Author

David Vandver

Non Fiction, Social Issues

OCT 30: Alexandra Horowitz’s Our Dogs, Ourselves

October 30, 2019

“Who we are with dogs is who we are as people,” says Alexandra Horowitz, head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College and author of Our Dogs Ourselves: The Story of a Singular Bond.  Alexandra returns to Conversations Live to discuss how the relationship between us and our dogs affects both species.  Find out why breeding can cause a myriad of problems, and why you might want to think twice about spaying/neutering.

Alexandra is the author of three previous books, Being a Dog,  On Looking; and Inside of a Dog.. She is a professor at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she teaches seminars in canine cognition, creative nonfiction writing, and audio storytelling.  Enjoy her previous appearance on Conversations Live here.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Social Issues

OCT 23: Clive Wynne’s Dog is Love

October 23, 2019

Does your dog love you or see you as a supplier of food?  Is he/she even capable of love?  A long-standing debate between science and dog lovers has centered around these questions, and now we have an answer from a scientist … in favor of dog lovers.  Drawing on cutting edge studies from labs around the world, canine behaviorist Clive Wynne uses genetic codes, meticulously studied brain states, and a lifetime of behavioral observation to conclude that a dogs capacity for love … not their submissiveness or intelligence … lies at the heart of our relationships with our furry friends.

Today you’ll learn how to help your dog lead a more satisfying and fulfilling life through bridging affection, whether it’s with a new puppy or an older dog coming into your life for it’s twilight years.  Clive’s book is Dog is Love: Why and How Your Dog Loves You.

Clive Wynne, Ph.D. is the founding director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University. He is widely published and has appeared on National Geographic Explorer, PBS, and the BBC.

 

 

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Conservation, Environment, Social Issues

OCT 16: National Geographic’s Vanishing with Joel Sartore

October 16, 2019

15 years ago, Joel Sartore began his quest to photograph all of Earth’s animal species under human care. The resulting National Geographic’s The Photo Ark project has since inspired thousands of people to protect the world’s most vulnerable animals.  Vanishing is the third installment in the series, examining animals that are on the brink of extinction, or in some cases, already extinct in the wild but kept alive in captivity thanks to the work of heroic conservationists.

Joel will discuss how everyone can make a difference, looking at our technology, and the real cost of the cup of coffee you buy everyday.  We’ll also take a deep dive into the IUCN red list, which is a critical indicator of the health of our world’s biodiversity.

Joel is a photographer, author, and 30-year contributor to National Geographic magazine, named 2018 National Geographic Explorer of the Year. Through his National Geographic Photo Ark project, he plans to photograph every species of animal under human care, an estimated 12,000. (As of Nov 2018, he has photographed nearly 9,000.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction

OCT 09: Dr. Barbara Bruce & The Mayo Clinic Guide to Fibromyalgia

October 9, 2019

10 million people in the United States, 75-90% of them women, suffer from Fibromyalgia, yet it remains one of the most difficult to diagnose and misunderstood disorders.  In the Mayo Clinic Guide to Fibromyalgia: Strategies to Take Back Your Life, co-author Dr. Barbara Bruce dispels myths surrounding Fibromyalgia, and using the latest scientific research, offers easy-to-follow steps for reducing pain and other symptoms so you can manage it successfully.

Dr. Bruce is a clinical health psychologist in the Mayo Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, and Associate Professor of Psychology at the Mayo Clinic College of Science and Medicine, Mayo Clinic.  She served as Clinical Director of the Mayo Clinic Pain Rehabilitation Center Program in Rochester, MN, where she also led the development of the Mayo Clinic Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Program.

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Career, Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Self-help, Women's Issues

OCT 10: Reshma Saujani’s Brave, Not Perfect & Jane Finkle’s Introvert’s Complete Career Guide

October 4, 2019

 

Young boys are taught to be bold and adventurous, young women are taught to be prim, proper, and demure.  Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani shows you how to end your love affair with perfection and rewire yourself for bravery.

Reshma began her career as an attorney and activist., surging onto the political scene in 2010 as the first Indian American woman to run for U.S. Congress.  She is Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, a national non-profit organization.

Next, while the squeaky wheel gets the grease, remove the quiet wheel and the bike becomes useless.  Jane Finkle knows firsthand the unique challenges and obstacles introverts face.  Her new book, The Introvert’s Complete Career Guide: From Landing a Job, to Surviving, Thriving, and Moving on Up, provides the tools to creating a path to a more fulfilling life.

Jane has 25 years of experience as a career coach for universities and has run her own career counseling firm since 2002.

