Wavemaker Conversations

Emma Sky was U.S. General Odierno's chief political adviser during the the surge - building alliances with the Sunni leaders who would defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq. She also administered a key Kurdish area for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Her memoir of her time in Iraq is: "The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq." She now teaches at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. This is the first in an occasional series of Wavemaker briefings from leading authorities on ISIS and the region.

The author of The Dowd Report, which led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball, provides an exclusive, behind-the-scenes account of his investigation that concluded baseball's all-time hit leader gambled heavily on baseball and his own team. Dowd explains here why he told the leaders of the MLB: "organized crime has a mortgage on the manager of the Cincinnati Reds." Commissioner Rob Manfred says he will rule on Rose's request to be reinstated in baseball between now and the end of the year.

Well before The Dowd Report that led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball, John Dowd, Emory Law School grad, was a Marine, then a Justice Department prosecutor who lead the battle to bring down the Mafia. The investigation of Pete Rose brought him full circle back to the Mob. Part 1 of 2 on The Journey of John Dowd.

The former MLB Commissioner's exclusive behind the scenes account of the investigation that led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball. Part 3 of The Fay Vincent Sessions, a Wavemaker podcast special with the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball. A decision on whether to reinstate Rose is expected any time now.

Former MLB Commish Fay Vincent, an oral historian of the game, shares stories that will help us watch the World Series smarter. Among the stories only Vincent can tell: 1) Two Hall of Famers debating who's dumber, pitchers or hitters?

2) The smartest baseball players and the calculations they make on every play; 3) The backstory of the Negro Leagues; 4) the 2nd African-American player to join the Majors, and the one white player on his team who agreed to play catch with him, changing the game. And more ...

The 8th Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Fay Vincent, discusses the pivotal event in his life: the 4-story fall from his college dorm, which left him paralyzed for months from the chest down; his mother's advice, which guided him from life as a college football player to a life of the mind; & the factors that shaped his successes in law, business, and the pinnacle of the movie industry, where he made a fortune. All this before he became The Commish. Next episode - Vincent's behind the scenes account of the investigation into Pete Rose.

What was Ted Kennedy's first case as a young prosecutor? Why did he lose with so much evidence against the defendant? What advice did he get from his brother, John, when he prepared to enter politics? What did he learn from his maternal grandfather, a legendary Boston pol, that could help us all be more effective in our lives? And why was Ted Kennedy so good at building personal relationships in the Senate, even with those who despised his politics? Many answers emerge from the release of the Ted Kennedy Sessions -- the oral history project conducted by the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Schulder's guest, Miller Center Director of Presidential Studies, Barbara Perry, walks us through fascinating moments of 19 in-depth interviews that Senator Kennedy gave from 2005-2007. But first, the episode begins with one of the world's leading mediators, William Ury, weighing in on the massacre in Roseburg, Oregon.

Schulder speaks with 84 year old psychiatrist & best-selling author Irvin Yalom about the healing value of staring death in the face, increasing one's fulfillment through "rippling," falling in love v standing in love, humor, and, finally, the essential question: what is the more effective way to cope with existential anxiety: sex or writing? Cameo appearances from Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Carol Dweck.

Emergency field director for the International Rescue Committee on the Greek island of Lesvos, Kirk Day, gives Michael Schulder a first hand account of the quickly escalating refugee crisis in Europe. 20 minutes into their conversation Kirk has to cut their talk short to pursue an urgent opportunity to get 6-thousand refugees on 3 ferries.

A Fantasy Football episode with real life lessons. My guest is Joe Moglia - Head Coach of the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers football team. Why Joe Moglia? Because after many years struggling to support a family on the small salary of an Assistant Coach, Moglia pivoted, into the business world, and became a hugely successful CEO. He knows how to pick winning teams. He knows how to identify character. The two are connected. Moglia's life story demonstrates how.