Salman Rushdie knows more about death than most of us. Decades ago, he lived in hiding after a death threat was issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini following the publication of his novel The Satanic Verses.

Humor, he says, also allows us to be more observant, more vulnerable and more willing to take social risks. He joins us this week to talk about how to find laughter in our not-so-funny world. He’s hosts the podcast How to be a Better Human.

Ezekiel Emanuel is an oncologist, bioethicist, and health policy analyst who wrote a provocative piece for The Atlantic in 2014 titled “Why I Hope to Die at 75.”

In the article, he argued that quality of life matters more than longevity, which results inevitably in decline, disability and disease. He will not turn 75 until 2032, at which point he said he would refuse treatments and tests and live out his natural life.

In the meantime, Emanuel has written a book, Eat Your Ice Cream, about how to live a long and healthy life.

He urges readers to forget the pricey fads and pseudoscientific claims that promise to defy the odds. Longevity, he says, is not a competition to see who can live the longest. Instead, he offers instead six simple rules: avoid unnecessary risks, be socially connected, stay curious and active, sleep well and reward yourself from time to time.

Emanuel joins us to take on the wellness industrial complex and talk about how to get the most out of living.

Do you dread wintertime? Learn how to love it. Psychologist Kari Leibowitz explains how to cultivate a winter mindset to cope with cold days and the dark times in life.

Tim Merrill has been a pastor and youth leadership developer in Camden for decades. He dedicated his new novel, “The Song Sparrow,” to the young people of Camden.

Survivors Annie Farmer and Liz Stein open up about breaking the culture of silence, coping with public spotlight, and combating sex trafficking.

Nedra Glover Tawwab grew up in Detroit in a family with numerous problems, including relationship conflict, addiction, and financial instability. Her way of coping was to become highly independent, relying on herself to meet her needs. Although she was praised for her maturity and self-sufficiency, she often felt bitter and alone. She didn’t know how to ask for help.

Tawwab has since become a highly sought-after therapist who specializes in dysfunctional relationships. She has a large Instagram following and hosts a popular podcast. She’s also written several books: Set Boundaries, Find Peace; Consider This; and the forthcoming The Balancing Act.

She joins us this week on The Connection to talk about how to break old patterns that no longer serve us and how to build a healthier relationship with ourselves.

Edward Hirsch is one of the country’s most celebrated poets, which would have been a big surprise to his mother. She warned him growing up, “Poetry is fine so long as it sells products. Otherwise, it’s just a hobby, and no one gets paid for a hobby.”

That’s from Hirsch’s new book, My Childhood in Pieces, which he describes as an elegy and a stand-up comedy.

He grew up in Chicago and Skokie, IL with a complicated and colorful family. His dad was a gambler, his mom had boundary issues, and his stepdad had a temper. Hirsch writes that comedy was a competitive sport in the family, and one could easily get hurt. The book is filled with jokes, puns and one-liners.

Edward Hirsch joins us to talk about how he navigated the emotional landmines of his childhood and how poetry has helped him manage big feelings. He wrote recently that he is losing his eyesight which, rather than being tragic, has made him “more mindful and alert, more fully present.”

Psychologist Diana Hill explains how to revitalize our relationship with ourselves and focus on what really matters.

As we get ready to mark the country’s 250th anniversary, we are still struggling to reconcile our deep-seated disagreements over policies, beliefs and values. There are many ways to define those differences: red and blue, urban and rural, male and female, young and old, native and immigrant.

Historian Colin Woodard says our geography has long shaped our view about what it means to be an American and our views on the role of government.

His new book, Nations Apart, shows how early colonists, with their conflicting views of individual liberty and the common good, created “an awkward federation of distinct regional cultures” that still exists today.

He writes that it’s these 11 regions with their unique narratives and traditions, rather than the 50 states, that drive our current conflicts over authoritarianism and democracy.

Colin Woodard joins us to discuss what’s pulling us apart and how we can create a more perfect union.