Round Table Chats

In today's episode of the Round Table Chats, I interview Navneet. Navneet is a prolific artist based in Toronto, Canada. We discuss how to attain the good life, the happiness of pursuit, living for the day, izombies, creation, child's play, the most memorable piece of advice he ever received, and more. If you listen closely... the episode may change your life... forever. Consider yourself warned.

Dr. Michael Schirripa is an Australian English Lit graduate, a medical graduate and a specialist forensic psychiatrist. He also works in private psychiatric practice as a psychotherapist. He has written and produced the podcast- Mindhunting: journeys in forensic psychiatry. Mindhunt, a forensic psychiatric thriller is his debut novel.

Today's guest at the Round Table is Rashid White. Rashid was an internationally renowned slam poet and champion. He currently bridges the worlds of technology and creative arts as a Tech Maven. We explore his life story and how he became who he is.

In today's episode at the Round Table, my guest is Ron Kertzner. Ron is the President of ChoicePoint Consulting and has spent the past 30 years in the field of leadership development, executive coaching, and facilitation.

In today's special episode of the Round Table Chats, I interview my mother, Dominique Paul Fratkin, and we explore her remarkable life journey from being City Architect and Engineer of Marseille, France to raising a family in Boulder, Colorado.

In today's special episode, we explore the life story of my father, Dr. Jake Paul Fratkin.

Dr. Fratkin is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine with over thirty-five years in clinical practice, the 1999 Acupuncturist of the Year (AAAOM), and the 2006 Teacher of the Year (AAAOM). He specializes in internal disorders, infections and pediatrics. His practice combines traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Japanese meridian balance acupuncture and evidence-based Functional Medicine. We specialize in internal disorders, respiratory ailments, gastrointestinal disorders, pediatrics, fatigue and infections. You can learn more at drjakefratkin.com

He is also a prolific photographer. You can access his remarkable photos for free at https://www.jakefratkinphotographs.com/

Today my guest is Zeke Sky. Zeke is a gifted musician who’s album, “Animals of Gods & War” was released this year on iTunes and Spotify, which has been listened to by people around the world! I was blown away by his song, “Of God and War”, and highly recommend giving his music a listen.

https://zekeskyband.com/

Zeke is an orthogonal thinker with a deep background in philosophy which made for a truly insightful, refreshing, and original conversation on many important topics. This is quite a long episode, but this was necessary. If you carefully meditate on the ideas we explore, the way you see the world may expand in surprising directions.

A quick disclaimer: If you’re in favor of de-platforming controversial speakers and believe free speech should have certain restrictions, you may have a negative emotional reaction to the first hour of our conversation. You have been warned.

For my listeners who are interested in hearing a truly novel perspective and a new take on trump, totalitarianism, postmodernism, and the potential differences between men and women... this, is the conversation for you.

Topics discussed include: gratitude for living in the 21st century, failing to adapt to technology, unpacking cyber bullying, analyzing the Patriarchy, Truth being interdisciplinary and hard to access, breaking down why Jordan Peterson is so popular, acknowledging the incredible progress we’ve made while being cognizant of the work that still needs to be done, why Hitler was appealing to his followers, dissecting Trump, my concern of liberals not learning from the 2016 election, the need to have difficult conversations, the damage from de-platforming, the “Voldemort effect”, why Trump operates the way he does, Hillary Clinton’s crucial error in the 2016 election, the degradation of decorum in public discourse, the rise of tribalism, getting to the root about the fundamental differences between men and women, why I love being in a class with 90% women, breaking down “mansplaining”, guys being able to “shut down their brain”, why so many men are attracted to sports, football being a way of life and a religion globally, who is Zeke Sky, selling a record that’s heard around the world, listening to his beautiful album, Zeke’s artistic process, his attraction to the woods, Nature giving you the opportunity to “meditate with your eyes open”, finding strength in solitude, how urban environments contribute to mental illness, being present with your friends, the story behind why I was recently told by an UvA student that I’m “capable of doing great evil”, deconstructing postmodernism, the death of the author, “art isn’t real”, investigating Sam Harris’ desire to quantify morality, how science and ethics are intertwined, the Effective Altruism utilitarian philosophy, the importance of cultivating diversity of thought, the influence of Peter Singer on altruism and vegetarians, living in the age of being able to learn anything, the relationship between money and happiness, there being no limit to human greed, jumping off the hedonic treadmill, the danger of investing too much of your self worth on a single identity, how to slow your brain down, being one with the universe, cultivating flow, and Zeke Sky’s piece of wisdom for you the listeners!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sGn6PdmIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RaRQ9jPk4E

In today's very special and insightful episode, I interview my Finnish kindred spirit, Juho Laaksonen. Juho and I met over Facebook after he wrote a review for this podcast and recommended I speak to a best selling science author from Finland. We instantly had chemistry and after talking about a plethora of fascinating topics I realized he would be a perfect guest for the Round Table.

