Wavemaker Conversations: A Podcast For The Insanely Curious

You may be tempted to scream -- “don’t do it, Jack!” -- at the outset of this podcast.  My conversation with author Jack Gantos, at the Nantucket Book Festival, begins with a choice he made in 1971 that led him to a horrifying year-and-a-half as an inmate in a federal penitentiary.  He describes the crime and the time in unforgettable detail.  Where did he find the resilience to survive prison, catapult himself to college, and become a prolific and acclaimed author?  It begins with reading, which taught him how to “spelunk down” into the emotions.  Gantos won the Newbery Medal for his book “Dead End in Norvelt,” and other honors for his young adult fiction and his riveting memoir, “Hole in My Life.”  This is a long episode – 50 minutes.  I believe you’ll agree that listening to Gantos tell his story is worth every second.

Bob Chapman turned a small, teetering 19th century manufacturing company that served the beer industry, into a 2.5 billion dollar enterprise. He owes his success to a traumatic experience, which forced him to find value that others couldn’t see. He figured out how to protect thousands of American jobs, rejecting the option of cheap, foreign labor. And he developed a new way of leading – focused on empathetic listening -- that he believes can help businesses, families, and our nation thrive. His journey as the Chairman of the Barry-Wehmiller companies is worth hearing and sharing.  So is his book, "Everybody Matters:  The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family."

Former NFL Head Coach Dan Reeves, who led the Atlanta Falcons to their only other Super Bowl (and the Broncos to three) takes us beyond the play-by-play.  His 101 on the “silent count” – essential for the offense to communicate when the stadium noise is deafening – is a perspective changer.  Plus – how to be ready for the Patriots’ master of surprise – Bill Belichick.  Reeves shares what he learned playing under the Cowboys' legendary Tom Landry, including what Landry noticed watching game film that others would miss.  Cameos from Georgia’s own Super Bowl champ Bill Curry and Nick Buoniconti

After 52 years of war, on the eve of the signing of a peace deal between the Colombian government and the FARC guerilla force, I speak with William Ury, author of a seminal book on negotiating, Getting to Yes.  Ury was part of the Colombian President’s “kitchen cabinet” of peace advisers. He recounts a risky, secret move, deep in the jungle, that jump-started the peace process, and an exercise critical to the peace effort – in effect, writing your adversary’s victory speech, as well as your own.  Ury speaks to us by phone from Cartagena, site of Monday’s historic signing.

Introducing Cathy Salit -- a master of improvisation. Salit started improvising young. When she was only 12, she was so miserable at school, her mother convinced her to drop out and create her own school.  She has been improvising ever since.  Like any great improviser, when Salit sees a “crappy” situation, she sees an opportunity to create something better.  Do you know what happens when you take that improvisational mentality out of the theater and into almost any other workplace? That’s what Salit reveals in her new book, “Performance Breakthrough:  A Radical Approach to Success at Work.” What she shares during our half-hour conversation will, I believe, help make your work life a more satisfying production – and your home life too.

“The Sports Gene” author, David Epstein, joins me for a conversation that will empower young athletes, their parents, and coaches.  Our launching point is the case of late blooming QB Carson Wentz, the number 2 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.  Did Wentz rise to the top despite the fact that he was a late bloomer, or because of it?  The answer has profound implications for youth sports. Epstein’s superb synthesis of sports science studies (combined with his personal experience as an athlete) finds that, in most sports, specializing early puts young athletes at a disadvantage as they approach college age.  What is the best approach to maximizing a person’s athletic potential?  Epstein provides actionable intelligence on the key concept of “trainability.”  And it does not depend on 10-thousand hours of practice.  

Mary Norris tells me she prefers to be called a Prose Goddess.  But Comma Queen has stuck.  Norris, a copy editor at The New Yorker for more than 30 years, is author of Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen – just out in paperback.  Mary Norris -- with her wonderful sense of humor – helps make us feel more secure in our use of language.  She demystifies fine points of grammar and punctuation.  She liberates us to break rules that were never really rules to begin with.  Her journey -- from a teenager hired to check swimmers for foot-fungus at a public pool in Cleveland -- to published author -- is worth sharing.  So is her experience, recounted 23:30 into our conversation, of learning that her brother was becoming her sister (a singer/songwriter known by many New Yorkers) – which leads us back to grammar and the debate over the correct pronoun for transgendered individuals.  

Backstage with the pianist who has been called “the hottest classical artist on the planet” – Lang Lang.  Featuring a rare appearance by his mom, speaking in Mandarin with such emotion that her son’s translations are barely necessary.   Michael first sat down with Lang Lang more than a decade ago, for CNN. Lang Lang had recently graduated from Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute via China and was emerging as a star.  It was the very first international news profile of Lang Lang.  Back then,he was not ready to reveal what he shares with Michael now about the struggles of his journey to the top. Lang Lang’s mom shares with us the painful sacrifice she made for the sake of her son’s future.  And she movingly describes the piece she most loves to hear her son play and why.  He honors her request, for a memorable musical ending to this episode. 

