On February 23, 2020, Dhaval Desai and his wife, Yogita, welcomed their new son into the

world. With the arrival of Kaveh to join his four-year-old sister Kaiya, their family at last felt

complete. “A promising year lay ahead,” he reflected. Yes, it would be chaotic—both physicians,

Dhaval and Yogita would now have to juggle two demanding careers with the demands of an

infant and a preschooler—but nothing they couldn’t handle. Then, a new virus arrived.

In BURNING OUT ON THE COVID FRONT LINES: A Doctor’s Memoir of Fatherhood, Race and Perseverance in the Pandemic Dhaval R. Desai, M.D., offers an honest account of his life, his work, and his state of mind and well-being from March 9, 2020, when he returned. after a ten-day paternity leave, to his job at a large Atlanta hospital, through nearly three years of unprecedented chaos. As a frontline physician and healthcare leader, a devoted father to a “pandemic baby,” and a member of an ethnic minority in the South, Dr. Desai shares his unique perspective on the importance of refuting misinformation, reinforcing compassion for all patients, prioritizing self-care for healthcare providers, overcoming stigmas related to race, gender, and mental health, and restoring the public’s trust in the medical community.

In the early 1900s, America’s cities were teeming with immigrants whose children toiled in factories and lived in overcrowded tenements in neighborhoods plagued by disease, poverty, violence, and crime. In response, a group of social reformers embarked on a mission to protect children and mold them into productive, law-abiding citizens. Known as child-savers, these overwhelming white and well-off reformers laid the therapeutic foundation for family court. At its core was the Great Idea that judges would take the lead and provide, whether preventive or rehabilitative, personalized justice for the child. “This mandate to do good was never accomplished, not then and not now,” states Jane M. Spinak, a lawyer who has received numerous awards for her work on behalf of children and families. In The End of Family Court: How Abolishing the Court Brings Justice to Children and Families, she explores why the Great Idea persists, and how, 120 years after its inception, family court fails to do justice and often does great harm to children, their families, and their communities.

The Atlanta Opera presents its first mainstage event of the new season with a new co-production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto on Nov 4, 7, 10 and 12, 2023 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. One of the composer’s most celebrated operas, Rigoletto tells a poignant tale of love, betrayal, and revenge. We are talking with Jasmine Habersham who is singing the role of Gilda in the production. Habersham is a Georgia native who has performed globally including her international debut in this role.

The current war in Israel renews attention on the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I invited Rabbi Pinchas Taylor to talk about Judaism and its influence. During our conversation he provides a primer on Judaism, what it means to be chosen and the role of the Messiah in the Jewish and Christian faith. He explains the conflict in Israel is more than a battle over land and helps listeners to understand why Israel is fighting to defeat Hamas.

Grace Harry has a great story including 30 years in the music business, but something was lacking from her life. It was something she'd not experienced since childhood. It was Joy. Harry decided to rediscover and embrace the joy in her life and she wants readers to do the same. In The Joy Strategist, Harry takes readers on a journey to explore how to find joy, how to re-discover joy and how to feel true unfettered joy and incorporate it into our everyday lives. She coaches readers with her story and her toolbox of playful activities which include reconnecting with your "inner GPS," ceasing the war you've waged against your heart; cultivating your starting 5 or the community of people closest to you and breaking free from your ego by dismantling beliefs that keep your hopes and aspirations out of grasp.

The weather is cooler. Halloween is near and it's a great time to curl up by the fire with a good book. We start the show this week with a brief conversation with New York Times best-selling author Shelby Mahurin. Her latest book is The Scarlet Veil. It's a dark and thrilling vampire romance set in the world of Mahurin's Serpent & Dove series of tales. Next we talk with Dr. Tabia Akintobi, Professor and Chair of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine. MSM has partnered with the makers of Advil for the "Advil Pain Equity Project." It is a multi year commitment to help address pain inequity and racial bias in the diagnosis and treatment of pain. The initial campaign, "Believe My Pain" tells the stories of people who've experienced pain inequity. A survey of 2000 Americans found that 93-percent of Black individuals report pain impacting their day-to-day life. 83-percent report a negative experience when seeking help managing their pain, and three of four say they believe there is bias in how pain is diagnosed and treated. This project will also lead to a course at MSM to educate medical students on pain equity.

From award-winning author Brandy Colbert comes a new book: The Blackwoods. It's the story of four generations of a Black Hollywood family filled with ambition, fame, struggle, loss and love. Colbert masterfully weaves together the narratives of Hollis, Ardith and Blossom Blackwood. Theirs is a story where everything is personal and nothing is private.

It's a simple fact. Even leaders need coaches. Archie L. Jones, Jr., a Morehouse grad, Atlanta resident, Harvard Business professor, author, executive and board director joins is my guest on the show. He's the founder and CEO of NxGen COACH Network, an organization created to help and empower the next generation of global leaders, particularly those in underinvested and underrepresented communities. He's just launched a new podcast - Training Camp for Leaders with Archie L. Jones. We talk about the goals for his podcast and much more in this episode of Perspectives.

On Sunday, October 8th, V (formerly Eve Ensler) , the Tony Award-winning, best-selling author of The Vagina Monologues and Reckoning, will host an Evening of Reckoning and Rising at the Carter Center to celebrate V’s newest book Reckoning and the 25th anniversary of the V-Day movement to end violence against women, gender expansive people and the Earth. The benefit event will include readings and remarks from V (formerly Eve Ensler), V-Day Board Members Rosario Dawson, Jane Fonda, Maya Penn & Pat Mitchell; City of Joy co-Founder and Director of V-Day Congo Christine Schuler Deschryver, Joaquina Kalukango, Dr. Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, Laura Turner Seydel and Paige Alexander.

Most know Ted Turner through his many well documented successes: founder of CNN; Time Person of the Year; winner of The World Series and America's Cup; former owner of the Atlanta Braves, TBS, TNT, MGM, Hanna-Barbera, and the Atlanta Hawks. His gargantuan land holdings are now the subject of a new book, a very big, new book. Conserving America's Wildlands: The Vision of Ted Turner is a newly published compendium of stunning images shot by Ted's photojournalist son, Rhett. The two million acres under Turner land management includes everything from alligators and mountain goats to wolves, grizzly bears and migratory birds in flight. My guest is Rhett Turner.