Talk Cocktail

Joe Biden is the oldest President to take office in the past 234 years. He has a long public life, and has grown into the person and politician he is today. Biden was seen as the perfect antidote to Trump, but it is still uncertain if his preference for “normalcy” will enable him to be the 21st century President we need. Chris Whipple's new book, "The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden's White House," explores this and more.

A recent Gallup survey of American concerns showed that foreign policy is nearly at the bottom of the list, with inflation and prices near the top. Other high-ranking topics include the economy in general, immigration, crime and violence, race, the environment, and, topping the list, the proper role of government.The fact is that none of these problems can be solved without a thriving, healthy democracy to address their root causes and work together to find bipartisan solutions.

That's why it becomes clear that our collective angst about all of these issues is really about whether we have a strong enough democracy, both locally and nationally, to solve anything.Maybe that's why one of our most distinguished foreign policy experts has turned his attention inward, from understanding the world to trying to better understand the future of our place in it.Richard Haass takes all this on in his new book, The Bill of Obligations: The ten habits of good citizens.My conversation with Richard Haass:

Division and conflict have been the default setting for civilization. It’s what wars, shifting alliances and even relational conflict is all about. So why, even after thousands of years of evolution, of death and recrimination and unhappiness, is this still true?

Perhaps the answer lies in our human desire to try and understand to make sense of the world. In science or mathematics, there is often one right answer.In man's understanding of the world and of each other, that does not happen. So we strive, we seek and we hope to find peace. To come to terms with some answer that explains it all. But life, physical and spiritual and even social and political is not like physics. There is no one answerThis is where I begin my conversation with Pico Iyer.

Division and conflict have been the default setting for civilization. It’s what wars, shifting alliances and even relational conflict is all about. So why, even after thousands of years of evolution, of death and recrimination and unhappiness, is this still true?

Citizenship used to be a cherished status, taken seriously by those who held it. But in today’s globalized world, it has become a commodity that can be bought and sold.

In this week’s WhoWhatWhy podcast, journalist Atossa Abrahamian, senior editor of The Nation and author of the 2015 book The Cosmopolites, delves into the world of “global citizens.”She explains how multiple passports are becoming more popular as a status symbol, and a plan B for those who want to live in several countries. Some nations are turning citizenship into a business, selling economic citizenship (tax havens) as a product, and offering citizenship to the wealthy, while making it more difficult for the poor to obtain it.Abrahamian warns that this commodification of citizenship may weaken its value and lead to criminal dangers.

My WhoWhatWhy conversation with Atossa Abrahamian

In spite of deregulation, airline and air traffic control systems in need of updates, pilot shortages, airport overcrowding and even a pandemic, flying has never been safer.

What’s the secret sauce that makes this the case? Why, when safety in other industries from hospitals to construction to automobiles, seems so difficult to achieve, how has the airline industry been so successful and what can we all learn from their efforts?I explore this with John Nance. John has written about all of these issues in his non fiction work and incorporated much of it in his prolific fiction. He is also an aviation analyst for ABC News and a familiar face on Good Morning America.My conversation with John Nance:

Even if you didn’t know the full story, just judging by the number of gyms on every corner, and the number of retailers selling high priced exercise equipment and workout clothing, you’d see what an obsession exercise has become. But why? A form of activity that uses huge quantities of our time, it is neither playful, sports-like, or seemingly rewarding. So why is it so popular, so all consuming, Where is the fun in sweat?This is the subject of the new work "Sweat," by Bill Hayes.My conversation with Bill Hayes:

In 2023, let us resolve to look at more art than cable news. Perhaps it is art, more than news, that will help us see around corners, solve problems and enhance our ability to see the world in a better way.

This approach has been the work of Amy Herman. Amy is the author of Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solvingand the founder of the Art of Perception, a program that uses works of art to help people observe more closely, think more creatively and communicate more effectively.My conversation with Amy Herman:

From the days of beat up motels offering HBO as a special amenity to the metaphorical "creative destruction" of today, HBO has been a revolutionary force in entertainment and media. From its inception 50 years ago, HBO has been a pioneer in the blending of show and business. Disrupting television and paving the way for streaming, nonlinear programming, and more.  HBO is the ultimate example of the power of entertainment and story telling. 

In his new bookIt's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, Felix Gillettetakes us through the remarkable history.  

My conversation with Felix Gillette:

From the days of beat up motels offering HBO as a special amenity to the metaphorical "creative destruction" of today, HBO has been a revolutionary force in entertainment and media. From its inception 50 years ago, HBO has been a pioneer in the blending of show and business. Disrupting television and paving the way for streaming, nonlinear programming, and more.  HBO is the ultimate example of the power of entertainment and story telling. 

In his new book It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, Felix Gillette takes us through the remarkable history.  

My conversation with Felix Gillette: