Speaker's Forum Podcast

40 million Americans move every year. Many times people relocate for a job, or a relationship. Economist Richard Florida has moved 17 times since college. He says finding the right place to live is the most important decision a person can make, more than choosing a career or a partner. So why do people give more thought to buying a car? Richard Florida is the author of The Rise of the Creative Class. His latest book is Who's Your City?: How the Creative Economy is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on June 3, 2008. Town Hall Center for Civic Life and University Book Store sponsored the event.

Do you like your job? Do your best ideas and energies go into your work? Chris Carlsson says there's a creative social revolution going on, but not on the job. He says hobbies and side projects are where the real work is being done. Chris Carlsson is the executive director of the Shaping San Francisco history project. He helped launch the Critical Mass bicycle rides in San Francisco in 1992. His latest book is Nowtopia: How Pirate Programmers, Outlaw Bicyclists, and Vacant Lot Gardeners are Inventing the Future Today! He spoke at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on June 22, 2008.

Writer David Sedaris wanted to kick his smoking habit. He heard the best way to quit smoking was to move, so he spent three months in a Tokyo hotel. It worked, and he wound up getting a book title out of the trip, too. David Sedaris is a regular contributor to This American Life and The New Yorker. He won the 2001 Thurber Prize for American Humor for his book Me Talk Pretty One Day. His latest collection of essays is When You Are Engulfed in Flames. He read at Elliott Bay Books in Seattle on June 23, 2008.

A former Navy SEAL founded Blackwater Lodge in rural North Carolina in 1997. At first, the company trained local police. But after September 11th, government spending on security spiked and Blackwater USA grew. By 2003, the company had government contracts worth millions, mostly to protect the top U.S. ambassador in Iraq. Now, Blackwater's army rivals that of a small nation. Journalist Jeremy Scahill has tracked Blackwater's rise. He calls the Iraq War the most radically privatized war in U.S. history. Jeremy Scahill has reported from Iraq, Yugoslavia and New Orleans for Democracy Now! and The Nation. His latest book is Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on June 18, 2008.

Writer Frances Moore Lappe says there's a huge gap between the world we want and the world we actually live in. For example, it's common sense that children should not die for lack of sanitation and clean water. Yet thousands do, every day. Does this make any sense? Lappe says problems like these continue only because we go on believing there's nothing we can do to fix them. She calls for cooperation and enthusiasm from the ground up a 'living democracy' to overcome our sense of powerlessness. Frances Moore Lappe is the bestselling author of Diet for a Small Planet. Her newest book is Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage in a World Gone Mad. She spoke at the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on October 27, 2007.

Nowadays, the biggest movies, tallest buildings and many of the world's richest moguls are found outside of the U.S. Fareed Zakaria says that doesn't mean we've reached the decline of America. Instead it's the rise of everybody else. Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International. His latest book is The Post American World. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on May 21, 2008. The Town Hall Center for Civic Life and University Book Store sponsored his talk.

Nowadays, the biggest movies, tallest buildings and many of the world's richest moguls are found outside of the U.S. Fareed Zakaria says that doesn't mean we've reached the decline of America. Instead it's the rise of everybody else. Fareed Zakaria is the editor of Newsweek International. His latest book is The Post American World. He spoke at Seattle's Town Hall on May 21, 2008. The Town Hall Center for Civic Life and University Book Store sponsored his talk.

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot as he left the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He had just won California's Democratic presidential primary. He died the next day. He was 42.Bobby Kennedy's campaign for the presidency lasted less than three months. In that short time, he spoke passionately against a war in Vietnam that he had originally supported, and called for an end to economic injustice and inequality at home. His words still relate to the lives of Americans today, 40 years after they were spoken. We'll hear some of Kennedy's speeches from the campaign trail, courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives, including a speech to students at San Fernando Valley State College on March 25, 1968.

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot as he left the ballroom of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. He had just won California's Democratic presidential primary. He died the next day. He was 42.Bobby Kennedy's campaign for the presidency lasted less than three months. In that short time, he spoke passionately against a war in Vietnam that he had originally supported, and called for an end to economic injustice and inequality at home. His words still relate to the lives of Americans today, 40 years after they were spoken. We'll hear some of Kennedy's speeches from the campaign trail, courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives, including a speech to students at San Fernando Valley State College on March 25, 1968.

Oliver Sacks loves music, as do most humans. Music is a part of every culture. It can trigger repressed emotions and heal trauma. But why? Oliver Sacks set out to find where music lives in the human brain. He is a neurologist and a master storyteller, and he shares stories about his patients. We'll hear about a man with advanced Alzheimer's who can't remember how to put on his trousers, but sings beautifully on stage at Radio City Music Hall. Well hear about a woman who simply can't hear music, and a song that got stuck in a man's head for three months. Oliver Sacks is a clinical neurology and psychiatry professor at Columbia University, and a practicing neurologist. His most recent book is Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. He spoke on Friday, October 19, 2007 at the Seattle Public Library. The Elliot Bay Book Co. co sponsored the event.

