Leading New York Times writer and best-selling author Frank Bruni joined us for an in-depth discussion of his most recent book The Age of Grievance which focuses on American culture's fall into pessimism and the binary world of choosing sides, tribalism, and the pressing need for compromise and common ground. It is somewhat global (as with Brexit) but largely an American phenomenon of a scale never imagined and at the center, says Bruni, is ugly politics. Though more consequential and perilous f...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast Passion is an understatement when it comes to tech futurist, evangelist, creator of famous Silicon Valley blog Scobleizer, author of six prescient books, podcaster, video journalist, and former Microsoft strategist Robert Scoble. Host Michael Krasny gets down to business, exploring a mind-bending array of topics that will define our technological future: Get Ready for the Driverless Revolution: Scoble dives deep into the world of autonomous vehicles, discussing how they will transform transporta...
Jul 02, 2024•58 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast Author and global futurist Maddy Dychtwald joined us for a wide-ranging deep dive into the subject of her latest best-selling book on the topic of women and aging. We began with her discussing her reasons for writing the book, her work with cutting edge researchers, her erasing of personal hip pain and the longevity revolution. She clarified her objective of not trying to retain youth versus discovering ways to prevent or delay physical or brain decline. We delved into gender differences and the...
Jun 25, 2024•58 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast "Competition between the Morally Unfit and the Mentally Unfit." That was Bret Stephens' take on the U.S. presidential race. We spoke of the race and of immigration, including what Stephens described as "legitimate criticism" of the Biden administration as well as Stephens' own family history and realizing the American dream. He also spoke of the need for control of U.S. borders and a wall and the need to bring people in in a regularized way to apply for visas in a way that does not overwhelm. "W...
Jun 18, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Journalist, entrepreneur and best-selling author Steven Brill joined us to map out why opinions, disinformation and conspiracy theories have become the global death knell for truth. We spoke of why so many people no longer trust facts and Brill's own personal experience with a Russian disinformation operative. He discussed his for-profit business NewsGuard and his vested interest in exposing disinformation. We focused on false narratives from both the Right and the Left and on a young man, an Oh...
Jun 11, 2024•58 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast Silicon Valley acclaimed entrepreneur and author Andrew Keen of Keen on and Keen on Substack joined us. We heard his views on the Internet and big tech companies and how new agency and a middle ground are needed rather than regulation or new technology. Andrew discussed the future of work as well as failures of Facebook despite its economic successes; the damage potential of AI; failures of the digital revolution and Israel as a U.S. junior partner. He additionally touched on privacy and surveil...
Jun 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast Director of The Bezos Family Foundation and author of Mind in the Making, The Six Stages of Parenthood and The Breakthrough Years, Ellen Galinsky joined us for a deep dive interview starting with the role of neuroscience in understanding the teen brain and then branching out to questions related to teen risky behavior, self-control, decision making and autonomy. We talked about the student protestors who she viewed as taking positive risks and went on to helicopter parenting; kids as pals of the...
May 30, 2024•55 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Journalist, blogger, columnist, podcaster, and technology writer Mike Elgan joined us live from Venice to talk about being a temporary local and AI. The dialogue began with Mike explaining the life he lives and wrote about in Gastronomad, a life of constant travel and absorbing different cultures while remote work allows for a livable income and stories are gathered. We moved on to talk about nineteenth century historian Thomas Carlyle's notion of the mechanical age and how we are presently in i...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Biographer (Bobby Kennedy and Satchel) and award-winning reporter Larry Tye talked to us about his newest book, The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Count Basie Transformed America. All three of these iconic musicians, Tye noted, though from different backgrounds, had to endure Jim Crow and racial bigotry but "opened the eyes, ears and souls" of White men and the women they wooed and "set the table for the civil rights movement." Tye took on this writing task out of a promise he ...
