Posts by Live Talks LA

A year-long journey by the renowned psychiatrist and his writer wife after her terminal diagnosis, as they reflect on how to love and live without regret.

Irvin D. Yalom, MD is professor emeritus of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine and his most recent book is A Matter of Death and Life, a memoir co-authored with his wife, esteemed feminist author Marilyn Yalom, after her cancer diagnosis. As a mental health professional, Irv has devoted his career to counseling those suffering from anxiety and grief. Even though his professional life has always influenced his published works, never have the two intersected as directly and personally as in A Matter of Death and Life, with its alternating accounts of their last months together and Irv’s first months alone. His books are in nearly 30 languages and millions of copies have been sold worldwide. They include: When Nietzsche Wept (winner of the 1993 Commonwealth Club gold medal for fiction); Love’s Executioner, a memoir; Becoming Myself, a group therapy novel; and his classic textbooks Inpatient Group Psychotherapy  and Existential Psychotherapy, which have trained generations of therapists. He lives in Palo Alto, California.  

A group biography of four beloved women who fought sexism, covered decades of American news, and whose voices defined NPR. Timed to the 50th Anniversary of NPR’s first transmission and the debut of All Things Considered.

Lisa Napoli has had a long career in journalism, including staff reporting jobs at public radio’s Marketplace, the pioneering New York Times CyberTimes, and as a columnist/correspondent at MSNBC. She is the author, most recently, ofUp All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News. Her previous books include a biography of NPR benefactor, the McDonald’s heiress, Joan Kroc, Ray & Joan, and a memoir about media’s impact on the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, Radio Shangri-La. She lives in Los Angeles.

Susan Stamberg is a special correspondent for NPR. She is the first woman to anchor a national nightly news program, and has won every major award in broadcasting. She has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame. An NPR “founding mother,” Stamberg has been on staff since the network began in 1971. Beginning in 1972, Stamberg served as co-host of NPR’s award-winning newsmagazine All Things Considered for 14 years. She then hosted Weekend Edition Sunday, and now reports on cultural issues for Morning Edition and Weekend Edition Saturday. One of the most popular broadcasters in public radio, Stamberg is well known for her conversational style, intelligence, and knack for finding an interesting story. Her interviewing has been called “fresh,” “friendly, down-to-earth,” and (by novelist E.L. Doctorow) “the closest thing to an enlightened humanist on the radio.” Her thousands of interviews include conversations with Laura Bush, Billy Crystal, Rosa Parks, Dave Brubeck, and Luciano Pavarotti. (more)

In the years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women in the workplace still found themselves relegated to secretarial positions or locked out of jobs entirely. This was especially true in the news business, a backwater of male chauvinism where a woman might be lucky to get a foothold on the “women’s pages.” But when National Public Radio came along in the 1970s, and the door to serious journalism opened a crack, four remarkable women came along and blew it off the hinges.

Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR  is a captivating account of these four women, their deep and enduring friendships, and the trails they blazed while becoming icons. Napoli utilized her deep connections in news and public radio for the extensive interviews featured throughout the pages. 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of NPR’s first transmission (April 20) and the debut of All Things Considered (May 3); there could not be a more ideal time to celebrate the women whose voices defined public radio and paved the way for all female journalists.

Susan, Linda, Nina, and Cokie have radically different stories. Susan Stamberg was the first woman to anchor a nightly news program and pressed for accommodations to balance work and parenting. Linda Wertheimer, the daughter of shopkeepers in New Mexico, fought her way to a scholarship and a spot on air. Nina Totenberg, the network’s legal affairs correspondent, invented a new way to cover the Supreme Court. And Cokie Roberts, born into a political dynasty, roamed the halls of Congress as a child and later helped explain Washington to millions.

The Hero Code is Admiral McRaven’s ringing tribute to the real, everyday heroes he’s met over the years, from battlefields to hospitals to college campuses, who are doing their part to save the world.

When Bill McRaven was a young boy growing up in Texas, he dreamed of being a superhero. He longed to put on a cape and use his superpowers to save the earth from destruction. But as he grew older and traveled the world, he found real heroes everywhere he went — and none of them had superpowers. None of them wore capes or cowls. But they all possessed qualities that gave them the power to help others, to make a difference, to save the world: courage, both physical and moral; humility; a willingness to sacrifice; and a deep sense of integrity.  The Hero Code is not a cypher, a puzzle or a secret message. It is a code of conduct; lessons in virtues that can become the foundations of our character as we build a life worthy of honor and respect.

The Hero Code outlines value’s that everyday heroes display such as courage, humility, compassion and humor. The book features stories from a wide range of heroes such as Senator John McCain to our brave armed forces and health care professionals. Highlighting heroic actions on every scale, Admiral McRaven provides timely advice and an optimistic message for how we can help each other during trying times.

Mark Harmon is an actor, producer, director, voice actor and former football quarterback. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS. He also has appeared in a wide variety of roles since the early 1970s. Initially a college football player at UCLA, his role on St. Elsewhere led to his being named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People in 1986. After spending the majority of the 1990s as a character actor, he played Secret Service special agent Simon Donovan in The West Wing, receiving a 2002 Emmy Award nomination for his acting in a four-episode story arc.  Harmon’s character of NCIS special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs was introduced in a guest starring role in two episodes of JAG.  Since 2003, Harmon has starred in NCIS as the same character.