Viewpoints

We talk to a self-proclaimed “odd child” and imaginative artist and also to a psychotherapist about the pitfalls of over-involved parenting and the benefits of letting kids be on their own to use their imaginations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a veteran comedy writer about the process of writing funny stuff and the successes and failures that make a comedian a star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are invasive species present because they’re the only ones that can thrive in an area? Are they multiplying because of something bad we’re injecting into their environment? Are these aliens actually helping nature create a diverse and robust environment? And are those so-called native species of plants and animals really native? Our guests have some surprising answers to those questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been a debate going on for decades over Social Security and it’s future. Sometimes we hear that it’s going to go bankrupt; other times politicians want to scrap part of it and have workers find commercial financial instruments for their retirement; still others want to cut money paid out to retirees, their survivors and the disabled. We talk to an author and researcher about his ideas on why Social Security is important, isn’t going broke, and how it can be expanded and funded with modest increases in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a researcher and author about how the framing of climate change can skew the message and create attitudes that affect how we think of global warming and how we become motivated to do something about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When the last child leaves home for college, marriage or that first job, parents are often sad and at loose ends about how the rest of their lives will progress. We talk to a therapist and author who’s experienced her own children leaving home, about the emotions of “the empty nest” and what parents can do to reframe their lives when the children go out on their own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a man who has researched the unusual side of gardening and find out about some very interesting plants, and how they were cultivated and used in the past as hallucinogens, medicines and tourist attractions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does it ever seem like the more you try to get stuff done, the less you accomplish? We talk to two experts about some simple strategies you can use to make more of the time you have to get things done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is a melting pot with its many traditions and cuisines. Some of the food that is so loved by families across the country isn’t the healthiest. Two cooks and a baker share how they are making ethnic dishes healthier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to a writer and editor about the importance of letter writing, and what we can learn from reading letters from notables and unknowns of the past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There were many women who contributed knowledge and sometimes their health and lives to the Atomic Age, but who are overshadowed by the men. We talk to two authors whose books give these women the recognition they deserve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk to one of Steve Jobs's biographers about how he changed his ways after he left Apple, and how his experiences with NeXt Computer, Pixar, and becoming a husband and father helped him develop into a more understanding innovator and leader. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are movies about a lot of sports and athletic competitions, but for some reason baseball outnumbers them all. Why is that? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ll hear how the Bill of Rights is, indeed, a cohesive and carefully plotted document, how it captures the essence of liberty our forefathers fought for, and how, in modern cases, some amendments are misinterpreted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices