A Closer Look with Pam Atherton

Many of us are intrigued with history and lost cities. National Geographic editor and archaeologist Ann Williams is one of those people who digs around and writes about discoveries from the past. She's often been on-hand to witness important discoveries – some that she talks about in the new book from Nat Geo called Lost Cities, Ancient Tombs… 100 Discoveries that Changed the World

This book is a feast of pictures and information about astonishing discoveries – from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Lost City of the Monkey God.

In our chat, we find out how technology affected archaeology, (we even get an explanation of how LIDAR works!) accidental discoveries, amateur archaeologists, and the woman who tried on the jewelry of Troy. Plus - how exciting it is to make "snapshot of a moment" finds.

Dr. Kara Cooney returns to discuss her new & provocative book The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World. The book covers 5 Egyptian pharaohs – or kings, if you will – and discusses the concepts surrounding power: how is it earned, who controls it, and why the many often give up power to the few. Oh… and does any of that correlate to our modern life?

Dr. Cooney tells us how authoritarianism starts, how that power is maintained, and if she is seeing signs of it in the world today. Plus - what people gain from aligning with corrupt leaders and why cognitive dissonance is important to allow corrupt leadership to continue.

We also discuss how in the past women had equal power to men in some areas (would you believe Los Angeles, 300 years ago?!) And why we are starting to ask what is power, what is value, and why is there so much sexual abuse.

So. Much. Fascinating. Information. Dr. Cooney will give you lots to think about, I promise.

Can you believe we are already 21 years into the new century? National Geographic is celebrating that with a beautiful new coffee table book - The 21st Century: Photographs from the Image Collection. We chat with NatGeo Editor in Chief Susan Goldberg about this fabulous book that is set up chronologically with 250 photos in 400 pages. We talk about some of the amazing photographs that are products not only of traditional photography, but also images from the innovations of digital, drone and smartphone photography. The book also answers our questions about what the photographer was thinking when he shot the photo and what the backstory is.

We find out how Susan chose only 250 photos from almost 65 million images in the national Geographic Image Collection, and what makes an image iconic. Plus, we also talk about the NatGeo Instagram account – that has over 190 MILLION followers! (they are the largest brand on Instagram)

A pioneer in the LGBT community, and lead plaintiff in a groundbreaking ACLU Federal lawsuit for gay marriage rights in Florida, Arlene Goldberg shares her story from her book Simple Human Dignity, a personal and touching memoir. We hear firsthand about growing up gay in the late 50s and 60s, having to lie to the people most important in her life, and how she felt she let her parents down.

Arlene shares what areas we still need to work on, the surprising issues facing older LGBT Americans, and what allies can do to help the LGBT community.

I can't remember the last time I laughed this much in an interview – especially one that included carbuncles, cannibalism, and Thomas Jefferson's rear end. Bestselling author Michael Farquhar shares More Bad Days in History and reminds us that history is not all black and white – that complexities exist – and that we are all pretty much the same.

Michael tells us how General Patton's widow put a Hawaiian curse on her husband's mistress, how Joe DiMaggio gave Florence Kotz a doozy of a day, and how Colonial Massachusetts had some terminal consequences for disobedient children.

Having a bad day? You won't feel so bad after listening to our chat!

How do you go from the crazy world of Wall Street to the chicken coops of Montana, and write a sweet book for children, after you have a bestselling novel for adults? William C. Pack explains why he wrote "Never Kiss a Chicken" after the success of his adult novel "Bottom of the Sky." We talk divisiveness, niceness, kindness (both active and passive) and why one should never kiss a chicken. And, it turns out, we both speak chicken! A delightful conversation with an interesting man.

At one time or another, we've all wished that somehow we could change our human capabilities, whether it be ways to make the blind see again, get rid of diseases like cystic fibrosis, or simply just be taller or more athletic.

Those wild and crazy science fiction ideas may not be that far away. We could, in effect, become superhuman - and in the near future! At least so says David Broyles!

Director of Special Activities and Intelligence Teams at the Center for Naval Analyses, David shares the latest info and implications of AI, bio-tech, and genetic engineering. Fascinating for all who are interested in the future!

In our chat with Viral BS author Dr. Seema Yasmin, we learn the difference between mis-information and dis-information, why people believe crazy medical ideas, and why facts DON'T change our mind. We learn about cognitive biases, why education level isn't a good measure of who might believe false information, and how group-think figures in. Plus, how a little bit of truth can be a bad thing, how communication is key, and how social media plays into the spread of bad information. Oh – and the covid-19 vaccine WON'T change your DNA.

If you've seen the inspirational film Hidden Figures, you know a little of how women, especially black women, were treated during the 50s and 60s, especially in male-dominated industries. The stories of Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughn, and Katherine Johnson helped us to understand what challenges women faced. Katherine was the NASA mathematician whose calculations were critical to manned space flights, from Project Mercury with John Glenn, all the way up to the moon flights and space shuttles.

Before she passed away at 101 in February of 2020, Katherine and her two daughters – Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore -- wrote a children's book about her life and the racism and misogyny she faced. Published by National Geographic, One Step Further: My Story of Math, the Moon, and a Lifelong Mission is a deeply personal portrayal of female empowerment, women in STEM, and the breaking down of racial barriers across generations.

It's a wonderful book that will inspire little girls for generations to come!

We talked to Katherine's daughter Katherine Moore, and got some insight into their lives. We talked about growing up in the 50s and 60s with Jim Crow in full swing, what kind of an impact her mother had on the space program, and what she hopes children will take from this remarkable book.

Ohio has picked the winner of the presidential election 29 out of 31 times since 1896… so they must be on to something. David Giffels traversed the state to find out what the people of Ohio were thinking about the election and what challenges they were facing. He put his discoveries down in his book Barnstorming Ohio, To Understand America.

There are 5 distinct different areas of Ohio, which makes it the cross-section of America, and gives us some insight into what the people of our country are thinking. In our chat, David explains what issues each area deals with, how Amazon is changing the landscape of Ohio, AND America, by taking over decaying malls, and how farmers are trying to survive despite the trade wars and bad weather.

Will Ohio get the presidential election right this time? No matter if they do or not, we'll have a better understanding of America and Americans, by Barnstorming Ohio with David Giffels.