David Vandver

DEC 11: Dr. Armin Zadeh with The Forgotten Art of Love & Dr. Becky Thompson’s Teaching with Tenderness

November 23, 2017

“As a cardiologist, I find this difficult to admit, but love is more about the brain than the heart,” writes Armin Zadeh, MD, PhD, and author of The Forgotten Art of Love: What Love Means and Why it Matters. “However, the view of love as a mental rather than magical power comes with a silver … if not golden … lining. “

On today’s show, Dr. Zadeh will help you discover the not-so-obvious connection between heart disease and state of mind, and unlock some of the answers to the mysteries of love.

Dr. Zadeh is a professor at John Hopkins University with doctoral degrees in medicine and philosophy, as well as a master’s degree in public health. As a cardiologist and scientist, Dr. Zadeh understands the close relationship between heart disease and the state of the mind.

With so much going on in our lives, it can be nearly impossible to find those cherished moments of peace each day. Teaching with Tenderness: Toward an Embodied Practice will have you using contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation, and free writing, to help you keep your heart open as you deal with each day’s setbacks.

Becky Thompson, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology at Simmons College, human rights activist, cross-cultural trainer, writer, poet, and senior-level yoga teacher.

Fiction, Writers on Writing

DEC 04: James Rollins’ The Demon Crown

November 19, 2017

What do the British chemist who founded the Smithsonian and Alexander Graham Bell have in common with a primordial threat that could devastate humankind? The bone-chilling answer lies in New York Times bestseller James Rollins latest Sigma Force novel, The Demon Crown.

James is a prolific author of international thrillers, blending historical fact with science fiction to create stories acclaimed for their originality. His books have been translated into 40 languages.

Later, Vicki will help you get into the spirit of giving, (and maybe help you decide on a gift for that one person you can never figure out what to get), as she reveals our Conversations Live holiday gift book recommendations!

Inspirational, Non Fiction, Social Issues

NOV 27: Helen Thorpe’s The Newcomers & The American Heritage Dictionary’s Steve Kleinedler

November 19, 2017

Immigration is one of the most divisive issues in the United States, and yet there are still millions trying to make a better life for themselves here. Today, we put a human face to those trying to build a new life from scratch, and the unimaginable hardships in their way.

Award-winning writer Helen Thorpe introduces you to some of these families in The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in an American Classroom. Helen has been a staff writer for The New York Observer, The New Yorker, and has written freelance stories for the New York Times Magazine, among other publications.

Later, we encourage you to drink a gose to wash down your plate of shakshuka, because to be the GOAT, you can’t give in to orthorexia. What, you need a translation?

Well then, returning guest Steve Kleinedler, Executive Editor of The American Heritage Dictionary, is at your service. He’ll define some of the weirder and wilder examples out of the 400 words and senses that were added to the dictionary this year.

You’ll find out from Steve if you are a prepper, or perhaps a snowflake, as well as some fascinating science and technology terms.

Fiction, Non Fiction, Writers on Writing

NOV 06: Manhattan Beach with Pulitzer Winner Jennifer Egan & Technically Wrong with Sara Wachter-Boettcher

October 23, 2017

Set on the Brooklyn docks during the World War II era, Manhattan Beach seamlessly intertwines the stories of a man working for both the union and the mob, his daughter, the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s only female diver, and a shady, but charismatic, nightclub owner.

Jennifer Egan is the author of several novels and a short story collection, including A Visit From the Goon Squad, which won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Los Angeles Times book prize.

Also, Sara Wachter-Boettcher presents an informed and compassionate critique of the technology industry in Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech.

Sara Wachter-Boettcher is a Philadelphia-based consultant where she helps organizations make sense of digital content. She speak at conferences worldwide and has authored two previous books for web pros.

Memoir, Personal Development, Self-help, Writers on Writing

OCT 23: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Ferdele

September 23, 2017

When books come to you at the just the right time, they can change your life. Kathleen Hill’s new memoir, She Read to Us in the Late Afternoons: A Life in Novels, explores defining moments of a life illuminated by novels.

Kathleen is a noted author who teaches in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. Her first two books have received critical acclaim and her stories have appeared in numerous collections.

Everything Tim Federle knows about life he learned from doing theater – think Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff with Jazz Hands. Life is Like a Musical: How to Live, Love, and Lead Like a Star is designed for anyone who wants to find and live by their own song, whatever that means to them.

Tim is a Broadway dancer-turned-author who won awards for his Young Adult books and pun-tastic cocktail novels, and works with Fox Animation in developing new projects.

Business, Personal Development

OCT 16: Entrepreneurial You & The Art of Connection

September 23, 2017

The key to entrepreneurial success is achieving professional independence. In Entrepreneurial You: Monetize Your Expertise, Create Multiple Income Streams, and Thrive, returning guest Dorie Clark uses real-life examples from entrepreneurs of all kinds, as well as her own experiences building her profitable consulting business.

Dorie is a marketing strategy consultant and professional speaker, working with a diverse range of clients, including Google, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, the Ford Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Yale University.

