Shows / Free Forum with Terrence McNally
Free Forum with Terrence McNally
Features conversations with people who offer pieces of the puzzle of “a world that just might work” -- provocative approaches to business, environment, health, science, politics, media and culture. Guests have included Michael Lewis, Ken Burns, Arianna Huffington, Paul Krugman, Temple Grandin, Bill Maher, Cornel West, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Norman Lear. [http://terrencemcnally.net]
Episodes
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 753: SHARON WEINBERGER-VALLEY OF DEATH-How BIG TECH Is Fueling the Future of War
I talk with SHARON WEINBERGER, for years the National Security and Foreign Policy Editor at the Wall Street Journal, now the Editor-in-Chief of The Bulletin of…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 752: CHARLES GROB MD-Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens-Update on psychedelic research
This past April, Trump signed an executive order accelerating development of psychedelic drugs as medical treatments for mental-health conditions. CHARLES GROB…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 751: SHERRY TURKLE-ARTIFICIAL INTIMACY-Who We Become When We Talk to Machines
I speak with SHERRY TURKLE, MIT professor & Founding Director of the MIT Initiative on Technology & Self, author of Alone Together and Reclaiming Conversation…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 750: ERAM ALAM-THE CARE OF FOREIGNERS-How Immigrant MDs Changed US Healthcare.
For years, Harvard professor ERAM ALAM has been looking at the role immigrant physicians play in US healthcare. We fill a chronic shortage of new domestic MDs…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 749: SVEN BECKERT-CAPITALISM: A Global History-learn from the past to reshape the future
SVEN BECKERT, in his latest book, CAPITALISM: A Global History, traces its story across the world since the dawn of the last millennium. He reminds us that…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 748: JOHN JENKINS-SUMMER of ’71: Five Months That Changed America
I’m one who says the 60s didn’t end until about 1973. John Jenkins was a young journalist in Washington DC in ’71 when some shit was going down. War still…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 747: RICHARD HEINBERG (2003) died in July-A NEW COVENANT WITH NATURE, THE PARTY’S OVER
RICHARD HEINBERG, a guest a handful of times on this show died July 19th, just two weeks after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. He was often a few steps ahead…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 746: DANIELLE ALLEN-RADICAL DUKE (new book) & the work of Renovating Democracy
I talk with Harvard professor, DANIELLE ALLEN about (1) her latest book, RADICAL DUKE, about the third Duke of Richmond who inspired the colonies’ independence…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 745: ARI BERMAN-Trump’s threats to the 2026 mid-term elections
Trump makes a prime-time speech, lying once again about fraud in previous elections and previewing his intention to disrupt and disable the 2026 mid-terms…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 744: 1) ROBERT THURMAN (2011), Buddhist teacher, died in June - 2) JONATHAN SCHELL (2004), late journalist & author reflects on 9/11
We lost perhaps our nation’s most influential Buddhist with the death of ROBERT THURMAN June 16th at the age of 84. A former monk, ordained and partly trained…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 743: CORY DOCTOROW - AI-Use it. Don’t buy the hype. Don’t feed the bubble.
I learned a lot in this conversation with CORY DOCTOROW and in his new book, THE REVERSE CENTAUR’S GUIDE TO LIFE AFTER AI. Rather than fear AI, Doctorow uses…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 742: ROBERT COLES (2008) - renowned psychiatrist & Pulitzer-winning author died June 4 at 97
Here’s my 2008 conversation with ROBERT COLES, child psychiatrist, Harvard Professor, and author of 75 books, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning six volume…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 741: PROTEST-ANNIE LEONARD & ANDRE CAROTHERS-Respect It. Defend It. Use It.
I speak with ANNIE LEONARD & ANDRE CAROTHERS. She created the video documentary, The Story of Stuff, and led Greenpeace US for a decade. He worked for…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 740: ANDREW WEIL MD (2003)-America’s most trusted doctor of integrative medicine
When many believe HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - lacking in scientific, medical or public health training - is giving alternative medicine a bad name…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 739: THE FUTURE IS PEACE-AZIZ ABU SARAH (Palestinian) & MAOZ INON (Israeli)
Palestinian Aziz Abu Sarah lost his brother to Israeli authorities in the second Intifada. Israeli Jew Maoz Inon lost both his parents to Hamas on October 7th…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 738: ASTRA TAYLOR (2020)-WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Can we revive it? Can it meet our challenges?
Plato cautions that democracy inevitably leads to tyranny because the rich always want to get richer and the poor will follow a demagogue who promises to…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 737: BRENDAN BALLOU-WHEN COMPANIES RUN THE COURTS: Forced Arbitration, America’s Secret Justice System - plus private equity, rampant corruption & presidential pardons
I speak with former federal prosecutor BRENDAN BALLOU about a number of things. His first book was PLUNDER: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America and we get…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 736: 1) CRAIG VENTER-Genome decoder died last week 2) STUART KAUFFMAN-REINVENTING THE SACRED-Two conversations from 2008
1) History-making entrepreneurial scientist CRAIG VENTER, died last week at the age of 79. The New York Times obituary leads with these words, “A risk-taking…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 735: SCIENCE UNDER SIEGE-MICHAEL MANN (Climate) & PETER HOTEZ (Pandemics, Vaccines)
Climate scientist MICHAEL MANN (The New Climate War) has been a target of threatening abuse ever since he led the team that produced the “hockey stick graph”…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 734: Psychedelics - Research and Exploration - 1) CHARLES GROB MD(2012) 2) JAMES FADIMAN (2012)
In “even-a-broken-clock …” news this week, Donald Trump did something I applaud. He signed an executive order to accelerate research and access to psychedelic…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 733: AI, Billionaires, Authoritarians, Artists-JONATHAN TAPLIN-MOVE FAST & BREAK THINGS
When tech billionaires make nice with authoritarians and AI challenges are everywhere, I check in with JONATHAN TAPLIN, Director Emeritus of the USC Annenberg…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 732: Tech visionary JARON LANIER(2013)-WHO OWNS THE FUTURE?-You should be paid for your data.
When tech billionaires seem okay with authoritarianism and AI may be today’s existential challenge, here’s my 2013 conversation with Jaron Lanier about his…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 731: REBECCA GOLDSTEIN-THE MATTERING INSTINCT: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us
Let’s get down to basics. Does your life have a purpose? Can you justify your existence? I talk with REBECCA GOLDSTEIN, philosopher, novelist, and MacArthur…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 730: NICHOLAS KRISTOF & SHERYL WuDUNN (2020)-TIGHTROPE - Deaths of Despair among the Working Class
To remind us what has to heal to put MAGA behind us, here’s my 2020 conversation with Pulitzer Prize winning husband-wife team, NICHOLAS KRISTOF & SHERYL…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 729: Can US Primary Care Be Healed? TROY BRENNAN MD-WONDERFUL & BROKEN
I talk with TROY BRENNAN, professor at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and former Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health about his latest book…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 728: For Oscar week from the archives: 1) Roger Ebert( 2006), 2) Phil Donahue( 2007)
For Oscar week, two half hour film-linked episodes from the archives. First my 2006 conversation with ROGER EBERT, following that year’s Oscars, where CRASH…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 727: BILL HARTUNG & BEN FREEMAN-TRILLION DOLLAR WAR MACHINE-Trump likes using it
TRILLION DOLLAR WAR MACHINE - the title of the new book BILL HARTUNG & BEN FREEMAN wrote together - is about a trillion dollar a year machine for waging wars…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 726: CHIP BERLET(2017)-We look at extremism in early days of Trump One [Chip died in January]
Here’s my 2017 conversation with CHIP BERLET, investigative journalist, research analyst, activist - and friend - who died January 30, 2026. Over the last 50…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 725: DEBORAH TANNEN-You Just Don’t Understand-35 years exploring everyday conversation
How we “talk” to each other has changed dramatically since 1990 when Georgetown linguistics professor DEBORAH TANNEN brought gender differences in…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 724: DAVID KIRP (2011), KIDS FIRST: Five Big Ideas for Transforming Children's Lives and America's Future
I believe we need compelling visions of life after the current horror is over. What if we loved our children? How would things be different? Here’s my 2011…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 723: JANINE BENYUS-BIOMIMICRY: Innovation Inspired by Nature-Looking back 28 years after she coined the term
In her 1997 book, BIOMIMICRY: Innovation Inspired by Nature, JANINE BENYUS - biologist, author, and innovation consultant - coined a term and invented a field…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 722: SHARON SALZBERG (2002)-FAITH: TRUSTING YOUR OWN DEEPEST EXPERIENCE-Finding light in dark times
Here’s my 2002 conversation with SHARON SALZBERG, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society on her book, FAITH: TRUSTING YOUR OWN DEEPEST EXPERIENCE. Sharon…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 721: GEORGE PACKER, THE EMERGENCY-his first novel in decades-Can it cut through our overwhelm?
