Free Forum with Terrence McNally

Aired: 1/20/13HOWARD BLOOM has been called “next in a lineage of seminal thinkers that includes Newton, Darwin, Einstein,[and] Freud,” by Britain’s Channel4 TV , and “the next Stephen Hawking” by Gear Magazine. His books include The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition Into the Forces of History; Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century; The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision of Capitalism; and his latest, THE GOD PROBLEM: How a Godless Cosmos Creates. Heavy stuff, sure, but his biography is a lot quirkier than that list might suggest. From 1968 to 1988, Bloom made his mark in the music business, founding and running its biggest PR firm, working with Michael Jackson, Prince, Bob Marley, Bette Midler, Queen, Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Gabriel, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, among many others. He helped launch Farm Aid and Amnesty International’s American presence, and put together the first public service radio campaign for solar power.Bloom launched a successful kickstarter campaign to raise money for PR for THE GOD PROBLEM because changing a paradigm doesn’t just happen. A lot of people have given glowing blurbs to this book, but let me quote one by Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed, “If Howard Bloom is only 10 percent right, we’ll have to drastically revise our notions of the universe. There’s no mysticism in The God Problem—no God, no religion, no incommunicable spiritual insights – just the contagious joy of a great mind set loose on the biggest intellectual puzzles humans have ever faced. Whether you’re a scientist or a hyper-curious layperson, Bloom’s argument will rock your world.”

In her 18th book, ECOMIND: CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK, TO CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT, Frances Moore Lappé argues that much of what is wrong with the world, from eroding soil to eroding democracies, results from ways of thinking that are out of sync with human nature and nature's rhythms. Humans are doers, she says. But our capacity for doing is undermined by seven "thought traps" that leave us mired in fear, guilt, and despair -- none of which are motivators to action.Drawing on the latest research in climate studies, anthropology, and neuroscience, she weaves her analysis together with stories of real people the world over, who, having shifted some basic thought patterns, now shift the balance of power in our world. Chapter-by-chapter, Lappé takes us from "thought trap" to "thought leap," and with each shift, challenges become opportunities.

Aired: 1/13/13My guest this week is JONAH SACHS, author of WINNING THE STORY WARS: Why Those Who Tell and Live the Best Stories Will Rule the Future. He is also Creative Director at Free Range Studios, who are responsible for many wonderful campaigns, two of which - The Meatrix and The Story of Stuff - are among the most successful videos ever in terms of viral circulation to millions. On their home page, you'll see this quote: "Great stories make great change possible. Your world-changing message deserves to be heard - really heard. But that only happens when you learn to tell a great story."

Aired: 12/23/12Recorded: 10/17/12When gas prices were at or near record highs a few months ago in the US, that got people's attention. What about food prices? Have you noticed them rising? Are you making different choices in the supermarket? If not, it might be because of two things.One, in America so much of our food is processed, packaged and marketed, that raw commodity prices make up only a fraction of the price of the food we buy. In other countries, especially the less developed ones, an increase in the price of rice or corn can have a major effect on how much a family can afford to eat. Two, Americans spend only 9% percent of their income on food, while millions around the world spend 50-70%. Millions of households now routinely schedule foodless days each week-days when they will not eat at all. A recent survey by Save the Children shows that 14% of families in Peru now have foodless days. India, 24%. Nigeria, 27%.In his newest book, FULL PLANET, EMPTY PLATES, LESTER BROWN writes, "The U.S. Great Drought of 2012 has raised corn prices to the highest level in history. The world price of food, which has already doubled over the last decade, is slated to climb higher, ushering in a new wave of food unrest. This year's corn crop shortfall will accelerate the transition from the era of abundance and surpluses to an era of chronic scarcity. As food prices climb, the worldwide competition for control of land and water is intensifying. In this new world, access to food is replacing access to oil as an overriding concern of governments. Food is the new oil, land is the new gold. Welcome to the new geopolitics of food."

Aired 1/6/13In the year 2000, Germany got 6% of its energy from renewables. That's about what we get in the US today. But today Germany gets 25% of its electricity from solar, wind and biomass. And Germany is not exactly the American Southwest. Perhaps just as impressive and important, 65% of the country's renewable power capacity is owned by individuals, cooperatives and communities. Clean and decentralized. I'll be talking with Osha Gray Davidson about how they did it and what we can learn from their story. Osha is new to me, but I contacted him immediately as soon as I saw his new book CLEAN BREAK: The Story of Germany's Energy Transformation and What Americans Can Learn from It. As anyone who listens to this show knows, I feel one of the crucial elements in America's sluggish response to many of our biggest challenges is our ignorance about what other countries do well.

