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Beverly Daniel Tatum is the author of an important book that I think every American should read called "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race." I wanted to have Beverly on the podcast because discussing race in a respectful, productive manner is so critical at the current moment. Also, speaking as a white person, I know that a lot of white people would like to engage in a dialogue about race, but feel totally ill-equipped. Beverly and I discuss many subjects in this conversation, among them: - Why is it so difficult to talk about race? - How can we get past the discomfort and have these conversations? - What is racism? - How can white people do a better job of empathizing with African Americans and understand their experiences with racism? - How can we go beyond simply being "not racist" and instead be "actively anti-racist?" - What is white privilege and why should white people stop being so defensive about the term? - Why is colorblindness not a productive approach to dealing with racism? If we're going to be more united as a country, more white people must take the time to learn about how African Americans' daily experiences differ from their own, how privilege and discrimination impact people's lives, and how attitudes of "colorblindness" and "I'm not racist" contribute to the perpetuation of racism. But we can't have these conversations if everyone is talking over each other, pointing fingers, and failing to ask the right questions. I hope this podcast plays some small role in helping to facilitate the conversations we need to have. I hope you find this conversation as enlightening as I did. As always check out our website http://roygermano.com for more about my guests and recommendations on good books to read about this and other topics we discuss on the show.

My guest today is Joe Hollier. Joe (along with Kaiwei Tang) is the co-founder of a Brooklyn-based start-up called Light Phone. Light Phone is an exciting company that recently raised $1.6 million on Indiegogo.   The Light phone is a very small, simple phone that you can use as a secondary phone during those times when you don't want to be distracted by your smartphone. It basically just makes and receives calls using the regular number your use for your smartphone.   Light Phone is trying to solve an important problem.   It's become increasingly clear in recent years that many smartphone apps are designed to be as addictive as possible. The addictive nature of these apps makes it hard for many people to put their smartphones down.   Smartphones also mean that we're on call 24/7. Sometimes it's nice to get away from email and social media and live in the real world without interruption.   Light Phone is like an extension of your smartphone. It makes and receives phone calls (and soon will be able to send and receive texts). That's it. When you leave your smartphone behind, any important calls you get on your regular number are routed to your Light Phone.    That way you can escape the distractions of the smartphone but still have the peace of mind that you can be reached if necessary, or can make a call in case of emergency.   I know some people will think this is crazy--why would we want to go backwards?    I would have said the same thing a couple years ago. What changed for me was when my smartphone was stolen in October 2016. As an experiment, I decided to try living for a week or two with an old flip phone.   I quickly discovered that not having a smartphone on me had a noticeably positive impact on my relationships, my productivity, my sleep quality, and my anxiety level. I then decided to make my switch to a flip phone permanent.    A few months ago, I wrote a short essay for the Los Angeles Times about the benefits of living without a smartphone. Here's a link to that piece: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-germano-life-without-smartphone-20171119-story.html   Also check out the Light Phone website. You can pre-order the Light Phone 2 here: https://www.thelightphone.com   Finally, the podcast now has a website! Check us out at http://www.roygermano.com for more about my guests and recommended reading to learn more about the topics we discuss on the show. 

Ellen Condliffe Lagemann is the former dean of education at Harvard, a prolific author, and a distinguished fellow at the Bard Prison Initiative. In this episode, Ellen talks about her book "Liberating Minds: The Case for College in Prison" and her own experiences teaching in New York State prisons. Ellen persuasively outlines the many benefits of college-in-prison programs. As she points out, most incarcerated people return to society someday. Education programs in prisons help people grow while incarcerated and return to society in a better position to contribute and avoid a life of crime. The recidivism rate for prisoners who take college courses is extremely low. These programs also give inmates purpose and can reduce violence and instability in prisons. I recommend that you also check out an earlier episode we did on this topic called "Prison, punishment, and rehabilitation." In that episode, I interviewed one of Ellen's former students, Wes Caines. In that episode, Wes makes a very personal case for these programs from the point of view of a participant. Ellen complements Wes's perspective with a bird's eye view of what college-in-prison programs are and their larger societal benefits.

Today Roy talks to Columbia University Mechanical Engineering Professor Hod Lipson about his book "Driverless: Intelligent Cars and the Road Ahead" (MIT Press). Hod talks about how driverless cars have emerged from numerous independent developments in the world of computers and artificial intelligence over the past few decades. They also discuss the many benefits of driverless cars, and some of the risks and disruptions that they come with. Roy and Hod close by talking about the process of writing a book.

