Viewpoints

Author Douglas Abrams shares the joy practices and little things that the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu do daily to experience joy regularly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foreign language media is not most of our bread-and-butter. Every year at the Oscars or Emmys, most of us watch the reel of movies or shows from other countries unaware of any of the titles flashing across the screen. Netflix is trying to change that, at least slightly, with their latest blockbuster series, Dark. Dark is a fascinating sci-fi mind-bender. It is probably mis-served a little by the easy comparisons to “Stranger Things”—both shows feature disappearing children and kids riding bikes into forests. But that’s really where the similarities stop-where Stranger Things would lovably reference Risky Business or ET, Dark opts to instead deal with heavier fare- like what our place is in the world and whether we have free will. Dark is a masterpiece of atmospheric dread, the music and cinematography give it incredible production value and the show manages to cross, pollinate time travel with local-gossip and generations-old grudges in a really compelling way. If you love shows that make you think, and m

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We talk to an expert in the field of habit-making about how we can make our resolutions last all year round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s no secret that technology consumes our lives. we sit on computers at work, we use our phones and social media feeds to fill time on our commutes, and we are constantly finding new apps to solve problems. At times, it’s all great and super convenient...but there is a down side. Maybe we spend less time with our families having face-to-face conversations, and maybe it can get a whole lot worse from there. That’s a simplified version of what the show “Black Mirror” is all about-so yeah, it’s pretty heavy. “Black Mirror” is an anthology show, every episode tells a unique story with a different cast, about the future of technology. In one episode, people have DVR-like devices in their brains allowing them to re-live events from their own past. In another, an augmented reality video game can adapt to put characters in a horror situation that exactly replicates their worst fears. It’s sort of like the “Twilight Zone” for the digital age. What would happen if user scores that are impacted by others perceptio

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Author Christina Crook discusses her 31-day vacation from the internet to reconnect with her physical life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year, low-cost horror movies like “Get Out” made big noise at the box office. We discuss one man responsible for the trend: producer Jason Blum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diners are an American staple. It’s where you stop for a piece of pie and a cup of coffee from coast to coast. But diners are slowly disappearing to larger chains. We talk about the waitresses who make the diners function and the culture behind the career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to one expert about how cognitive diversity can improve the results for a school, business, or even an entire society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No time of year has more classics and standards than the holiday season. Beginning in early November, you can’t help but to start hearing the familiar Christmas tunes of years past in department stores and on the radio. Personally, I’m a strong believer that Christmas music is appropriate starting on Black Friday and extending until New Years Day. Once Thanksgiving dinner is done, I pull the records out of the drawer and once New Years has past, I put them back away… metaphorically, of course. What I literally mean is I take my Christmas playlist out of a hidden folder in Spotify for a month or so and then hide it again. Naturally, I enjoy the Christmas classics- Chuck Berry singing “Run Run Rudolph”, Frank Sinatra’s “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow”, and Nat King Cole’s “Joy To The World.” And then I enjoy the more modern Christmas wrinkles like NSYNC’s infectious “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Wrapped in Red.” But like all families, my family has some holiday traditions of

When you’re the new person at the office, in the neighborhood or at a party it can be an awkward situation, especially if you’re not the most gregarious person. Our guest discusses the issue and offers advice on how to navigate various situations when you’re the newbie in the room. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a literary editor who explains to us what an editor does to get the book from a manuscript to the finished copy on store shelves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We talk to two experts about the need for average citizens to be the eyes and ears of big data collecting projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discover how Jack London’s own journey informed his writing, and how his books reflect the plight of exploited workers and impoverished women and children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We talk to a mom and an author who together have created a children’s book and game designed to make giving back to others a fun pursuit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a scholar about what exactly W.E.B. Du Bois did to improve the study of sociology and what his impact truly was. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been a turbulent few months for the entertainment industry- especially the film world. Mega-producer Harvey Weinstein has been embroiled in controversy since accusations of sexual assault have been made public. In just a few weeks time, more than 75 individuals have come forward accusing Weinstein of wrongdoing- leading to his dismissal from his own company and a frantic scramble to disassociate the movies his company was working on from his shadow. Then, accusations against other stars began to break. Dustin Hoffman, Charlie Sheen, producer Brett Ratner, and Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick have all been accused of various sexual crimes. There’s too many people accused of these crime to list them all, but notably, actor Anthony Rapp accused Kevin Spacey of sexually assaulting Rapp when he was just 14. In response, Spacey put out a statement saying he didn’t remember the incident but apologized if it did happen, and then came out as a gay man. The LGBTQ+ community widely criticized Spacey for conflating