Aired 01/06/13 - I'll be talking with longtime anti-nuke activist Harvey Wasserman. I'll ask Harvey Wasserman about where things stand today in terms of nuclear power. What's going on in the US -- are new plants being built, are old ones shutting down? We'll get an update on Fukushima. And finally, we'll address the temporary shutdown at San Onofre near San Diego, and the opportunity to shut it down permanently. Harvey Wasserman is a teacher, author, and activist, focusing primarily on election protection and nuclear power. With Bob Fitrakis, Harvey helped break many of the major stories surrounding the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. In 1973 Wasserman helped pioneer the global grassroots movement against atomic reactors, then helped organize mass demonstrations at Seabrook, N.H., as well as New York City's 1979 "No Nukes" concerts and rally, featuring Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, CSN, James Taylor. He edits the NukeFree.org web site, and is senior editor of www.freepress.org. Wasserman is author or co-author of a dozen books including What Happened in Ohio?, co-authored with Bob Fitrakis and Steve Rosenfeld, Harvey Wasserman's History of the U.S.and SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth, A.D. 2030.

Aired 12/16/12We'll talk about her newest book, THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION: On Work, Money, and Miracles. Examines the power of thoughts to attract-or deflect-breakthroughs in the areas of work and money.Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer. Six of her ten published books have been New York Times Best Sellers. Four of these have been #1 New York Times Best Sellers. Her books include The Age of Miracles, Everyday Grace, A Woman's Worth, Illuminata, Healing the Soul of America, A Course in Weight Loss, and The Gift of Change, and her newest, THE LAW OF DIVINE COMPENSATION: On Work, Money and Miracles http://marianne.com/

Aired 12/02/12Last July in an interview with Charlie Rose, President Obama said that "the mistake" of the early years of his presidency was his failure to be a better storyteller. "The mistake of my first couple of years was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that's important, but the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times." In a second term, he said, he would "spend more time with the American people, listening to them, but also being in a conversation with them about where do we go as a country?"This week's show is not about Obama or politics. It's about story and narrative. My guest is JONATHAN GOTTSCHALL author of THE STORYTELLING ANIMAL.The late evolutionary biologist Steven Jay Gould called humans "the primate who tells stories..." And it's not just Gould. Anthropologists have found societies that have existed for millennia without the wheel, but they've never found one that doesn't tell stories. My website leads with a quote: "On the radio, I tell stories of a world that just might work. As a consultant, I help you tell yours." Building on time as a teacher, two decades in the entertainment industry, and 15 years of radio interviews, I help non-profits, foundations, public agencies, and businesses to tell better stories and build better narratives. I'm eager to learn from Jonathan what the latest science has to tell us. Why is narrative so powerful? What is its evolutionary value? And can what we're learning help us get even better at tapping its power?http://jonathangottschall.com

Aired 11/18/12I'll be talking with RANDY HAYES, former head of Rainforest Action Network, currently ED of Foundation Earth, whose primary work these days is rethinking and "ecologizing" the economy. While Balog offers evidence of some symptoms of our way of life, the consequences of our actions, Hayes is attempting to develop radical approaches to economics that will enable us to deal with the underlying causes.RANDY HAYES is a Climate Policy Officer at the World Future Council, a global forum composed of 50 individuals from around the world championing the rights of future generations and working to ensure that humanity acts now for a sustainable future. Hayes is also the founder of Rainforest Action Network, a veteran of many high-visibility corporate accountability campaigns, served as President to the City of San Francisco Commission on the Environment, and as Director of Sustainability in the office of Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. Hayes has a Master's degree in Environmental Planning from San Francisco State University and his master's thesis, The Four Corners, won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award for "Best Student Documentary" in 1983.http://www.fdnearth.org

Aired 11/11/12I will reflect on Tuesday's election with ROB JOHNSON of the INSTITUTE FOR NEW ECONOMIC THOUGHT and SHERLE SCHWENNINGER of NEW AMERICA FOUNDATION. Asking things like: Who does the campaign and the result say we are as a nation or a culture? Where are we likely to go from here? What does the election mean -- in the broadest sense: about money, politics, power, media, culture, parties, movements, as well as in relationship to Europe, China, the Middle East, and the rest of the world?We'll talk about the (ideal) (evolving) (actual) role of the United States in the unfolding global story.http://ineteconomics.org/http://newamerica.net/