2015

S3.E1 ∙ Georgia Kleege

Wed, Jul 05, 2017

Growing up, Georgina Kleege hated Helen Keller; she saw the famous author and activist as a reproach to her own experience as a young blind woman. But she found a new way to relate to Keller later on, writing her a book of letters. Kleege, a lecturer at University of California, Berkeley, offers her Brief but Spectacular take on blindness.

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S3.E2 ∙ Alexander McLean

Wed, Jul 12, 2017

"Each of us has much more to offer than the worst thing we've done," says Alexander McLean, an activist and attorney who has been working in prisons since he was 18. McLean, founder of the African Prisons Project, shares the inspiring story of a former prisoner named Susan and gives his Brief but Spectacular take on the power of law in the hands of the poor.

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S3.E3 ∙ Laura Poitras

Wed, Jul 19, 2017

Who people tell you they are is often different from how they act, says award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, whose latest film, "Risk," looks at WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. By observing subjects like Edward Snowden make decisions in real time, she gets to experience the immediate drama of her story and change her opinion. Poitras gives her Brief but Spectacular take on making documentaries.

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S3.E4 ∙ Wanuri Kahiu

Wed, Jul 26, 2017

Wanuri Kahiu's films and stories don't need tragedies. Her "Afro-bubblegum" art is fun and even frivolous, and rejects the idea that she needs to grapple with dark, violent problems. At the same time, she has come to see her work of representing herself and her community as a political statement, by putting black people in front of the camera. Kahiu gives her Brief but Spectacular take on her art.

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S3.E5 ∙ Christopher Ategeka

Wed, Aug 02, 2017

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S3.E6 ∙ G Yamazawa

Wed, Aug 09, 2017

Artist and poet G Yamazawa grew up Asian-American and Buddhist in the southern Bible Belt, where he often felt as though he didn't belong. But insecurity transformed into a love for the stage and performance. G Yamazawa gives his Brief but Spectacular take on art and creating a safe space for young people to cultivate their own voices.

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S3.E7 ∙ Calvin Trillin

Wed, Aug 16, 2017

As a longtime writer for The New Yorker, Calvin Trillin was less interested in directly explaining why what he was writing was important than in just telling a good story. Trillin offers his Brief but Spectacular take on some of the best lessons he learned on writing and why he always shared his rough drafts with his wife, Alice.

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S3.E8 ∙ Damon Davis

Wed, Aug 23, 2017

As filmmaker Damon Davis tells it, being black in America comes with anxiety. To survive, he says, you're constantly walking on eggshells because the way you talk and the clothes on your back can be used as a weapon against you. Davis, co-director of the documentary "Whose Streets," gives his Brief but Spectacular take on finding courage after the death of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

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S3.E9 ∙ Manu Prakash

Wed, Aug 30, 2017

Manu Prakash has always loved science, but as a child in India, couldn't afford the traditional tools that would have empowered him to explore his passion. Now he's making sure children all around the world don't go without, by inventing and distributing low-cost, low-tech tools that are accessible to everyone. Prakash gives his Brief but Spectacular take on frugal science.

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S3.E10 ∙ Lisa Lucas

Wed, Sep 06, 2017

Books "make people who are not like us more human," says Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation. She grew up loving books and their ability to make readers more empathetic to unfamiliar ideas and characters, even when all the reading is done in our bedrooms by ourselves. Lucas gives us her Brief but Spectacular take on how books can connect us to one another.

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S3.E11 ∙ Terry Gross

Wed, Sep 13, 2017

Terry Gross, host of NPR's Fresh Air, is famous for her interviews that probe into the lives, loves and work of notable people. What would she talk about if her interviews were more about her own life? Her love of classic character actor Charles Laughton, the musical "Sweeney Todd" and her husband Francis. Gross gives her Brief but Spectacular take on interviewing.

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S3.E12 ∙ Janet Iwasa

Wed, Sep 20, 2017

Art and science have always overlapped; early scientists used illustrations to depict what they saw under the microscope. Janet Iwasa of the University of Utah is trying to re-establish this link to make thorny scientific data and models approachable to the common eye. Iwasa offers her brief but spectacular take on how 3D animation can make molecular science more accessible.

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S3.E13 ∙ Ariel Levy

Wed, Sep 27, 2017

It took just 10 minutes to flip a switch in Ariel Levy's body and mind to make her into a mother. The journalist was on her final major overseas reporting trip, in rural Mongolia, when her pregnancy ended prematurely and she gave birth in her hotel to a son who did not survive. Levy gives her Brief but Spectacular take on miscarriage and our inability to control Mother Nature.

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S3.E14 ∙ Hazelden (Opiod Crisis)

Wed, Oct 04, 2017

People working on the front lines of the opioid crisis at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation offer their Brief but Spectacular takes on addiction and recovery.

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S3.E15 ∙ Dick Goldbloom

Wed, Oct 11, 2017

In the 100th episode of Brief but Spectacular, 92-year-old Richard Goldbloom offers his take on the things that have made his life spectacular, and what it's like to begin losing your memories.

