Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

Container shipping began 50 years ago and developed into a huge industry that has made the boom in global trade possible. Marc Levinson, author of The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, tells us how cargo moves around the works, and looks at the sweeping economic consequences containerization brought about.

John Bradshaw, director of the University of Bristol’s Anthrozoology Institute, and author of Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet, tells us all about cats—from how they were first domesticated to how they hunt to how they show affection. He offers new insights about the domestic cat that challenge many of our most basic assumptions about our feline companions.

This week's Please Explain is all about dogs. We'll find out the evolutionary roots of domestic dogs, what it means when your dog wags its tail, and why some breeds are easier to train than others. Veterinarian Dr. John Ciribassi, who was one of the editors of Decoding Your Dog, and pet expert and journalist Steve Dale, who contributed to the book, take your calls and questions about man's best friend.

We'll find out how apps are created and get recommendations for must-have apps—tools that can help find parking, find a ride, track calories, and more. Bruce Upbin, managing editor of Forbes, and Geoffrey Fowler, tech columnist for the Wall Street Journal, join us.

Maxwell Ryan, CEO and founder of Apartment Therapy, gives advice and answers questions about how to get organized for the new year. From cleaning out closets and clearing clutter, from financial files to the tangle of wires behind your television and stereo.

On this week’s Please Explain, Marion Nestle, author of Eat, Drink Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Food Politics; Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health; What to Eat, among other books, talks about the politics of food.

Sam Garwin and Ryan Fibiger from Saugatuck Craft Butchery in Westport, Connecticut, talk about the importance of local, humanely raised meats. They explain the various cuts of meat, how they’re best prepared, whole-animal butchery, knife skills, and how the sausage is made.

The devotion to coffee verges on a religion for many people. Jonathan Rubinstein, the owner and operator of Joe Coffee in New York City  and in Philadelphia, and Amanda Byron, director of coffee and roasting at Joe Coffee, talk about how coffee is grown and roasted, the variety of beans and methods of making coffee. They'll also describe how to make the best coffee at home.

Call us at 212-433-9692 with your coffee questions! Or leave a question below!

All living things need to eat, but only humans cook...and how we cook has evolved and grown more sophisticated since our earliest days. We have nonstick skillets, automatic espresso machines, digital meat thermometers, and high-speed blenders. But in our earliest days, we didn't even have pots to cook in. On this week’s Please Explain, Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, tells us all about the history of our cooking tools—when and how they were invented and how they’ve changed the foods we make.

Garrett Oliver, the brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery, editor-in-chief of The Oxford Companion to Beer and author of The Brewmaster’s Table, talks about beer—where it comes from, how it's made, and the wide varieties of brews.