Showing results by author "Bob Garfield" in All Categories

The MacArthur Foundation awards the "Genius Grant" every year to the most compelling scientists, educators and artists in the country. But who are these "geniuses," really? Host Bob Garfield sits down with fellows, including writer and producer David Simon, radio producer Jad Abumrad, and inventor Amy Smith, to learn what events shaped their life, how they became leaders in their fields, and what they imagine our shared future looks like.

When a scandal cost him his high-paying job on Madison Avenue, ad man Jack Schiavone thought he could start over as a mattress discounter in beachfront Brooklyn. But his dream of a nice, quiet new life running a mattress store is about to get whacked. There’s a mob war brewing, and 'Mr. Mattress' quickly finds himself in the middle of it.

As is often observed, Trump is a symptom of a virus that has been incubating for at least 50 years. But not often observed is where the virus is imbedded: in the psychic core of our identity. In American Manifesto: Saving Democracy from Villains, Vandals, and Ourselves, Bob Garfield examines the tragic confluence of the American preoccupation with identity and the catastrophic disintegration of the mass media.