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S3.E16 ∙ Jess Ladd

Wed, Oct 18, 2017

As a survivor of sexual assault, Jessica Ladd found the process of reporting the incident "more traumatic than the assault itself." By creating an online reporting system, she is now helping survivors document their experiences, even if they're not ready to go to the authorities. Ladd offers her Brief but Spectacular take on empowering survivors of sexual assault.

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S3.E17 ∙ Khzir Khan

Wed, Oct 25, 2017

"When you lose a child, it creates a hole in your heart...that is never filled," says Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who gave a captivating speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Khan offers his Brief but Spectacular take on dignity and patriotism, while offering the story of his son's sacrifice and the legacy he left behind.

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S3.E18 ∙ Sean O'Sullivan

Wed, Nov 01, 2017

When Sean O'Sullivan first imagined "cloud computing" as a way to run software not loaded onto a computer, the feedback he received was, "Why would you want to do that?" Now as an investor, it is that moment of disbelief that he finds to be the best starting point for conquering what seems off-limits. O'Sullivan offers his Brief but Spectacular take on making the impossible inevitable.

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S3.E19 ∙ Anjan Sundaram

Wed, Nov 08, 2017

When journalist Anjan Sundaram traveled to Rwanda in 2009, he encountered a repressive government that targeted and imprisoned the journalists he worked with. His experience opened his eyes to the courage needed to report on the stories and people that can easily hide from the world's collective consciousness. Sundaram offers his Brief but Spectacular take on covering the forgotten.

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S3.E20 ∙ Reni Eddo-Lodge

Wed, Nov 15, 2017

You can choose not to see the sky, but it exists. That's how Reni Eddo-Lodge responds when somebody tells her they don't see race. Trying to raise the topic in white-dominated social circles often led her to an immediate shutdown, one that might spring from others' fear of being wrong, she says. Eddo-Lodge offers her Brief but Spectacular take on talking to white people about race.

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S3.E23 ∙ Martha Lane Fox

Wed, Dec 13, 2017

When Martha Lane Fox was starting her career in tech, the internet felt like the "most incredible, redistributive, democratic, empowering force for good." So what went wrong? Fox, a current board member of Twitter and founder of Doteveryone, offers her Brief but Spectacular take on how to make sure the internet lives up to its potential.

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S3.E24 ∙ Marcus Wicker

Wed, Dec 20, 2017

Hip-hop is the soundtrack to poet Marcus Wicker's daily life, and his love for the music comes out naturally in his writing, which addresses topics like the violence perpetrated against black bodies. Wicker offers his Brief but Spectacular take on beats, rhymes and poetry.

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S3.E25 ∙ Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir

Wed, Dec 27, 2017

The Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir brings together musicians and singers from at least 13 faiths and various backgrounds in order to inspire and unite. Three members offer their Brief but Spectacular take on getting along, having faith and healing through music.

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S3.E26 ∙ Errol Morris

Wed, Jan 03, 2018

If your goal is to talk to another human being and hear the truth, Errol Morris says you're going to be disappointed. The filmmaker explains why he broke the rules of documentary and why sometimes falsehood wins. Morris gives his Brief but Spectacular take on truth.

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S3.E27 ∙ Emma Gannon

Wed, Jan 10, 2018

The content-creator online world is misunderstood, says author and podcaster Emma Gannon, who sees the future of work being rewritten by social media go-getters who don't necessarily work 9-5. Gannon, a self-described "multi-hyphenate" who hosts Ctrl Alt Delete and has written a book by the same name, gives her Brief but Spectacular take on the highs and lows of social media.

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S3.E28 ∙ Ron Suskind

Wed, Jan 17, 2018

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind and his wife found out their son had autism, they were crushed by the fear that they couldn't communicate. But they began to realize that he was learning to tell stories through Disney movies. The realization made Suskind ask, who decides what makes life truly meaningful? Suskind offers his Brief but Spectacular take on finding everyone's story.

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S3.E31 ∙ Phoebe Robinson

Wed, Feb 07, 2018

Stand-up comedian Phoebe Robinson almost quit the business when she felt like she didn't belong in the male-dominated comedy world. But finding her niche with the podcast "2 Dope Queens" helped her realize that being different isn't a bad thing. Robinson gives her Brief but Spectacular take on being a dope queen.

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S3.E32 ∙ Swanee Hunt

Wed, Feb 14, 2018

In the years after Rwanda's genocide, how did women come to make up a large portion of the nation's parliament? Author and activist Swanee Hunt says their women's movement that grew out of necessity. Hunt, a former ambassador and founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard's Kennedy School, gives her Brief but Spectacular take on women waging peace.

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S3.E33 ∙ Stanford Thompson

Wed, Feb 28, 2018

After performing with a world-renowned orchestra, Stanford Thompson returned to Philadelphia to start Play on, Philly!, a free, afterschool music program for young children in under-resourced neighborhoods that helps them go back into the classroom and become better learners. Thompson gives his Brief but Spectacular take on how music can create harmony and opportunity.