 

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Fiction, Writers on Writing

OCT 02: Casey Barrett’s Tower of Songs

October 2, 2019

Today Vicki is joined by former Canadian Olympic team swimmer turned broadcaster turned novelist Casey Barrett.  You’ll learn how the discipline he learned as a world class swimmer translates to his writing career.  We’ll also discuss the darker side of competitive sports, why he bucks the conventional advice regarding writing prologues, and the best and worst things that can happen while writing a novel.  His latest work Tower of Songs continues the saga of his anti-hero, Duck Darley.

Casey is a Canadian Olympian and the co-founder and co-CEO of Imagine Swimming, New York City’s largest learn-to-swim school. His short fiction, essays, and books coverage have appeared in The Village Voice, Mystery Tribune, Crime Reads, Booktrib, and elsewhere.  He has won three Emmy awards and one Peabody award for his work on NBC’s broadcasts of the Olympic Games.

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Career, Fiction, Health & Wellness, Non Fiction, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

SEP 30: Victoria Dahl’s False Step & Kimberly Friedmutter’s Subconscious Power

September 28, 2019

Your highest goals and deepest desires are well within reach, the trick is unlocking your self-empowerment.  Today, we will demystify tapping into your hidden ability to navigate life’s hurdles, reduce stress, improve sleep, overcome addiction, get fit, and achieve career goals.  Stars and political power brokers alike have used the techniques found in Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You’ve Always Wanted.

Kimberly Friedmutter is a UCLA Health Systems Board Member, Certified Master Hypnotist, Spiritual Counselor Specialist, Medical and Dental Specialist, and board-certified on the American Board of Hypnotherapy among other organizations.  She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight, The Doctors, TLC, CNN, and more.

“Love stories and scary stories are flip sides of the same coin. They each tap into the most basic human drives: to survive and to mate.”  From high in the Wasach Mountains of Utah comes Victoria Helen Stone, formerly known as Victoria Dahl.  Why the pseudonym? Find out today as she discusses her latest novel False Step.

Victoria Helen Stone, formerly writing as USA Today bestselling novelist Victoria Dahl, has left the lighter side of fiction under her former guise and continues her bestselling ways with a turn to dark suspense.

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Inspirational, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

SEP 25: NYT Bestseller & History Channel Host Brad Meltzer

September 25, 2019

Brad Meltzer returns to Conversations Live today to talk about his bestselling non-fiction children’s pitcure book series, Ordinary People Change the World, which includes two books we’ll discuss today … I am Marie Curie and I am Walt Disney.  Brad delves into how the 2016 election surprisingly boosted sales of two particular books in the series, and we’ll find out where his inspiration comes from in choosing the subjects of each book.

The versatile Brad Meltzer is a NYT bestselling author of thrillers, non-fiction, children’s books, and more.  He is also the host of Brad Meltzer’s Lost History on H2 and Brad Meltzer’s Decoded on the History Channel. The Hollywood Reporter recently put him on their list of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors.

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Conservation, Environment, Health & Wellness, Personal Development, Spirituality, Travel & Adventure

SEP 23: Susan Hand Shetterly’s The Seaweed Chronicles & Dan Millman’s The Life You Were Born to Live

September 22, 2019

Known as the Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman returns to Conversations Live today to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Life You Were Born to Live: A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose.  The new revised edition includes key spiritual laws to overcome life’s hurdles, how to live in harmony with the nine-year cycles of your life, and more.

Dan is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor.  He has authored 17 books, and delivers keynotes, seminars, and workshops to people from all walks of life.

Next, nature writer Susan Hand Shetterly takes you on a journey from her native Maine, to Canada, Wales, Japan, the Philippines, and beyond, as she reveals the hidden world of nature’s most abundant resource.  Her latest book, Seaweed Chronicles: A World at the Water’s Edge comes out in August.

An award-winning author of nine books, Susan has also written for several magazines, including Down East, Yankee, and Audubon Magazine. She was a contributing writer for Maine Times for many years, writing essays and articles on wild lands and wildlife, and the people who work with them.

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Health & Wellness, Non Fiction

SEP 18: Dr. Bill Sullivan’s Pleased to Meet Me

September 21, 2019

“Trust your gut” is an oft used and usually sound piece of advice.  What if we told you that it actually has a scientific basis?  Why do some people like broccoli and others find it disgusting?  What makes some people vote liberal and some vote conservative?  Dr. Bill Sullivan joins us today with evidence that our microbiota … the trillions of microbes living in our gut … influence and affect our behavior and moods.

Dr. Sullivan, author of National Geographic’s Pleased To Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces That Make Us Who We Are, holds a doctorate in cell and molecular biology and is an award-winning professor at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, where he studies genetics and infectious diseases.

 

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