The T. Boone Pickens Channel

Legendary journalist Tom Brokaw and Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University, are my guests on this episode of the Pickens Podcast.

They have teamed up to build a world-class Public Service Academy to create a next-gen class of young Americans who want to change the arc of civilian service to America. The idea is to produce civilian leadership in the same way we produce military leaders from West Point, Annapolis and the other military service academies.

Tune in for this important discussion about the future of higher education and the future of public service.

Who can fix our broken Congress? That’s one of the key questions that Jane Harman will be trying to answer as she watches Monday night’s presidential debate. When I sat down with Jane, I knew of her strong Democratic credentials. I’m a committed Republican. I was worried that we’d spend a lot of time butting heads. In fact, we found some common ground, and some areas to explore further.

Jane represented California’s 36th Congressional district for 18 years and is currently the president of the non-partisan Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. On top of these credentials, Jane also serves on the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Lou Holtz - a great friend of mine and a legendary football coach - joins me in a conversation to kick off college football season. I pressed and he gave his pick for National Champion.

Lou was not only a great and winning coach, he was an inspiration to his players, teaching them more than blocking and tackling, but also teaching them about life.

Listen to find out who this coach, teacher, and leader thinks will win it all this year.

Karen Tumulty is a senior political reporter for the Washington Post. She also moderated one of the few debates between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Now she is writing a biography of Nancy Reagan. “Nancy Reagan was not only powerful,” Karen said, “but for perhaps the first time in history didn’t care who knew it. This will be a very different book than those that were written in the 1990s.” Tune in for this very interesting peek behind the scenes with one of America’s most respected political reporters.

This week’s Pickens Podcast is an interview with Dr. Neil Bressler, MD, a Professor of Ophthalmology and Chief of the Retinal Division at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Bressler is one of the world’s experts in treating the eye disease known as macular degeneration. I, along with about 8 million other Americans, have this disease, which used to be the leading cause of blindness in older Americans. Due to the research Dr. Bressler and his colleagues have been conducting at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere, 75-80 percent of people with macular degeneration can have their vision preserved using modern drugs and medical techniques. If you’re over the age of 60 or have a parent or relative who is, I think you (and they) will find this discussion interesting, informative, and inspiring.

One of the giants of the energy business, John Hofmeister, sat down with T. Boone Pickens for this week's episode of the Pickens Podcast. A proven leader and proven thinker, Hofmeister shares his top energy-related goals for the United States.

One of the most important biographers in America, Walter Isaacson, sat down with T. Boone Pickens for this week’s episode of the Pickens Podcast. Walter is the head of The Aspen Institute, and presides over the Aspen Ideas Festival, which is currently underway in Aspen. Isaacson talks about the biggest changes he’s seen over the past 20 years and the most important lessons he has learned from some of the best business people, politicians, and academics in the world.

Retired four-star General James Conway tells Boone that if we want to get rid of ISIS, we need to arm and train the Sunni Tribes and the Kurds, but the Iraqi government won’t let us. On energy, Conway says that the U.S. has become a puppet being manipulated by the Saudis. He believes that an energy plan is really a national security plan. Listen to this episode of the Pickens Podcast to hear what one of America’s smartest Generals has to say.

General David Petraeus tells T. Boone Pickens during this episode of the Pickens Podcast: “We have a vital national interest in maintaining our relationships with the Middle East countries and to ensure the free flow of energy to nations around the world.” Listen to this riveting conversation for more of General Petraeus’ insights on the Middle East today.

T. Boone Pickens talks with a man who started his career working for Richard Nixon in rural Mississippi and ended up being one of the most influential – and likeable – political figures of the last 30 years: Haley Barbour. Haley was Chairman of the Republican National Committee when the GOP took over control of the U.S. House and served two terms as Governor of Mississippi.