Oliver Sacks loves music, as do most humans. Music is a part of every culture. It can trigger repressed emotions and heal trauma. But why? Oliver Sacks set out to find where music lives in the human brain. He is a neurologist and a master storyteller, and he shares stories about his patients. We'll hear about a man with advanced Alzheimer's who can't remember how to put on his trousers, but sings beautifully on stage at Radio City Music Hall. Well hear about a woman who simply can't hear music, and a song that got stuck in a man's head for three months. Oliver Sacks is a clinical neurology and psychiatry professor at Columbia University, and a practicing neurologist. His most recent book is Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. He spoke on Friday, October 19, 2007 at the Seattle Public Library. The Elliot Bay Book Co. co sponsored the event.

The thought of losing your memory is a scary thing. For many families taking care of someone with Alzheimer's, it's a slow motion tragedy. But if you forget someone's name or where you've put your keys, does that mean you're on the road to an incurable brain disease? And does doing the crossword puzzle really help? Sue Halpern wanted to learn what science actually knows about memory loss. She talked to neuroscientists and got injected with radioactive dye to find out. Her latest book is Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News From the Front Lines of Memory Research. Sue Halpern spoke at Town Hall Seattle on May 15, 2008.

The thought of losing your memory is a scary thing. For many families taking care of someone with Alzheimer's, it's a slow motion tragedy. But if you forget someone's name or where you've put your keys, does that mean you're on the road to an incurable brain disease? And does doing the crossword puzzle really help? Sue Halpern wanted to learn what science actually knows about memory loss. She talked to neuroscientists and got injected with radioactive dye to find out. Her latest book is Can't Remember What I Forgot: The Good News From the Front Lines of Memory Research. Sue Halpern spoke at Town Hall Seattle on May 15, 2008.

The housing market is dropping. Gas prices are skyrocketing. There's no denying it economically speaking, things aren't good. But Kevin Phillips says it's even worse than you think. And he says the public doesn't even know how bad it is. He says that's because the government has been putting a happy face on economic numbers ... for decades! Kevin Phillips began his political career nearly 40 years ago as elections strategist for Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign. His latest book is Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism. He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on April 30th, 2008. Town Hall Center for Civic Life and University Book Store sponsored his talk.

The housing market is dropping. Gas prices are skyrocketing. There's no denying it economically speaking, things aren't good. But Kevin Phillips says it's even worse than you think. And he says the public doesn't even know how bad it is. He says that's because the government has been putting a happy face on economic numbers ... for decades! Kevin Phillips began his political career nearly 40 years ago as elections strategist for Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign. His latest book is Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism. He spoke at Town Hall in Seattle on April 30th, 2008. Town Hall Center for Civic Life and University Book Store sponsored his talk.

We are running out of fresh, clean water. Here in Puget Sound we are lucky to have an abundant supply, but around the world people are dying because their water is dirty. Maude Barlow even says when private companies deny people living in poor communities access to clean water, it's tantamount to murder. Barlow is the author of Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water. She chairs Canada's largest public advocacy group, the Council of Canadians. Maude Barlow spoke at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on April 14, 2008.

We are running out of fresh, clean water. Here in Puget Sound we are lucky to have an abundant supply, but around the world people are dying because their water is dirty. Maude Barlow even says when private companies deny people living in poor communities access to clean water, it's tantamount to murder. Barlow is the author of Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water. She chairs Canada's largest public advocacy group, the Council of Canadians. Maude Barlow spoke at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on April 14, 2008.

Former United States Attorney John McKay says it's a sad day for lovers of the constitution when the Great Writ, the law of habeas corpus, is nowhere to be found. McKay explains how the law that protects individual rights was absent in the case of two U.S. citizens, Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, both of whom were declared enemy combatants by the Bush Administration and held for years without trial. Habeas corpus has been suspended before, during the Civil War and World War II. Are these circumstances the same? McKay explores that question. The White House fired John McKay and seven other U.S. Attorneys from the Justice Department amid great controversy in 2006. He now teaches law at Seattle University. McKay spoke at the Museum of History and Industry on April 2, 2008.

Former United States Attorney John McKay says it's a sad day for lovers of the constitution when the Great Writ, the law of habeas corpus, is nowhere to be found. McKay explains how the law that protects individual rights was absent in the case of two U.S. citizens, Jose Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, both of whom were declared enemy combatants by the Bush Administration and held for years without trial. Habeas corpus has been suspended before, during the Civil War and World War II. Are these circumstances the same? McKay explores that question. The White House fired John McKay and seven other U.S. Attorneys from the Justice Department amid great controversy in 2006. He now teaches law at Seattle University. McKay spoke at the Museum of History and Industry on April 2, 2008.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku says starships and transporter beams are not just the TV magic of Star Trek. Kaku says even an invisibility cloak, like Harry Potter's, is not pure fiction! He reminds us that big ideas are often first considered unrealistic. Scientists, according to Kaku, are beginning to understand the impossibilities of science fiction. And he says even time travel may someday be a reality. Michio Kaku's latest book is Physics of the Impossible. He spoke on March 26, 2008 as part of the spring lecture series at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.