And he did not disappoint.

Topics discussed include: Education Reform, Climate Change, Feminism, how to effortlessly guide more girls into STEM fields, cultivating your child’s curiosity, teaching science, the true sources of happiness, who needs the most help, teaching electricity to his daughters, Neil Degrasse Tyson’s video on teaching science to kids being a parenting guide, emphasizing openness, a shout-out to Juho’s wife’s sacrifice, life before and after having children, when he discovered his passion for science, learning from failure, his child’s desire for a laboratory, parenting vs genetics, exploring the differences between boys and girls, Einstein’s quote on genius, the boredom problem, philosophy being the love of knowledge, Hans Rosling, misunderstanding data, the inspiring progress of humankind, our mutual admiration of Sam Harris, how to change fear into action, Mike Buckler’s story, disappointing progress in Malawi from foreign aid, communicating with the extreme poor and asking what they need, what is Effective Altruism, why empowering women is the cure for poverty, the inspiring progress for women in Bangladesh, who is highly neglected from aid, the power of micro-loans for empowerment, the disappointing lack of nuance in the #MeToo movement, Juho being scared as a feminist, the ramifications of #MeToo in Finland, the three levels of need, the appeal of Round Table Chats, jumping on opportunities, being open to the world, online chess friendships, shrinking the world, the value of taking risks, and “always be yourself, unless you can be Batman... then be Batman."

Today my guest is Nate Andorsky. Nate is an entrepreneur blending behavioral economics, data, and technology to help change makers inspire and move people to action. He is the co-founder and CEO of Creative Science (https://creativescience.co/team/), a company that leverages behavioral economic theories to understand the emotional, social, and cognitive factors that drive us to action and use this to create compelling websites and digital strategies.

Nate hired me as a Behavioral Econ Specialist after I graduated from GW and it was a dream job. For anyone listening that has entrepreneurial desires or needs advice going into the daunting job market, this is the episode for you!

Some of the many topics discussed in this pragmatic-focused episode are: Nate's entrepreneurial origins, leveraging eBay and Craig's list, learning through doing, advice on finding internships, the value of side projects, the "nothing to lose" mentality, hard lessons from launching a dorm room cleaning company, qualities of an entrepreneur, being a chef vs. being a cook, Steve Job's words of wisdom, training a resilient mindset, the history of Creative Science, testing behavioral economic theories, the golden age of human connectivity, persuasion, the identifiable victim effect, the pseudo-set effect, the elephant in the brain, sapiens, behave, how to do stand-up, Dave Chappelle's wisdom, Nate's extraordinary inventing grandfather, nature vs. nurture, forming limitless connections, optimizing your time, Israel, and Nate's most memorable words of advice.

If you enjoyed today's episode please subscribe to the iTunes podcast (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/r...) and share it with your local community! Also feel free to message me on facebook or Linkedin (Thomas Fratkin) to give me feedback! I would love to get to know better who is listening and benefiting from this platform.

In today's episode of the Round Table Chats podcast, I have the privilege of interviewing Matt Scott. Matt is the founder of 180 Degrees of Impact, which is a project that celebrates 180 people dramatically changing our world through their work. He is also a Manager in Storytelling and Engagement at SecondMuse. You can find out more about Matt Scott and 180 degrees of impact at https://www.lets.care/

Topics discussed include: gratitude for love, airplane conversations, feeling like a fish out of water, raising sexual assault awareness, when statistics fall short, digital storytelling, virtual reality, the power of choice, serendipity, the origin of 180 degrees of impact, showcasing positivity, alleviating grief through human connection, memorable interviews, looking past a person's credentials, making lemonade from lemons, and the day that changed Matt's life.