Thecuriousmanspodcast

Matt Crawford speaks with Oscar and Emmy winning director George Stevens Jr. about his book, My Place In the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington. George Stevens Jr. grew up in Hollywood and in a family five generations deep in the entertainment business. George worked with his father, Oscar-winning director George Stevens Sr. on some of his most iconic movies like Shane and Giant before starting his own distinguished career in both Hollywood and Washington. Recruited by Edward R. Murrow to work in the United States Information Agency to highlight the importance of the arts, Stevens then went on as founding director of the American Film Institute. After JFK's assassination he then cofounded, wrote and produced the Kennedy Center honors for 37 years. George shares all of these pivotal moments with us in a way that makes you feel like you are part of his family. A book that will be hard to put down, I guarantee that you will be smiling while you read it and I could not recommend it more. 

Matt Crawford speaks with Dr. Jane Ballantyne about her and Dr. Mark Sullivan about their book, The Right to Pain Relief and Other Deep Roots of the Opioid Epidemic. This book explores the history of pain in Western society, the role of innovation in end-of-life care, the conception of pain relief as an important medical responsibility and the various models of pain that have led us to our current understanding of it. Couple with drug advertisements, certain companies lying to patients and doctors about the addictive nature of opioids and patients simply looking for relief this was a recipe for disaster. 

I speak with author Dr. Alvin Pam about his book, When Black Panthers Prowled Amerika. Set in the turbulent 60's amid the civil rights movement, Nef is an intrepid young black reporter who is covering the story of the Black Panther party in Oakland and its two disparate leaders, Huey P. Newton and Eldridge Cleaver. Falling in love with Newton and seeing the party from all sides, Nef starts to question the future of the Black Panthers and Newton's true intentions. Part autobiographical Pam and I discuss his own civil rights activism and what made him want to write this book.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Max Friedman about his book, Painful Joy: A Holocaust Family Memoir. Both of Friedman's parents lost their spouses and children in the Holocaust before finding each other. Those experiences shaped them in way that were irrevocable and damaging, but how can a child in that household grasp these intricacies? This book is about Max going back and researching his parent's stories to get a better grasp on what they survived and to understand them. Despite everything they went through, both managed to find their version of love and bring two children into this world. This is their story and I hope you will read it.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Nate Hilger about his book, The Parent Trap: How to Stop Overloading Parents and Fix Our Inequality Crisis. Few of us realize what a herculean effort raising children can be. You have to be parent, tutor, coach, therapist, tech and so much more, if this were to be valued in dollars it would be a billion-dollar industry, yet a lot of parents have very little infrastructure or organization to assist and advocate for them. Nate and I discuss what we can do to change that, how it affects different socio-economic groups and our own parenting experiences. I hope you will give a listen and a read.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Daniel Gordis about his book, Impossible Takes Longer. Why was Israel founded? What was its purpose? 75 years after its founding Gordis has written this book to explore those very questions and how it has succeeded and where it has failed. I hope you will give a listen and then read this seminal work. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author and co-editor Scott Montgomery about the book Austin Noir. Another addition to Akashic books Noir series for readers to enjoy and, set in Austin! This is the perfect fix for your crime reading pleasure with something for everyone. Give it a read and enjoy!

Matt Crawford speaks with author Lynx Vilden about her book, Return: A Journey Back to Living Wild. At 24 years old Lynx crawled out of a sweat lodge with tears streaming down her face and made a promise to the earth, "I will love you and cherish you, I will learn how to live and share what you teach me." Over the next 30 years that mission would bring her all over the world and shape her life and those of her students in profound ways. In this memoir Vilden shares that journey with us all and tries to impart some of what she has learned with us all. I encourage all of you to take this journey and read her book.

Hello and welcome to the 500th Episode Special! Thank you all for listening, sharing and supporting me over the years. None of what I have done would be possible without the help of so many people, including the listeners, publicists and of course the authors. Here is to the next 300 episodes and beyond. I ask you all humbly to share this and spread the word if you can. Let's keep building this community and platform for authors to share and discuss their important works.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Alan Prendergast about his book, Gangbuster: One Man's Battle Against Crime, Corruption, and The Klan. Denver during the roaring 1920's was a corrupt town from stem to stern. Rookie District Attorney Philip Van Cise wanted to change that, and he would end up taking on organized crime, corruption on every governmental level and the Ku Klux Klan. Utilizing cutting edge technology and even reaching out to private donors to fund his crusade, Van Cise was truly ahead of his time. Why then have so few heard of him? Read this book and find out just what a miscarriage of justice that really is!