John Clute discusses his book, “The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: An Illustrated A to Z.” He begins by explaining the differences between the genres of science fiction and fantasy. He describes that many writers look backwards to ancient...
Michael Shermer discusses his book, “Science Friction.” He begins by explaining that the book is a collection of essays that explore the barriers and biases that both plaque and fuel science. In these essays he faces such questions as: how does...
Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519; Leonardo, da Vinci, 1452-1519 - Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc; Scientists - Italy - History - To 1500 - Biography; Scientists - Italy - History - 16th century - Biography; Science, Renaissance
Fritjof Capra discusses his biography, “The Science of Leonardo.” He begins by telling about the early life of Leonardo da Vinci and how he was an illegitimate child and a student of the artist Verrocchio. Leonardo was not allowed to attend...
Fantasy fiction, American; Science fiction, American; Science fiction
Ray Bradbury discusses his book, “Now and Forever.” He begins by explaining that this book is a compilation of two of his older novellas, “Somewhere a Band is Playing” and “Leviathan ’99.” He talks about how Katherine Hepburn and...
Fantasy fiction, American; Science fiction, American
Norman Spinrad discusses his science fiction novel, “Child of Fortune.” He begins by talking about his main character: a young woman who must travel from planet to planet working as a prostitute. Spinrad describes that he decided to write a...
Jerry Pournelle discusses the novel he co-wrote with Larry Niven, “The Gripping Hand.” He begins by explaining that the book is a sequel to their best-selling science fiction novel, “The Mote in God’s Eye.” He talks about previous books...
Spiritual life; Lyme disease - Patients - United States - Biography; Surfers - United States - Biography; Kotler, Steven, 1967 - Travel
Steven Kotler discusses his book, “West of Jesus.” He begins by sharing the story of his struggle with Lyme disease and its effect on him spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Kotler explains how it was this struggle that led him to take up...
Daniel Levitin discusses his book, “This is your Brain on Music.” He begins by explaining that the book examines the nature of hearing and the making of music. The book is a study of why music affects people so deeply and goes to great pains to...
Science fiction - Authorship; Authors, American - 20th century - Biography; Science fiction, American - History and criticism; Bradbury, Ray, 1920-
Sam Weller and Ray Bradbury discuss Weller's book, "The Bradbury Chronicles." Weller, a professor at Columbia College, Chicago, teaches a class on the life and works of Ray Bradbury. His book is a biography on the life and work of author, Ray...
Science Applications International Corporation; High technology industries - Management; High technology industries - United States; Employee ownership - United States; Engineering firms - United States - History
J. Robert Beyster discusses his book, “The SAIC Solution.” He begins by explaining that he was a nuclear physicist who started the employee-owned Science Applications International Corporation. The business allowed PhD scientists to do...
Mary, of Egypt, Saint - Fiction;
Duval, Jeanne - Fiction;
Women - Caribbean Area - Fiction;
Spirit possession - Fiction;
Time travel - Fiction;
Prostitutes - Fiction;
Goddesses - Fiction;
Caribbean Area - Fiction;
France - Fiction;
Egypt - Fiction
Nalo Hopkinson discusses her novel, “The Salt Roads.” She talks about how she covers several periods of history in her book including 18th century Haiti, 19th century France, and 4th century Egypt. She describes slave revolts in Haiti....
Cabala; Spiritual life - Judaism; Mysticism - Judaism
Yehuda Berg discusses his book, “The Power of Kabbalah.” He begins by explaining what is Kabbalah, which originally began as an ancient wisdom. It later developed into different systems, which consists of more personal work, as well as a...
Marlowe, Christopher, 1564-1593 - Fiction; Women private investigators - New York (State) - New York - Fiction; Renaissance - England - London - Fiction; Great Britain - History - Elizabeth, 1558-1603 - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Leslie Silbert discusses her novel, “The Intelligencer.” She begins by explaining the life of Christopher Marlowe, a theater actor and spy who lived in the late 16th century. She says that her book is about old manuscripts that must be...
Witches - Fiction;
Young women - Fiction;
Paris (France) - History - Louis XIV, 1643-1715 - Fiction
Judith Merkle Riley discusses her novel, “The Oracle Glass.” She begins by explaining that her book is about a network of women in the 17th century who relied on their oracle powers to tell people’s futures. She discusses her job as a...
Alvin Toffler discusses his book, “War and Anti-War.” He begins by explaining that the book deals with the topics of war and peace. He argues that the way humans go about obtaining wealth often leads to war. He points to the relation between...
Dr. Robin Cook discusses his book, “Seizure.” He begins by detailing the plot of the novel, which deals with the topic of stem cell research. The main character of the book, Lowell, is a professor at Harvard who decides to develop his own...
Twenty-first century - Forecasts; Social change - Forecasting; Civilization, Modern - 1950 - Forecasting; Social institutions - Forecasting; Information society - Forecasting; High technology - Social aspects - Forecasting; Technological...
Nancy O'Hara-Devereaux discusses her book, "Navigating the Badlands: Thriving in the Decade of Radical Transformation." The book is about the current global economy and where it is going and the use of past and current business techniques. She...
Human evolution; Social evolution; Nature - Effect of human beings on
Jared Diamond discusses his book, "The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal." The book encompasses the history of evolution from the Neanderthals, "tree of human life," and "last first contact." He writes that humans are...
Fantasy fiction, American; Science fiction, American
Ray Bradbury discusses his collection of short stories entitled, "Bradbury Stories." He begins by explaining that he chose the one-hundred stories in the collection with the help of his editors because he has such an extensive collection of work....
Science fiction - Authorship; Authors, American - 20th century - Biography; Bradbury, Ray, 1920-
Ray Bradbury discusses his book, “Let’s All Kill Constance,” and Jerry Weist’s biography of him, “Bradbury: An Illustrated Life: A Journey to Far Metaphor.” Martinson begins by reading an excerpt from “Let’s All Kill Constance.” ...