The Wavemaker Parenting Wisdom Tour brings you the compelling personal story of Trinity College squash coach Paul Assaiante. He entered a sport without formal training, and took a second tier team to 13 straight national championships.  Along the way, through his "imposter syndrome" nightmares, he demonstrated what one can accomplish with single-minded determination, and the collateral damage that can ensue. Coach A shares the painful tale of his son's heroin addiction, and his insights of the young men and women entering college these days:  "They look more put together than they’ve ever looked before.  They just look perfect.  And the first time they face adversity, the fall to pieces like a porcelain doll."

Bill Curry played center in three of the first five Super Bowls, winning with the Green Bay Packers and the Baltimore Colts. One of the great head coaches in college football and an inspiring leader, Coach Curry shares memorable stories of the mind-boggling mental processing that goes on before each snap, the training it takes to withstand the violence of the game, and lessons from football that transcend the sport, including his first huddle with African-Americans and how Vince Lombardi's refusal to tolerate racism helped make the Packers a great team. This episode will help make you the smartest football fan in the room on Super Bowl Sunday.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, neurosurgeon & CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, weighs in on over-parenting, the unforgettable chores that shaped his childhood, his transformation from unmotivated to driven high school student, and the legacy he hopes to leave. That plus the latest on how physical exercise impacts the brain -- and advice to kids who might want to try marijuana.

Jessica Lahey -- author of "The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed" -- joins Michael as he continues to tap into the most creative and respected thinkers addressing the growing phenomenon of over-parenting in America. Lahey, a middle-school teacher and the mother of two, realized she was making the same mistakes as the parents of many of her students -- which drove her on her quest for actionable intelligence to set her own kids up for success -- and ours too. On this episode she shares that intelligence, including some techniques that will require parents to step back in ways they never have before, in order to enhance their children's autonomy, competence, and confidence.

Julie Lythcott-Haims has emerged as a powerful new rudder for parents. As the Dean of Freshmen at Stanford University, she recognized the first signs that overparenting was damaging our kids' abilities to function as independent adults. Then she realized, she was making the very same mistakes with her own children -- which led to her perspective-changing new book: "How To Raise An Adult: Break Free Of The Overparenting Trap And Prepare Your Kids For Success." In our conversation, @DeanJulie shares stories from the front lines, where high-achieving young adults are poorly equipped to handle the new struggles they face, and identifies the "critical mindset shifts that must take place in the head, heart, and soul of every parent."

Master mediator William Ury dissects Michelangelo's 500 year old letter to the Pope, a powerful example of how saying No can lead to a wiser Yes. The letter, recently circulated by the inspired Maria Popova of Brainpickings.org, contains wisdom that can be applied to our professional and personal lives today. Ury even ties its insights into his mediation of the longest-running war in South America. Get ready to say No more often in 2016 - Positively.

Daniel Pink, put on the spot, begins writing his living obituary -- and more. Pink is author of the best-sellers "Drive," "A Whole New Mind" & "To Sell Is Human." His "Puzzle of Motivation" is one of the top ten most-viewed TED Talks ever. Michael explores Pink's powerful "basket of ideas" on motivation, innovation & leadership, including his latest insights on the often neglected importance of purpose in life -- not Purpose with a Big P ... purpose with a small p.

Emma Sky was U.S. General Odierno's chief political adviser during the the surge - building alliances with the Sunni leaders who would defeat Al Qaeda in Iraq. She also administered a key Kurdish area for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Her memoir of her time in Iraq is: "The Unraveling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq." She now teaches at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. This is the first in an occasional series of Wavemaker briefings from leading authorities on ISIS and the region.

The author of The Dowd Report, which led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball, provides an exclusive, behind-the-scenes account of his investigation that concluded baseball's all-time hit leader gambled heavily on baseball and his own team. Dowd explains here why he told the leaders of the MLB: "organized crime has a mortgage on the manager of the Cincinnati Reds." Commissioner Rob Manfred says he will rule on Rose's request to be reinstated in baseball between now and the end of the year.

Well before The Dowd Report that led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball, John Dowd, Emory Law School grad, was a Marine, then a Justice Department prosecutor who lead the battle to bring down the Mafia. The investigation of Pete Rose brought him full circle back to the Mob. Part 1 of 2 on The Journey of John Dowd.

The former MLB Commissioner's exclusive behind the scenes account of the investigation that led to the banishment of Pete Rose from baseball. Part 3 of The Fay Vincent Sessions, a Wavemaker podcast special with the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball. A decision on whether to reinstate Rose is expected any time now.

Former MLB Commish Fay Vincent, an oral historian of the game, shares stories that will help us watch the World Series smarter. Among the stories only Vincent can tell: 1) Two Hall of Famers debating who's dumber, pitchers or hitters? 2) The smartest baseball players and the calculations they make on every play; 3) The backstory of the Negro Leagues; 4) the 2nd African-American player to join the Majors, and the one white player on his team who agreed to play catch with him, changing the game. And more ...