May 14, 2024•59 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Veteran political analyst and Associate Director of The Washington Center Marc Sandalow joined us for a rich and wide ranging conversation about the political landscape -- starting with the ongoing trial of Donald Trump and proceeding to questions about who will and will not turn out to vote in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Marc spoke of his UC Berkeley student's dissatisfaction with both President Biden and former President Trump and citizen perceptions of aging in the two as well as...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast With a client list that includes Walmart, Microsoft and Apple, Placement IO Founder and CEO Edwin Fu spoke with us about entrepreneurship. He talked about the high which comes from solving problems and building a better mousetrap and the necessity of having the passion of a mad scientist. He emphasized the necessity of craziness for founders based on tenacity and vision and an ability to execute. Money, success, and growth are all, Fu argues, byproducts of drive. He talked, too, of being burned ...
Apr 23, 2024•58 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast The architect of the Oslo accords, Ambassador Dennis Ross, who worked in five U.S. presidential administrations trying to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, joined us on the heels of the deaths in Gaza, at the hands of the Israelis, of seven humanitarian workers. Ambassador Ross spoke of the present conflict as the worst he has witnessed and he discussed the trauma of both the Palestinian and Israeli sides as well as the differences in the Israel, West Bank and Gaza governments, the...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast Veteran Journalist, Journalism professor and author Jeff Jarvis joined us to discuss media and its history and future and the future of journalism. We zeroed in on questions of Internet regulation and the effect of AI and Jeff spoke about why he believes TikTok should be defended and not banned and focused on what he called hegemonic and corporate old journalism versus journalism which serves the community. Jeff also talked about Section 230 and its so-called shield and sword role for media at i...
Apr 02, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast Former Kaiser Permanente CEO and one of modern healthcare's most influential physician leaders, Dr. Robert Pearl joined us for a deep discussion focusing on his recent book "ChatGPT, MD" and the exponential changes generative AI can bring to American medicine and healthcare. We initially heard a poignant personal story from Dr. Pearl about how he went from studying cardiac surgery to becoming a plastic surgeon as a result of watching surgical repairs of cleft palates in Mexico. From there he wen...
Mar 26, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Astronomer Andrew Fraknoi joined us to dispense his usual passionate and illuminating clarity on the April 8 total solar eclipse and eclipses per se and more. He spoke of best places to view, optimal weather conditions, proper eyeglasses and what not to wear, as well as how to observe with a colander and why we cannot see a total solar eclipse from any other planet in our solar system. We were able to touch, too, on some eclipse myths and include sidebars about a bright sight twelve billion ligh...
Mar 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast Former UC Berkeley Chancellor and President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences Nicholas Dirks joined us to discuss his latest book, City of Intellect. We began with an assessment of the free speech movement and the trajectory to more recent efforts by protestors to shut speakers down. The dialogue proceeded from there to questions about hate speech and so-called safe spaces and trigger warnings as well as broader questions of what a university is for, who it serves and what it can and c...
Mar 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast Long-time Apple expert, podcaster and tech savant Rene Ritchie joined us in his role as YouTube liaison to discuss monetizing and revenue sources for aspiring and established YouTube content creators. Rene talked about YouTube as "the most accessible culture endeavor ever seen," and provided useful and practical points for content creators in our work shifting world -- including thinking like a viewer, not relying on algorithms and making use of cliffhangers. Rene spoke of his own personal work ...
Mar 05, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast We spent an hour with twenty-year CEO of The World Affairs Council and foreign affairs expert Jane Wales discussing the wars in Ukraine, Gaza and the far less media focused civil war in Sudan with illuminating views from her on trends away from liberal democracy and the rise of autocrats. The Information Revolution, which has allowed war to be seen as never before, prompted us to explore questions of sovereignty, rising nationalism and ongoing expansion of Artificial Intelligence. Philanthropy t...
Feb 27, 2024•1 hr•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast Allbirds co-owner and CEO Joey Zwillinger joined us for a wide-ranging discussion focusing on the ups and downs and successes and challenges of the international shoe company as well as decarbonization and sustainability; entrepreneurship and branding; innovation and capitalism. We talked about the fashion industry and the CEO's role in the public company which makes over 200 million shoes a year. Worker's rights, DEI and factory conditions also emerged in the conversation which concluded with a...
Feb 20, 2024•59 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast Leading Stanford neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Nolan Williams joined us for a deeper understanding of current scientific explorations into the growing use of psychedelics in relieving and curing mental health problems. Though not ignoring valid concerns over bad trips and underage usage, Dr. Williams demonstrated how FDA approved research with safeguards can lead to mental health cures. He spoke, too, of the history of the Controlled Substances Act, the brain's plasticity, and sacramental dru...
