Lifeslices with Steve Fisher

We all have our dreams, our hopes, our bucket lists. But how many of us actually act on it? Tod Jones fulfilled a dream he's held since his teens..50 years ago. And, in so doing, became an inspiration to many. He joins host Steve Fisher to describe Cycling Across America.

Any subject can be dry and boring. But add a little humor to the topic and you’re likely to wake up and listen.  That’s Dr. Stephen E. Nash, an anthropologist and archaeologist by training and president and CEO of Archaeology Southwest knows how to add humor to make his talks connect with his audience. He joins host Steve Fisher to talk about Funny Science and more serious topics.

Money! It makes the world go round, it can’t buy happiness, and it’s the root of all evil. Without it, you can’t keep a roof over your head or put food on the table or get decent healthcare. Yet the thought of money, whether you have it or not, can be daunting. Scott Yamamura had a Financial Epiphany that led him to write a book and give a TED Talk and he shares it with host Steve Fisher. And it might just help you make your money grow.

Look back through historic quotes from comedians and pundits and you’ll find lots of jokes about congress. Which tells us one thing. The workings of our government have always been a source of frustration. SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor, an assistant professor of Public Policy and Politics at the University of Virginia and the author of Echo Chambers: How Partisan Communication Took Over Congress, joins host Steve Fisher to discuss How Congress is Working...Or isn’t.

One of the first rules of journalism is to not become part of the story. But nothing’s been said about letting the story become part of the journalist. That’s Kara Kavensky, host of the podcast Record Scratch with Kara and author of the new book, Tell Me About Joy, about the time an interview of a World War II vet turned into a mission for Kara. One that would have a profound effect on both of them. She joins host Steve Fisher to Tell Us About Joy.

Friends. No, not the TV show. Our actual friends. Do you ever wonder what made you friends in the first place. Or what they bring to your life? Jessica Ayers, an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science at Boise State University, has been looking into those question and says there’s more to friendship than meets the eye. She joins host Steve Fisher for Lifeslices: The One About Friends.

We cherish our democracy. We the people. But for it all to function properly, we need information and for that, we have the media. Penn State University media studies professor Matthew Jordan joins host Steve Fisher to answer the question, Is our media serving our democracy?

Elton John said, “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours.” He should have added, Or in the case of dementia, put themselves back in. Music stimulates our senses, our imagination, our emotions. And perhaps our health. Karen Chan Barrett, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco, joins host Steve Fisher to explain The Power of Music.

Pianist, violinist, composer, performing artist, recording artist, filmmaker. Jennifer Thomas has been playing piano and violin since the age of 5. The other talents she discovered in the years since. Now, Thomas has won multiple awards and nominations, not to mention fans all over the world. Once inspired by the works of others, she’s the one now doing the inspiring. She joins host Steve Fisher to talk about her life and career.

For the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, more Americans are leaving the country than are looking to settle here. Reasons vary, including the divisive politics, deteriorating healthcare and cost of living, among others. If you’re one of those people looking for the greener grass of other geographical locales, there are many things to know. Doug Oas has lived overseas and helped others doing the same. He joins host Steve Fisher to share some things to need to know for Escaping America.

Many, including journalists, pundits, scholars and everyday citizens have noticed similarities in rhetoric and policy between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler. Is it an accident? A coincidence? Hyperbole? Rabbi Henry Jay Karp doesn’t think so and wrote a book about it, titled, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Is a Price We Cannot Pay.” Rabbi Karp joins host Steve Fisher to explain why we can't afford to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the political noise.

In the last episode, we learned how our human attention was being monopolized, if not downright stolen, by the business models behind big tech. Here you’ll learn more about the damage it’s doing. D. Graham Burnett, a Princeton University professor and co-founder and director of the Strother School of Radical Attention, is back to tell us more about the harm of human fracking and what we all can do about it.

Through our connections to various screens—smartphones, computers, TVs—our consciousness is being mined for profit. D. Graham Burnett, a professor at Princeton University and one of the founders of the Attention Liberation Movement joins host Steve Fisher to urge us to Take Back Your Attention.

A song from the 60’s, began with the lyric, Everybody's talkin' at me I don't hear a word they're sayin' Never have those words meant as much as they do now. We all hear but how many of us are actually listening. Consciously listening. International speaker and trainer on the critical communication skills of listening and speaking Julian Treasure joins host Steve Fisher to explain what we’re lacking.

Acclaimed wildlife filmmaker and naturalist Colin Stafford Johnson returns for more of Life in the Wild. Wildlife filmmakers may not be experiencing high demand right now but that doesn’t stop Colin from extolling the wonders and joys of nature and the need to preserve our ecosystems. A master story teller with some great stories to tell.

Colin Stafford Johnson, one of the world's best nature filmmakers, whose work has been seen on the BBC and PBS among others, joins host Steve Fisher to talk about his Life in the Wild, amongst tigers, otters, foxes and more.

Thanks to streamers, there’s more foreign language programming available every day. Which begs the question, subtitles or dubbed? Some find subtitles distracting so dubbing is the choice for many. But the quality of the dubbing varies as much as the quality of the programs. So we turned to an expert for an insight on the process.  Jessica Blue, a director, voice actress and adapter joins host Steve Fisher to offer a Dubbing Session.

There may be someone in your house listening to your every word, without you realizing it. Your dog. An average dog vocabulary includes about 150 to 200 words, but with training, dogs have been documented to understand more than 1,000 words! Some dogs are even learning when you’re not actively training them. Shany Dror, a cognitive researcher and animal trainer at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria, joins host Steve Fisher to tell us about Eavesdropping Dogs.

When people are incarcerated, it’s presumably to pay a debt to society for a crime. But when that debt is paid, and it’s time for them to reenter society, what’s being done to prepare them for a successful reentry? Sabra Williams is changing that with CREATIVE ACTS. She and Executive Director Isaac Gonzalez join host Steve Fisher to explain how.

Every January, the Technos and the Tech Wanna-Knows gather in Las Vegas for CES. The Consumer Electronics Show. They’re there to discover exciting developments in the world of Electronics. And where there’s CES, there’s technology evangelist Marc Saltzman. Marc joins host Steve Fisher to share what he saw, and didn’t see, at CES this year.

There was a time when towns and villages thrived on the talents of local craftspeople who could produce the necessities of everyday needs. Much of those skills have been lost in the era of mass production and are being undermined further with the advent of robotics. But there’s a small group of humans who are keeping those analog skills alive. One of them is Leanne Corcoran, a master shoemaker in Seattle, WA. She’s gone from artist to artisan and proves to host Steve Fisher that The Shoe’s Afoot.

81-year old Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention in 1787 when he was approached by people asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it." We’ve been fighting to keep it for almost 250 years but, perhaps, it has never been challenged before like it’s being challenged today. Bill Ayres has been fighting for democracy for most of his 81 years. One of the founders of the Weather Undergound, Bill has been fighting to Make Things Right ever since. He joins host Steve Fisher to share his views on how to w...

Estimates of when dogs became domesticated range from 20,000 to 130,000 years ago. Cats 9,000-10,000 years ago. What’s next? According to Raffaella Lesch, an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, it just might be raccoons. Dr. Lesch joins host Steve Fisher to talk about why we might just be seeing new Raccoon Friends Among Us.

Whether we’re musical or not, we’ve all got rhythms. Circadian rhythms. Those are our internal biological software that keeps all the magical devices in our bodies functioning in a 24-hour day. All creatures have them, yet humans tend to abuse theirs. Emily Manoogian is a Chronobiologist and Clinical Researcher at The Salk Institute. She’s a Circadian evangelist and joins host Steve Fisher to explain why we need to dance to our internal music.

The robotic era is here. All over the world, companies and individual engineers are working to improve the scope of what they can do and their efficiency. One of those is Rich Walker and his company Shadow Robot, which makes dexterous hands. Rich joins host Steve Fisher to talk about his Helping Hands, where we are and where  we’re not.

Steve Jobs said, “I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning.” A quarter of the way through the 21st century, it’s happening. [Fred Jordan quote] That’s Dr. Fred Jordan, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Final Spark with Dr. Martin Kutter. They’re delivering on the promise of Living Computers. Jordan joins host Steve Fisher to talk about them.

Scientists estimate there are millions of fungi species, including mushrooms, with only a fraction identified so far. Other than being great on pizza and in omelettes and stews, do you know how much they have to offer? Jana Harris is a Fungi Finder and joins host Steve Fisher to talk about one of nature's greatest creations.

Philosophers and science fiction writers have speculated about the existence of planets outside our solar system for generations, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that we actually began to find and identify them. [Annelise quote] That’s Dr Annelies Mortier of the University of Birmingham in the UK, who’s here with Dr. Christopher Watson from Queen’s University in Belfast to join host Steve Fisher, talking about Hunting Exoplanets

Long before the world would learn about the horrors of Adolf Hitler, one man surmised the threat and tried to alert his fellow countrymen. Bruce Neuberger traced his grandfather's story in his book, Postcards to Hitler. He joins host Steve Fisher to talk about his family’s tale and how it pertains to today’s world.

In the United States, and around the world, people seem to be as far apart, politically, as the North Pole is from the South. But, in matters that are important to all of us, just how far apart are we? Professor Lawrence Torcello of the Rochester Institute of Technology joins host Steve Fisher to discuss why we're so polarized when we're so alike.

CES. The Consumer Electronics Show. Every January in Las Vegas, hundreds of companies show up to exhibit gadgets, software and services to more than 140,000 attendees. One of those is Marc Saltzman, tech reporter for many popular publications and media outlets. Marc brings host Steve Fisher up to date on what's up to date in tech.

Oceans cover almost 70% of Earth’s surface. They hold more life than anywhere else. Yet, man has barely scratched the surface. Diver Phil Short and a company called Deep are creating a deep-sea habitat where scientists can live where they work. Phil joins host Steve Fisher to talk about Life Underwater.

Can you teach a rat to drive? Then again, why would you want to? Well, if you’re a neuroscientist like the University of Richmond’s Dr. Kelly Lambert, the challenge was too great and the real-life implications too rich. She joins host Steve Fisher to talk about the study and how it translates to humans.

From all of us at Lifeslices to all of you. Video available on You Tube, Tik Tok, Facebook and more.

How much do you know about the universe? If you’re like me, not much. There are stars and galaxies and planets and asteroids and meteors. But there’s a lot more you don’t see. Dr. Mustapha Ishak Boushaki is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist and professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. In this episode he's Explaining the Universe to host Steve Fisher.

In the late 60’s hit, Up, Up and Away, The Fifth Dimension sang, “Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?” Captain Crystal Stout has been singing it ever since. She’s a true Ballooning Maven. Captain Crystal has logged more air miles than she can count and she’s spreading the gospel of Ballooning to people who may not have otherwise had the opportunity with her Dreamcatcher balloon. She joins host Steve Fisher to talk about her years flying and now bringing it to special needs people.

When Burmese Pythons were introduced into Florida as part of the exotic pet trade, most owners didn’t realize what they were in for. Burmese pythons can grow to around 20 feet long. Some owners reconsidered their choice of pet and released them into the wild, mostly in the Everglades. Now, with tens of thousands of Burmese Pythons on the loose, the Everglades ecosystem has taken a major hit and a new profession has arisen. Donna Kalil is a Python Elimination Specialist and talks to hos Steve Fisher about the daunting task.

Twins. How they occur is a mystery, but how they behave once they get here, not so much. Thanks to the work of people like Dr. Nancy Segal. She’s been Studying Twins for decades and joins host Steve Fisher to share some of her insights.

Most people might simply go to the local drug store, herbalists will head into the vast outdoors to fix what ails them. Jim McDonald and Nathan Wright are topnotch Herbalists and teachers. They join host Steve Fisher for an Herbalism 101.

Do you like chocolate? How about coffee? To many, they are two of nature’s treasures. But between climate change, deforestation and human demand, these precious resources are endangered. A startup company called California Cultured is working to sustainably improve on Mother Nature. Alan Perlstein is the company’s CEO. He joins host Steve Fisher to talk about The Future of Chocolate and Coffee.