Every successful business leader has one thing in common: strong interpersonal communication skills. In The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship-Building Skills Every Leader Needs Now, keynote speaker and New York Times Bestselling author Michael Gelb provides seven methods to improving your rapport with those in your professional and personal lives.

Michael is a pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, executive coaching, and innovative leadership. He brings than 30 years of experience as a professional speaker, seminar leader and executive coach to his diverse, international clientele.

Fiction, Writers on Writing

OCT 09: Thief’s Mark & The Other Alcott

September 21, 2017

A murder in a quiet English village, long-buried secrets, and a man’s search for answers about his traumatic past draw newly wed FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan into the fray once again. Thief’s Mark is the seventh in New York Times bestseller Carla Neggers popular Sharpe and Donovan series of thrillers.

Carla is the award-winning author of over 60 novels. She is a founding member of the New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America and has served as vice president of International Thriller Writers and president of Novelists, Inc.

Later, Elise Hooper’s debut novel, The Other Alcott, reveals the fascinating untold story of May Alcott, younger sister to Louisa Alcott of Little Women fame and an artist in her own right, and how the two siblings wind up on a collision course as May attempts to step out of her older sister’s shadow.

When not writing, Elise spends her time in a classroom making American History and literature interesting for high school students. She lives a stone’s throw from the Puget Sound.

Fiction, Writers on Writing

Oct 02: The Mapmaker’s Daughter & Lie to Me

September 20, 2017

She was one of the most remarkable women in history, yet her story is little known. In The Mapmaker’s Daughter, debut novelist Katherine Nouri Hughes blends fiction with history, examining the desires and motives of a young Venetian girl who became wife to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Katherine, Iraqi-Irish by birth, attended Princeton University, receiving a Master’s Degree in Near Eastern Studies. She currently serves her alma mater in an advisory capacity.

Also today, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.T. Ellison writes domestic noir and psychological thrillers, and her latest, Lie To Me, combines grief, betrayal, jealousy, and murder, gradually destroying the facade of the perfect literary couple.

J.T. has written 17 critically acclaimed novels, is coauthor of the “A Brit in the FBI” series with Catherine Coulter, and co-hosts the Emmy Award-winning A Word on Words.

Memoir, Travel & Adventure

Sep 25: One of These Things First & Razor Clams, Buried Treasure of the PNW

September 8, 2017

From his grandparent’s bra and girdle store, to a stint in one of the most fashionable psychiatric hospitals after a suicide attempt, Steven Gaines takes us on the tragically joyous ride of a 15-year-old Jewish boy in 1960’s Brooklyn.

One of These Things First includes conversion therapy and Broadway dreams, and an array of eccentric characters he met along the way. Steven is a noted journalist, bestselling novelist and biographer, whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, the New York Observer, and New York magazine, where he was a contributing editor for 12 years.

Also today, what has the power to draw thousands of people of all ages to the often blustery shores of Washington’s coastal beaches every year?

Seattle Times contributor and author David Berger shares the secrets of our regional razor clam phenomenon in Razor Clams: Buried Treasure of the Pacific Northwest. David Berger has worked as a visual arts critic for The Seattle Times, and started razor clamming when he moved to Washington. You can see him at Third Place Books on October 5, at 7 PM.

Journalism, Personal Development, Social Issues

Sep 18: Helene Segura Returns & Nomadland

August 30, 2017

National Procrastination Day is September 6th … shoot, we put this off by almost two weeks! Nevertheless, Helene Segura MA Ed returns to Conversations Live to help you reevaluate the way you prioritize your time — so no more putting off the things that are most important to you.

Helene is a time management consultant who combines neuroscience, educational psychology, and pop culture to teach clients and keynote/training audiences how to improve work-day efficiencies so they can have a life outside. Her book is The Inefficiency Assassin.

You might dream about loading up an RV and living a road warrior’s life when you retire, but for some, van-dwelling is their last option. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century documents the stories of itinerant citizens who gave up traditional lifestyles to travel from short-term job-to-job, trying simply to survive.

Award-winning journalist Jessica Bruder spent months living in a camper to witness firsthand the “Workamper” lifestyle. Jessica has taught at Columbia Journalism School for nearly a decade, and been published in numerous periodicals and newspapers.

DEC 11: Dr. Armin Zadeh with The Forgotten Art of Love & Dr. Becky Thompson’s Teaching with Tenderness

DEC 04: James Rollins’ The Demon Crown

NOV 06: Manhattan Beach with Pulitzer Winner Jennifer Egan & Technically Wrong with Sara Wachter-Boettcher

OCT 23: A Life in Novels with Kathleen Hill & Life is a Musical with Tim Ferdele

OCT 16: Entrepreneurial You & The Art of Connection

OCT 09: Thief’s Mark & The Other Alcott

Oct 02: The Mapmaker’s Daughter & Lie to Me

Sep 25: One of These Things First & Razor Clams, Buried Treasure of the PNW

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