Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

Alan Alda

Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. It's something we need now more than ever.

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27 episodes
weekly
Avg 36 min
English

Episodes 27

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Tuesday · 37 min
Patrick McEnroe: Calling the shots
The younger brother of tennis champion John – and himself ranked number three in the world in doubles – he shares connecting and communicating secrets, both on the court and in his present career as a tennis commentator.
September 22 · 37 min
Dame Sue Black: Science on trial
Britain’s best known expert witness tells of trials where crime scene evidence has led not only to successful prosecutions but also in too many cases to people being punished for crimes they didn’t commit.
September 15 · 36 min
Antonio Damasio: Consciousness starts in a surprising place
Rather than being a feature of our complex brains, he argues that consciousness begins in the feelings and emotions generated by our bodies.
September 8 · 37 min
Lisa Margulis: Music shares our daydreams
Letting your mind wander while listening to music can open you up to rewarding daydreams. Surprisingly, there is a good chance that your musical daydream is shared by others.
September 1 · 36 min
Joanna Stern: A year living with bots
She spent twelve months trying out the best and the worst that AI has to offer, from the creepy (an AI boyfriend), to the helpful (an AI-powered mammogram) to the weird (a robot masseuse) and the downright annoying (a stuffed animal toy that wouldn’t shut up). You can find Joanna's book, I AM NOT A ROBOT, at her site: https://joannastern.com/
August 25 · 33 min
Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda: Season 35 Trailer
Alan and executive producer Graham Chedd introduce season 35 of Clear and Vivid. Topics include how music inspires daydreams, the mind games of championship tennis, a year living with robots, the challenges of an expert witness and the sheer joy of joy.
August 18 · 37 min
Yael Schonbrun: It’s not what you say…
There is more to successful communication than picking the right words. We need to understand that our understanding of others is shaped by factors we are mostly unaware of, ranging from our upbringing to how well we slept.
August 11 · 37 min
Tom Levenson: Anti-vaxxers are living in the past
Opposition to vaccines goes back to their invention. And while doubts about vaccine safely may have been justified 300 years ago, those same doubts have lingered among those opposing vaccines today – vaccines that are overwhelmingly safe and have saved millions of lives.
August 4 · 37 min
Nicholas Epley: Talking to strangers
An encounter on his commuter train led to 20 years of research that changed his life for the better. You too can be friendlier, kinder, more open, more curious – and the first step could be a smile and a hello to the stranger sitting next to you.
July 28 · 36 min
Lisa Genova: She lets us into their worlds
A neuroscientist who also writes novels – including one that became an award-winning movie – Lisa Genova lets us experience the stories lived by people with brain diseases ranging from Alzheimer's to bipolar disorder.
July 21 · 36 min
Matt Kaplan: They were right after all
Vivid stories of scientists whose claims were ignored or ridiculed, from Galileo to Kati Karikó – the woman whose work was critical in developing the mRNA Covid vaccine that saved millions of lives.
July 14 · 36 min
Roxanne Khamsi: You are mutating – and that’s (mostly) a good thing
Mutations sound scary. But the DNA that shaped us is has been mutating since we were born. Some mutations are bad for our health while others are helping us stay alive, sprucing up our livers and fighting off germs.
July 7 · 38 min
Lawrence O’Donnell: Inventing Arnie Vinick
Today an MS NOW host, in 2004 he was writer/producer on the popular NBC series The West Wing tasked with introducing a new character – a Republican Senator running for president.
June 30 · 36 min
Walter Isaacson: Are these truths still self-evident?
On the eve of our nation's 250th, Walter Isaacson takes a deep dive into the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. It's what he calls "the greatest sentence ever written."
June 23 · 37 min
Kate Bowler: Joy is surprising
A decade on from being diagnosed with a deadly cancer – and eight years since her first visit with Clear and Vivid – she tells of the many ways she has been taken by surprise by joy, as recounted in her new book – Joyful, Anyway
June 16 · 36 min
Dhruv Khullar: The doctor has stories
As AI takes an increasing role in medical decisions, a physician employs stories to tell how the role of our doctors is changing
June 9 · 36 min
Chris Duffy: How laughter connects us
Finding humor in the many absurdities of everyday life – including our own foolishness – can help us see things in new ways, foster understanding… above all, mend our ability to connect with others.
June 2 · 26 min
Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda: Season 34 Trailer
Alan and Executive Producer Graham Chedd look ahead to season 34. Episodes include one of Alan’s favorite topics – humor, and its power to connect; finding joy in unexpected places; why telling stories makes for better doctors; and how Alan’s character in The West Wing, Arnie Vinick, came to be.
May 26 · 38 min
Roger Rosenblatt: Aging well
Alan revisits a conversation with his old friend to compare notes on staying happy when old, as Roger’s new book, More Rules for Aging: Making the Most of Your Ridiculous, Wondrous Life, hits the bookshelves.
May 19 · 37 min
Sonja Lyubomirsky: Lost that loving feeling?
In her new book she argues that if you want to feel more loved, you don't need to change yourself, you don't need to change the other person (which is sure to backfire!). You just need to change the conversation.

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