Feb 12, 2024•59 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast We spoke with leading climate scientist Dr. Kristina Dahl about the vital need for systemic solutions to the systemic problem of climate change and the vacillation many of us feel between hope and despair. If fossil fuels remain indispensable to us, what can be done and what, especially, can we as individuals do to curb carbon emissions and stave off extinction? One of TIME magazine's 2023 list of the world's 100 most influential people, Dr. Dahl takes us into depths of greater understanding of ...
Feb 06, 2024•59 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast Louis Ferrante, former hijacker and Mafia gangster who turned in prison to research, book writing and Judaism, talks about his life in crime and time in prison and his published history of the American Mafia from his perspective as an insider. He also talks about guilt and religion, Mafia violence, snitching and Omerta, and the Mafia's Sicilian roots, as well as The FBI and who may have killed President John F Kennedy.
Jan 30, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast New Israel Fund CEO and self-described politically proud progressive Daniel Sokatch joined us to talk about what Emily Dickinson called "the thing with feathers" and discover seeds of hope for the long-term in the midst of the bloody battles between Israel and Hamas and their seemingly irreconcilable narratives. A passionate and incredibly well informed hour!
Jan 23, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Cooking are the two words that now are the trademark on recipes of master chef and culinary artist and educator Jacques Pepin. The French born public television star and author joined us to talk about his most recent book – Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking. We talked of cooking seasonally; using leftovers; the perfect omelet or souffle; and cooking at home; as well as Jacques as painter and illustrator and the Jacques Pepin Foundation. We were also able to delv...
Jan 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast Internationally celebrated scientist Helen Blau focuses in on and elucidates the frontiers of stem cell research and her own singularly important work in her Stanford based lab and the company she co-founded. From longevity and replenishing and replacing stem cells, the conversation ranged on to an exploration of telomeres, CRISPR, and cloning and Dr. Blau's personal history as a woman scientist and historic and ongoing challenges women in science face as well as research of Dr. Blau's on muscle...
Jan 09, 2024•58 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast We began our conversation with internationally celebrated photographer Howard Schatz by focusing on the nature of creativity and and the challenges of creating "phenomenal" images when so many images are unoriginal, easy to access and abundant -- though the abundance, Schatz feels, makes it easier to determine what is great. He spoke about his interest in the human form and the mystery of art as well as his recent book, PAIRS, anchored in the idea of the diptych. He spoke, too, of the necessity ...
Dec 26, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast Ken Dychtwald has acquired much wisdom on aging over the years so we began by exploring the upside of aging. He spoke of major historical changes in life expectancy and general attitudes toward aging. From there we discussed the central importance of purpose and the distinction New York Times columnist David Brooks has made between a career resume and a eulogy resume. Ken then followed with thoughts on the uses of free time and the importance of altruism, which can add years to one's life. He th...
Dec 19, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast In this engaging conversation with tech expert Jason Snell, the dialogue covered diverse AI-related topics. From the challenges of regulation to biases in machine learning models, the conversation explored societal impacts, education, and the digital divide. Jason also shared insights on the transformative nature of the Internet and discussed Apple's corporate culture amid regulatory concerns. The discourse highlighted the need to reframe AI discussions positively. Aspiring journalists received ...
Dec 12, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast In this enlightening episode of Gray Matter, Michael Krasny explores the life and work of accomplished entrepreneur and CEO of BioVie, Cuong Do. Starting from his humble beginnings as an immigrant from Vietnam, Cuong details his extensive contributions in the fields of business strategy and bio-medical research, from discovering a potential Alzheimer's treatment to his work in helping autistic individuals. He shares insights from his extensive career on overcoming challenges and how his humanita...
Dec 06, 2023•1 hr•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast We recently spoke with Dr. Laura Esserman, a leading internationally recognized surgeon and breast cancer oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco where she serves as director of the UCSF Breast Care Center. We discussed the need to redefine cancer and the need for personalized patient centered care in health care, as well as a range of other issues related to public policy and their impact on the delivery of clinical care. Join us!
Nov 28, 2023•59 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast 
