Murray Gell-Mann is the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Theoretical Physics Emeritus at Caltech and widely regarded as one of the smartest men on the planet. Suffice that he speaks 15 languages, graduated from Yale University at the age of 18 and in 1969 won the Nobel Prize in physics for his work on elementary particles. Essentially he formulated the quark model of hadronic resonances, and identified the SU(3) flavor symmetry of the light quarks, extending isospin to include strangeness, which he also discovered. He also collaborated with Richard Feynman to discover the V-A theory of chiral neutrinos. Join us as we discuss basic concepts of cosmology, GUT theory, and Murray’s book “The Jaguar and The Quark.”

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I visited Margaret Geller in 1989 at the Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge Mass where she took me on a trip with a Cray Super-Computer out to the Great Wall At The End of Space and back again. At the time she was working with Alan Guth at MIT and also enlisting graduate students to map the visible and invisible distribution of dark matter in the universe, the halo of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and to understand the link between the history of our galaxy and the history of the universe. In 1989 with John Huchra  she discovered the Great Wall at the visible limits of the universe based on redshift survey data from the CFA Redshift Survey. She even showed me a configuration of stars at the Great Wall that resembled a cross but cautioned me not to make too much out of it. In 2008 Geller was awarded the Magellanic Premium by the American Philosophical Society for her research into the groupings of galaxies.

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

“I’m 39 years old, and I grew up in Evanston, Illinois, which is the first suburb north of Chicago. I’m a spinster (albeit a spinster with a permanent boyfriend) and I live in a white stucco bungalow with my cats, Muybridge and Claudine. I’ve been writing since I was a tiny child, and I always made pictures to go with the words.” How could you not love a writer who describes herself thusly. She did write The Time Traveler’s Wife, and the recent Her Fearful Symmetry, and is an accomplished and talented artist. . . but that is all you need to know. Want to know more? Listen to our interview.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Verbivore, logophile, word wizard, lexicraftologist, all of these apply to Richard Lederer who may just be our reigning expert and purveyor of recreational wordplay. He has written over thirty books on language with titles such as ANGUISHED ENGLISH, THE MIRACLE OF LANGUAGE, GET THEE TO A PUNNERY, THE CUNNING LINGUIST, CRAZY ENGLISH, MORE ANGUISHED ENGLISH and dozens of others. To his language books Richard has recently added two best-selling treasuries, A TREASURY FOR DOG LOVERS, and A TREASURY FOR CAT LOVERS. A recipient of many awards (One year Richard was elected International Punster of the Year by the International Pun Foundation, and the next he was given the Golden Gavel Award by Toastmasters International), he is a supreme entertainer. . . .and if you love words or are an aficionado of the English language you will adore Richard Lederer.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

By turns smart, saucy, and sassy, Liz Smith has been called the highest paid syndicated columnist in the world, someone who has hobnobbed with princes and kings, with society doyens and movie stars. In fact she still commands an important presence around the country and on the internet, but alas she misses her New York audience. Why then does Rupert Murdoch who owns The New York Post which let her go stop to kiss her hello when he sees her?  What exactly happened ? Tune in and listen to this fascinating Texas gal tell me her story.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Do you believe in consequential strangers, people who seem at first glance to be unimportant but somehow end up playing a pivotal role in you life? Join me while I chat with Melinda Blau who reports about relationships and social trends, and has written a dozen books. Listen to her as she talks about her new book, Consequential Strangers: The Power of People Who Don’t Seem to Matter. You will find yourself thinking these seemingly inconsequential people do matter. . . and just knowing that  useful little piece of information will empower you.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

David Baldacci’s “TRUE BLUE”, at this writing is the number one best-selling book in the nation. His other books “Absolute Power,” “Total Control,” “The Winner” and “The Simple Truth,” have also been best-sellers and main selections of the Book Of The Month Club. Each has sold millions of copies world-wide and been translated into dozens of other languages. Absolute Power and Total Control were major motion pictures and the newer books have been optioned and will probably follow soon. David Baldacci, who the Arizona Republic has called “the newest superstar of the thriller genre,” is a former lawyer who lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

One of the most original and outspoken voices now writing, James Elroy,  “The Demon Dog of American Crime Fiction” earned great respect and loyal fans from his L.A. Quartet The Black Dalhia, The Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, and White Jazz. He joins me to talk about his latest, Blood’s A Rover, and about his life which is rich, dark and fascinating. A character in the best sense of the word. . . .you’d best hold on to your seats for this one.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jason Starr is a big talent coasting along just under the radar and worth discovering. If you’ve read his first book “Cold Caller,” and freaked out, or his most recent “Panic Attack,” you’ll know what I mean. Jason and I discuss how he got into writing. . .  writing thrillers, and how he views the rest of his life. An interesting young man.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jonathan Lethem tells me he thinks Chronic City is his best and most complete work. This evaluation becomes interesting in light of the fact that we have a clash of critics in the Times. Michiko Kakutani in the daily New York Times reviewed the novel unkindly while Gregory Cowles on the cover of the New York Times Book Review called it a “bravura eighth novel.” Lethem, a MacArthur Award recipient, who has developed his reputation with “Motherless Brooklyn,” and “Fortress Of Solitude,” and been compared to a young Saul Bellow probably has little to fear from the critics, yet it is interesting to hear him discuss his current work and raison d’etre in his own words.

Buy the Book

Click below to listen.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download