Theoretical physicist Michio Kaku says starships and transporter beams are not just the TV magic of Star Trek. Kaku says even an invisibility cloak, like Harry Potter's, is not pure fiction! He reminds us that big ideas are often first considered unrealistic. Scientists, according to Kaku, are beginning to understand the impossibilities of science fiction. And he says even time travel may someday be a reality. Michio Kaku's latest book is Physics of the Impossible. He spoke on March 26, 2008 as part of the spring lecture series at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.

The Dalai Lama appeared all over Seattle during the 5 day Seeds of Compassion conference. Tonight on Speaker's Forum, we'll bring you his entire speech from Qwest Field on Saturday, April 12. The day's events included ridiculously gorgeous weather, fifty thousand attendees, a choir with more than a thousand children and a band made up of teachers who played punk rock songs for kids. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, speaks about compassion and non violent dialogue. He says the twentieth century was one of bloodshed. But, he says this one is just beginning. And it's our moral responsibility to make it a century of dialogue.

The Dalai Lama appeared all over Seattle during the 5 day Seeds of Compassion conference. Tonight on Speaker's Forum, we'll bring you his entire speech from Qwest Field on Saturday, April 12. The day's events included ridiculously gorgeous weather, fifty thousand attendees, a choir with more than a thousand children and a band made up of teachers who played punk rock songs for kids. The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, speaks about compassion and non violent dialogue. He says the twentieth century was one of bloodshed. But, he says this one is just beginning. And it's our moral responsibility to make it a century of dialogue.

How does an American soccer jock become a radical jihadist terrorist? The Lackawanna Six were arrested in September of 2002 outside of Buffalo, New York and characterized as an Al Qaeda sleeper cell . NPR FBI correspondent Dina Temple-Raston says that description is false. She spent three years working on her latest book, The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror. The six twenty-somethings did make it all the way to Afghanistan to a jihadist training camp. Still, Temple-Raston describes them as friendly, popular, integrated young Yemeni-American men who accidentally dabbled in something bigger than they ever dreamed. Temple-Raston spoke at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on November 17th, 2007.

How does an American soccer jock become a radical jihadist terrorist? The Lackawanna Six were arrested in September of 2002 outside of Buffalo, New York and characterized as an Al Qaeda sleeper cell . NPR FBI correspondent Dina Temple-Raston says that description is false. She spent three years working on her latest book, The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror. The six twenty-somethings did make it all the way to Afghanistan to a jihadist training camp. Still, Temple-Raston describes them as friendly, popular, integrated young Yemeni-American men who accidentally dabbled in something bigger than they ever dreamed. Temple-Raston spoke at Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle on November 17th, 2007.

Travel writer and broadcaster Rick Steves sees the current prohibition on marijuana as strikingly similar to the prohibition on alcohol during the 1930s: ineffective, wasteful and counter productive. Speaking at the University of Washington Tacoma, he argues that a European perspective on the issue offers some possible alternatives alternatives which may seem radical to people in the United States, but which have been proven to work. While emphasizing that he is not in favour of drug use by anyone, Rick Steves believes that the European emphasis on harm reduction rather than criminalization offers a possible way forward for the US. 'Here we're tough on drugs in Europe, they're smart on drugs.'

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivers a key speech about foreign policy in the George Washington University Media and Public Affairs Building's Jack Morton Auditorium on Monday, February 25, 2008.

There are about 27 million slaves in the world today. Yes, you read that right: 27 million slaves, in almost every country, are held captive and forced to labor without pay. They're domestic workers, agricultural laborers, carpet weavers and prostitutes. Kevin Bales is a world expert on slavery and has freed many slaves. He is president of Free the Slaves, an organization whose mission is to end slavery and share slaves' stories. Bales was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. His most recent book is Ending Slavery. Kevin Bales spoke at Town Hall Seattle on October 29, 2007. The event was sponsored by the University Bookstore and Town Hall.

What do you want, an orange or a tangerine? What about an orange, a tangerine, or a rotten tangerine? Bet you chose the tangerine. Now, how much is all that fruit worth ... in cash? Don't worry, Dan Ariely can't decide either. He says we're all terrible at making decisions, especially when money is involved. We're hopelessly impressionable, emotional and irrational. But once we've made a decision good or bad we're remarkably consistent about sticking to it.Ariely is a behavioral economist and a professor at MIT. Luckily for us, he believes we're predictably irrational. He thinks once we understand the strange operations of the human mind, we'll all make better decisions. Dan Ariely spoke at Town Hall Seattle on February 27, 2008. The event was part of the Seattle Science Lectures series.

Shelby Steele's latest book is, A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can't Win. Two years ago, he wrote White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. Steele is a research fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute. At University Book Store on January 28th, 2008, Steele spends the majority of his talk outlining his understanding of race relations in America, historically and currently. Steele says policies like affirmative action are driven by white guilt, not by true concern for black individuals. He says Obama's popularity is more a statement about what's going on in white America (and white guilt) than it is about Barack Obama, the individual. Steele says Obama can't win without revealing his true self. Yet Steele says Obama can't and won't reveal himself fully because if he did so, he'd stop pleasing his white supporters.