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S3.E34 ∙ Elizabeth Acevedo

Wed, Mar 07, 2018

For girls who didn't grow up seeing themselves as the main characters of books, award-winning poet Elizabeth Acevedo wants them to know that their stories are just as important as any other. Acevedo shares her Brief but Spectacular take on seeing you.

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S3.E35 ∙ Cesar Vargas

Wed, Mar 14, 2018

"We cannot be afraid to demonstrate to the nation that we are your neighbors, we are your friends, your colleagues, your coworkers, your attorneys, your doctors," attorney and immigration advocate Cesar Vargas tells us. "We cannot succumb to a nation and a climate of fear."

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S3.E36 ∙ Dame Stephanie Shirley

Wed, Mar 21, 2018

Dame Stephanie Shirley was so sick of being patronized that she decided to start her own software business - then a laughable idea for a woman. But when her child was diagnosed with autism, it drove her toward a new life's mission. Shirley gives her Brief but Spectacular take on making things happen.

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S3.E37 ∙ Michael Barbaro

Wed, Mar 28, 2018

When you actually hear a journalist grappling out loud with a story they're covering, it changes the news consumer's relationship with that journalist and that story, says Michael Barbaro of the New York Times. Barbaro gives his Brief but Spectacular take on his podcast, The Daily.

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S3.E38 ∙ Anna Deavere Smith

Wed, Apr 04, 2018

Anna Deavere Smith, actor, playwright and activist, says she has been trying to become America, word for word. By conducting interviews and creating a narrative, she aims to make a current problem come alive. Deavere Smith offers her Brief but Spectacular take on listening to people.

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S3.E39 ∙ Nicole Dennis-Benn

Wed, Apr 11, 2018

Nicole Dennis-Benn says she never could have become a writer if she had stayed in Jamaica - that took living in the U.S. and encouragement from her wife. But returning to the land of her birth, she was confronted with all of the things she had run away from, yet also with the desire to tell the real stories of the people behind the fantasy. Dennis-Benn gives her Brief But Spectacular take.

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S3.E40 ∙ Samora Pinderhughes

Wed, Apr 18, 2018

Composer and artist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes wants to make music that makes listeners live differently. Pinderhughes gives his Brief But Spectacular take on his responsibility as an artist.

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S3.E41 ∙ Dana Mortenson

Wed, Apr 25, 2018

Young Americans don't know a lot about the rest of the world, says Dana Mortenson, CEO of World Savvy, and the byproduct is fear of what we don't understand. Her company re imagines K-12 education to leverage diversity as an asset. Mortensen gives her Brief But Spectacular take on being a savvy global citizen.

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S3.E42 ∙ Patty McCord

Wed, May 09, 2018

Patty McCord spent years as an executive at Netflix, where she was responsible for re imagining office culture and disrupting best practices. Her latest book is called "Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and Responsibility." McCord offers her Brief But Spectacular take on rethinking work.

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S3.E43 ∙ Monica & Aaron

Wed, May 16, 2018

What is it like to have your child diagnosed with cancer? Monica McGuiness and Aaron Rodriguez spent two years traveling 80 miles to a hospital so that their 8-year-old son could receive treatment. McGuiness and Rodriguez share their Brief But Spectacular take on childhood cancer and how they coped.

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S3.E44 ∙ Neil deGrasse Tyson

Wed, May 23, 2018

Neil deGrasse Tyson says he is like a "smorgasbord of science food" - he's recognized hundreds of times every day and people are always hungry for more knowledge. DeGrasse Tyson, who spends much of his professional life encouraging science literacy in adults, gives his Brief But Spectacular take on bringing the universe down to Earth.

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S3.E45 ∙ Whitney Greenaway

Wed, May 30, 2018

New York-based poet Whitney Greenaway shares her Brief But Spectacular take on letting go.

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S3.E46 ∙ Chris Anderson

Wed, Jun 06, 2018

The act of one human speaking to a group has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. Chris Anderson, owner of TED and TED Talks, gives his Brief But Spectacular take on the power of ideas and how we communicate meaning to other people.

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S3.E47 ∙ Imani Davis

Wed, Jun 13, 2018

Inspired by the people who have come forward as part of the #MeToo movement, Imani Davis shares her poem "Platinum" and gives her Brief But Spectacular take on how society can overlook wrongdoing by famous artists.

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S3.E48 ∙ Jackson Bird

Wed, Jun 13, 2018

Jackson Bird came out as a transgender man at 25. Growing up without any role models, he felt as if he were alone in the world. Now he makes YouTube videos and hosts the podcast "Transmission" to help everyone better understand the transgender community. Bird offers his Brief But Spectacular take on gender identity.

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S3.E49 ∙ Judd Apatow

Wed, Jun 27, 2018

Judd Apatow, world-renowned writer and director, says most people on Earth are trying to avoid at all costs what it feels like to be a stand-up comedian. Apatow gives his Brief But Spectacular take on comedy and his mentor, Garry Shandling.

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