My guest today is author and professor Ted Henken. Ted is an expert on Cuba. In this conversation we talk about why the US and Cuba have been enemies for so many decades; whether Cuba is really as repressive as many people say; what kinds of social, political and economic changes are happening in Cuba; and what everyday life is like for the Cuban people. It's an interesting, wide-ranging conversation. I think you'll learn a lot from Ted.

My guest today is Reid Mitenbuler, the author of "Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey" (Penguin Books). Today we talk about the history and political economy of a product that has become associated throughout the world with the American frontier. Reid has an encyclopedic knowledge of the American whiskey industry, how liquor brands play fast and loose with history to market their products, and why brands like Pappy Van Winkle cost so much and other brands like Heaven Hill cost so little.

I'm honored to have ​Dr. David Burns on the podcast this week. David is a renown psychiatrist, best-selling author, and pioneer of a drug-free approach to managing anxiety and depression called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT.   I'm sure many listeners have heard of David and his work. Millions of people, in fact, have managed or conquered their anxiety and depression by reading David's bestselling book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. What I find particularly interesting about David's techniques for managing anxiety and depression--and why I'm excited to tell you about them--is that they do not require taking medications. Millions and millions of people are prescribed anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications every year, but it's becoming increasingly clear that these pills aren't very effective, and they can be difficult to stop using. David began noticing the questionable effects of anti-depressants way back in the 1970s when he was a brain researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School.  He realized that contrary to what the pharmaceutical companies would like us to believe, there isn't a "magic pill" we can take when we're having a hard time. Rather, we need to do the hard work of thinking through why we're feeling bad, anxious, or unmotivated. We need to understand, question, and change our bad habits and distorting thinking patterns. The techniques David developed are invaluable in this regard. I wasn't quite sure where to begin the conversation with David. He's done so much in his career.  Since I'm a writer, I started by asking David how he began writing his first book Feeling Good. That simple question took us on a long and winding path through David's decision to leave academia and go into private practice, his development of CBT techniques and handouts that formed the basis of Feeling Good, and the long process of writing and promoting the book and getting his ideas out into the world.  In the course of telling the story of how he wrote Feeling Good, David talks about what cognitive behavioral therapy is and how it can make life more pleasant and exciting. This is a fun conversation with lots of personal moments from David. I know you'll enjoy it.

Byron grew up in Guatemala. He crossed the US-Mexico border illegally at age 15. In this conversation, he talks about all he went through to reach the United States. His month-long journey included riding on top of trains and spending a week lost in the desert. After that traumatic experience, Byron reunited with his dad in New York, learned English, and graduated high school against all odds. His story is the story of many immigrants--a story of risk, trauma, hard work, and success.

My guest today is Sapreet Kaur. Sapreet served as the executive director of the Sikh Coalition for nine years. In this episode we talk about the Sikh faith, the politics of fear and hate that are currently so prominent in the United States, and prospects for tolerance and mutual understanding at a time when America seems so divided. Since the 9/11 attacks and the rise of Donald Trump, Sikhs have increasingly become the targets of hate crimes because of their appearance.

My guest today is Os Schmitz. Os is a professor at the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the author of The New Ecology: Rethinking a Science for the Antropocene. In this conversation we talk about what ecology is, how biodiversity affects the climate, how species are interconnected in surprising ways, how ecological thinking can make our cities more livable and prosperous, and how we can combine the kind of mass consumerism that the global economy is built upon with a more aggressive mode of electronics recycling to create an economy that is both more robust and also more environmentally friendly.

Prison is usually thought of as a form a punishment—and in most cases, it should be. But what if prison could also be a space for helping people rehabilitate and better themselves? The vast majority of people who go into the prison system will reenter society someday, so it’s in everyone's interest to consider this question. Wes Caines, today’s guest, makes a compelling case for thinking of prison as a space for rehabilitation and educational opportunity. In this conversation, Wes talks about what it was like to spend 25 years incarcerated in the New York State prison system. Although prison life was difficult, Wes was able to keep from going backward because he had the opportunity to participate in the Bard College Prison Initiative and earn two college degrees while serving out his sentence. Today, Wes is out of prison and a contributing member of society. He's become an important voice for criminal justice reform and advocate for college-in-prison programs like the Bard Prison Initiative. He tells an interesting personal story. He also makes a compelling argument for increasing funding for educational programs inside of prisons.

Welcome to Other Side, a new podcast hosted by professor, author, and documentary filmmaker Roy Germano.