Thecuriousmanspodcast

Matt Crawford speaks with author Douglas Bauer about his novel: The Beckoning World. Set in the early 1900's we find coal miner Earl Dunham, toiling in a coal mine six days a week and spending Sundays pitching in minor league baseball games. When a major-league scout signs Earl he thinks his dream has come true, then he meets Emily Marchand. As on the diamond, time and circumstance can move fast slowly and Earl's hopes and dreams are about to shift. The Beckoning World is a unique and heart-wrenching read that keeps you turning the page. With appearances by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig; in laws you'll fall in love with; and unfortunately, the 1918 Spanish Flu. Buy this book, read it, give it and enjoy it!

Matt Crawford speaks with Natasha Lance Rogoff about her book: Muppets in Moscow. Most of us have grown up watching Sesame Street and learning lessons through their gentle explanations and expert production by the Sesame Workshop. This is a whole other side of the Muppets as western ambassadors. Rogoff recounts her and her teams struggle to bring this beloved program to Russia in the early 1990's. The Berlin Wall had just fallen, and tensions were high, amidst bombings, assassinations and military takeovers of their production office, her and her team were risking everything to bring the Muppets to Moscow. A personal read that includes Rogoff's struggle to balance a new marriage and pregnancy while fighting for this show because she loved the Russian culture and people so. This book gives us valuable insight into diplomacy and how it worked in Russia and in my opinion how it should be used again. We need it now more than ever.

Matt Crawford speaks with Allison Butler about her and her co-authors book, The Media and Me. Don't let the title fool you folks, this is not just a book for young people. Butler and her co-authors give us a tool kit to decipher the flood of pathways we receive our media diet. 8 to 18 year-olds digest up to 11 hours a day with some form of media and sometimes without realizing it. The Media and Me breaks down the realities of media ownership, production and how it influences our culture. This should be required reading and implemented into our children's curriculum. Spread the word!

Matt Crawford speaks with Amy Buetens about her and Julie Weinstein's work, You Are The Universe: Ram Dass Maps The Journey. Sourced from five decades of recordings, Ram Dass shares his life story and his own evolution through honesty and humor. Beautifully curated and illustrated by Buetens and Weinstein this is an excellent introduction to Ram Dass' work. You will find guidance and the tools that anyone from young adults to adults of any age can use to start their own journey to self-awareness and fulfillment. I hope you all will.

Matt Crawford speaks with Rita Katz about her book, Saints and Soldiers. More than a decade ago, counterterrorism expert Rita Katz began browsing white supremacist and neo-Nazi forums. Immediately Katz recognized the pattern of recruitment and radicalization used by jihadist militants and the danger it posed, but law enforcement and policy makers barely paid attention and in some cases minimized or gave comfort to these groups. In Saints and Soldiers Katz shows us how the internet incites and weaponizes individuals to carry out horrific attacks. More importantly, she details how we can stop the spread of this hate, but we must pay attention. When hate crimes against Jews are at their highest level ever recorded, we must all do something. I implore all to start with reading this book to truly understand the danger.

Matt Crawford speaks with author Andrew Wehrman about his book: The Contagion of Liberty. At the height of The Revolutionary War a smallpox epidemic broke out and in response General Washington ordered the inoculation of the Continental Army. If not for that we may not exist as the nation we are. Washington however was not leading the charge, quite the opposite the colonists were the ones demanding it. Wehrman takes us through this revolution within The Revolution and what those who wanted inoculation had to go through to get it, the socio-economic issues in providing it and how race and gender played a role. A fantastic new dimension to our independence that is eerily prescient now. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Ethan Chorin about his book: Benghazi!: A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink. We all think we know the story of Benghazi and usually politics and who is to blame shapes that which we think we know. Lost in that sometimes is that fact that four Americans were killed; Ambassador Chris Stevens, Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty. Benghazi and the events of Sept 11, 2012 are difficult to understand and deserve more than a sound bite or political narrative. Chorin does this story and those men justice by taking the deep dive and gives us the history leading up to the attack, the events of that day, the aftermath and the effects of Benghazi's echo today. I hope you will all give this a read and talk about it. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Aviva Rahmani about her book: Divining Chaos. Aviva opens herself and our eyes in this inspiring book about her life and her work. Detailing the history that led her to the projects she created and Ecoart we are taken back through pivotal moments in history through her lens. The honesty of this book and the duration and magnitude of Rahmani's projects stunned me and was quite inspiring. We discuss Ghost Nets, Trigger Point Theory, cognitive dissidence, PTSD, politics and a whole host of other issues. I hope you will give a listen and then a read. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Derek Lidow about his book, The Entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are among the primary shapers of our culture, yet their role in our progress and the way in which they influence society is often overlooked. Lidow tracks back through history to show us just how far reaching their influence has been and how it continues to shape us. This book is a great combination of history, applicable knowledge, inspiration and cultural treatise. 

Matt Crawford speaks with author Sterlin Mosley about his book, The Narcissist in You and Everyone Else. This book helps readers to recognize the many different forms of narcissism and how they present in their own lives and how they can become destructive. Mosley introduces us to the spectrum-based model of increasing loss of empathy that can give way to a propensity toward narcissism. I found myself reliving so many moments in my life and at times my own actions and reactions that have puzzled me. This is a thought provoking and life changing read that I recommend for all.