Distractions are everywhere, and they are wrecking our productivity. When we look to the intense focus of hockey players, craftspeople, and even short-order cooks, what can we learn about concentration? This hour, we’ll talk with Matthew B. Crawford, author of “The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction.”
Oscar Wilde’s comedy of manners, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” pokes fun at its era’s aristocratic norms. Kitchen Dog Theater has adapted the play to reflect current hipster culture and renamed it “Wilde/Earnest.” This hour we’ll talk about the show its creative team.
Steve Jobs is remembered as a visionary innovator whose relentless drive once alienated him from the Apple family. This hour, we’ll talk about how the arrogant genius ultimately changed the lives of billions across the world with Rick Tetzeli, co-author of “Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader.”
Whether or not to have children is a complicated, personal choice. Still, many who decide to forgo baby bottles and cradles in favor of pantsuits and suitcases face judgment from peers. This hour, we’ll talk about with Meghan Daum, the editor of “Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids.”
Career, pantsuit, suitcase,
This hour, we’ll talk about how people develop a dependence to prescription drugs – and how pain pills and anti-depressants differ from street drugs – with experts who treat prescription-drug addicts.
Modern medicine and biotechnology reduce the force of natural selection, and conditions that used to kill us are now being passed on to new generations. This hour, we’ll talk about how we can alter humanity’s future with Juan Enriquez, co-author of “Evolving Ourselves: How Unnatural Selection and Nonrandom Mutation are Changing Life on Earth.”
You can’t spell frustration without rust– and for good reason. It wreaks havoc on cars, bridges and boats, costing the government billions. This hour, we’ll talk about about the destructive force with Jonathan Waldman, author of “Rust: The Longest War.”
If someone says that you’re “quite” attractive, are you offended or pleased? The answer depends on whether you hail from across the pond or not, says Erin Moore, author of “That’s Not English: Britishisms, Americanisms, and What Our English Says About Us.”
This hour, we’ll talk with Alisa Jordheim, executive director of the Justice Society, on how to spot and advocate for the victims of child trafficking.
This hour, we’ll talk with Linda M. Blum, author of “Raising Generation Rx: Mothering Kids With Invisible Disabilities in an Age of Inequality” about the realities of caring for these children.
