed us to publish her interview and talk from the event, moderated by host Roberta Panjwani. We talked about her book More Than Enough, aging, the joy of getting older, living in the moment, and how reading makes us greater and more human, because it requires us to walk in someone else’s shoes.

Things we talked about in this episode: 

• Anna Quindlen’s Fiction and Nonfiction Books
• One True Thing film 
• Pulitzer Prize 
• New York Times writing
• Villanova Commencement Speech (2000)
• Meryl Streep and Anna Wintour in Vogue; interviewed by Greta Gerwig
• Author Amy Bloom
• Author Jennifer Egan
• Author Maggie O’Farrell
• Author Tana French
• Friends Foundation of the Ridgewood Public Library

Episode Credits

• Our thanks to the Friends Foundation of the Ridgewood Public Library for putting on an outstanding author luncheon and supporting the library in such meaningful ways. 
• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer for this episode is Elias Rosner.
• Our Editor is Kaleigh Diamond with additional edits by Elias Rosner.
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Matt Giannotti and Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producers are Elias Rosner and Kaleigh Diamond. 
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

This month Roberta talks to Russell Shorto about his new book Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America, which drawing on deep archival research to offer a fresh take on America’s beginnings and the transfer of power in the region from the Dutch to the British. 

Rebecca Fraser of the Times Literary Supplement says of the book:

"Shorto is earnest, humorous, intellectual, intense and high-minded. . . Any reader curious about New York, and the unique energy and warmth of its inhabitants, will be fascinated by Russell Shorto’s highly enjoyable reconstruction of Manhattan Island’s transition to English rule."

Things we talked about in this episode:

• New Netherland Institute
• Island at the Center of the World
• The New Amsterdam Project at The New York Historical
• New York Historical Museum: ld Masters, New Amsterdam (May 1 to August 30, 2026.) This first-of-its-kind exhibition uses the paintings of Rembrandt and his contemporaries to help us envision life in the little Dutch settlement that would become New York. Ridgewood Library cardholders, reserve free NY Historical passes here! 
• Rancho Mirage Writers Festival

Episode Credits:

• For more information about Russell, his books and writings, and tour schedule, please visit russellshorto.com.
• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer and Editor for this episode is Elias Rosner.
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Matt Giannotti and Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producers are Elias Rosner and Kaleigh Diamond.
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.

This month on A Bend in the Road, Roberta is joined by broadcaster, film critic, and host of the Cinephile podcast Adnan Virk for a lively deep dive into the movies that matter now.

Known for his sharp insights and contagious love of cinema, Virk brings his passion, encyclopedic knowledge, and signature blend of humor to talk Oscars buzz, under-the-radar gems, the state of movie theaters, streaming’s impact on film culture, and the performances everyone will be arguing about this year.

Things We Talked About

• Adnan Virk's podcast, Cinephile with Adnan Virk (Spotify, Apple Podcasts)
• Adnan Virk’s book, Cinephile: Interviews, Essays, and Tales from the Red Carpet (You can also borrow a copy from the Ridgewood Public Library!)
• 2026 Academy Award Nominations

Referenced Films

• Good Fellas
• Taxi Driver
• Mean Streets
• End of the Affair
• Blue Moon
• Train Dreams
• The Last Temptation of Christ
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Citizen Kane
• The Magnificent Ambersons
• Silence
• Hugo
• The King of Comedy
• Raging Bull
• Dead Poets Society
• Boyhood
• First Reform
• Ash Wednesday
• True West
• Before Sunrise Trilogy
• The Substance
• Poor Things
• Bugonia
• Moonlight
• Green Book
• Battleship Potemkin
• One False Move
• The Man Who Wasn’t There
• Fargo
• Secrets and Lies
• Hard Truce
• First Reformed
• Affliction
• I, Tonya
• Barbie
• Wolf of Wall Street
• Lady Bird
• Magnolia
• There Will Be Blood
• Boogie Nights
• Uncut Gems
• A Complete Unknown
• Call Me By Your Name
• Field of Dreams
• Walk the Line
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Rocketman
• Song Sung Blue
• Sweet Dreams
• Deliver Me From Nowhere
• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer for this episode is me, Elias Rosner and Kaleigh Diamond. 
• Our Editors are Roberta Panjwani and Elias Rosner. 
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Matt Giannotti, John Lubas, and Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producers are Elias Rosner and Kaleigh Diamond.
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• Our thanks to Kaleigh for joining us in the studio today.
• The clip of “Hooray for Hollywood,” written by Johnny Mercer and performed by Rosemary Clooney, is courtesy of Concord Jazz, Taxi Driver is courtesy of Columbia Pictures Entertainment and One Battle After Another is courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

What really happened inside the marriage that helped turn Amelia Earhart into a legend? That's the question author Laurie Gwen Shapiro sought to answer in her new book: The Aviator and the Showman. Through newly uncovered letters and archival material, she reexamines the partnership between Amelia Earhart and George Putnam, revealing a marriage far more complex, modern, and strategic than the myths suggest.

Join host Roberta as she sits down with Laurie to discuss this riveting book, Amelia's life, and the ambition, gender, power, and fame of early 20th-century America.

Things We Talked About This Episode

• Laurie Gwen Shapiro and her writings
• Amelia greets the press after landing in Hawaii in January 1935 
• Amelia Earhart’s Speech: “A Woman’s Place in Science (20th Century Time Machine

Episode Credits

• A Bend in the Road is written, hosted, and produced by Roberta Panjwani and created by Roberta Panjwani and Diane Sims.
• Our Assistant Producer for this episode is me, Elias Rosner. 
• Our Editors are Roberta Panjwani and Elias Rosner. 
• Our Technical Directors and Audio Engineers are Matt Giannotti and Elias Rosner.
• Our Digital Media Producers are Elias Rosner and Kaleigh Diamond. 
• Original Music is written and performed by Diane Sims.
• The clip of Amelia’s remarks from 1935 after landing in Hawaii is courtesy of Historicus Joe. The clip from Amelia’s “A Woman’s Place in Science Speech” is courtesy of 20th Century Time Machine. 
• Logo and Website created by Parker Gaidimas.