I speak with journalist and best-selling author, GEORGE PACKER (THE UNWINDING, LAST BEST HOPE) about his first novel in decades, THE EMERGENCY. He felt facts…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 720: WAEL GHONIM (2012) - REVOLUTION 2.0-How The Internet Helped Spark Egypt's Uprising
As deadly protests engulf Iran and a mass pro-democracy movement seems the path forward in the US, here’s my 2012 conversation with WAEL GHONIM about his book…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 719: BILL McKIBBEN-HERE COMES THE SUN-Recorded at LiveTalksLA event, 09-18-2025
I talk with BILL McKIBBEN (The New Yorker), co-founder of both the global climate campaign, 350.org, and ThirdAct.org, for folks 60 & above. I did publish an…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 718: PAUL GILDING (2012)-THE GREAT DISRUPTION: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring the End of Shopping & the Birth of a New World
Here’s my 2012 conversation with PAUL GILDING, former head of Greenpeace International, about his book, THE GREAT DISRUPTION: Why the Climate Crisis will Bring…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 717: PETER TURCHIN-The historical forces that explain Trump & what needs to change
As one year ends and another begins, many pause to look backward and forward. We’ll do that on a deep historical scale with today’s guest, PETER TURCHIN…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 716: RICHARD DAWKINS (2006) THE GOD DELUSION-We start w questions & end w awe
As we celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, here’s my 2006 conversation with RICHARD DAWKINS on his best-seller, THE GOD DELUSION. I consider myself spiritual…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 715: USArmy Colonel (ret) IKE WILSON-Part 2-Trump’s Abuse of Military + deeper Qs re military
This is Ike Wilson episode # 2. Questions about Hegseth, Venezuela, US cities are bigger than when we spoke in October. We make time to discuss other concerns…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 714: CHUCK COLLINS - BURNED BY BILLIONAIRES: How Concentrated Wealth & Power Are Ruining Our Lives & Planet
This week when we give thanks, let me say how grateful I am to have these conversations about a world that just might work and that folks take the time to…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 713: SHERRY TURKLE(2011)-ALONE TOGETHER: Why We expect More from Technology, Less from Each other
With family gatherings upcoming over the holidays and emergence of AI everywhere we look, here’s my 2011 episode with Sherry Turkle, Professor of the Social…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 712: MELANIE CHALLENGER-HOW TO BE ANIMAL: What It Means to Be Human
I’m not an environmentalist, but rather someone who works to move society toward a healthy relationship with the rest of nature. The notion that we are…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 711: DEBORAH TANNEN (2002) - ARGUMENT CULTURE and I ONLY SAY THIS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU
DEBORAH TANNEN, best known for YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND: Women and Men in Conversation, 4 years on the NYTimes bestseller list, 8 months at #1. This…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 710: ANDREW ROSS SORKIN-1929-Are we headed for another crash?
The stock market keeps rising, driven almost entirely by the “magnificent seven” tech giants. No one tries to deny we’re fueling AI and crypto bubbles. Great…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 709: 1) THOMAS FRANK(2004)-WHAT’S THE MATTER WITH KANSAS? 2) PAUL LOEB(2010)-SOUL OF A CITIZEN
Following the largest single day of protest in American history, here’s first, my 2004 conversation with THOMAS FRANK about his ground-breaking classic, WHAT’…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 708: Retired Army Colonel IKE WILSON-Trump’s Use & Abuse of the Military
Trump has ordered troops to LA, DC, Chicago, and Portland. Americans are on the brink of using lethal force against other Americans. Our military are killing…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 707: Defending nature with their lives-MARTIN GOODMAN-The Extraordinary Story of India’s Bishnoi
These are dark times in the United States, and due to this country’s power and influence, dark times for the planet. This show is about a world that just might…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 706: ROBERT WRIGHT (2017)-WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE-Can mindfulness help us deal with Trump?
Here’s my 2017 conversation with ROBERT WRIGHT on his best-seller WHY BUDDHISM IS TRUE. Wright has been asking big questions for nearly four decades in books…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 705: MICHAEL ANSARA-THE HARD WORK OF HOPE-a memoir of a lifetime of activism
In 1969, my senior year at Harvard, anti-war activists took over University Hall and their brutal removal by state troopers led to a month-long strike. Today’s…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 704: ROBERT JAY LIFTON (2020)-LOSING REALITY-Lifton died last week at 99
Here’s my 2020 conversation with psychiatrist & author ROBERT JAY LIFTON whose work led him into some of history’s darkest corners - Hiroshima survivors, Nazi…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 703: HERE COMES THE SUN-BILL McKIBBEN-co-founder 350.org, ThirdAct.org
I talk with BILL McKIBBEN (The New Yorker), co-founder of both the global climate campaign, 350.org, and, in 2021, ThirdAct for folks 60 & above. In these dark…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 702: 1) DOUGLAS BRINKLEY(2006)-20th anni of Katrina, The Great Deluge 2) RAFE ESQUITH(2005)-Hobart Elementary’s young Shakespearians
First half: This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Here’s my 2006 conversation with Douglas Brinkley about his book The Great Deluge, in…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 701: Trump v Rule of Law-Legal scholar ROBERT POST re Supreme Court, 1st Amendment, Free Speech, Academic Freedom,
What happens when the President plays mob boss - “How much can I get away with? Who’s going to stop me?” I talk with American legal scholar ROBERT POST of Yale…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 700: ROBERT FULLER (2003)-Fought “Rankism”-the abuse of rank-died July 15th at 88
A bittersweet truth about having recorded these conversations for 25 years is how many of my guests are no longer with us. I went back through my files and…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 699: LIZZIE WADE-How APOCALYPSE Has Transformed Our World-Is there an upside to down?
In just the last two decades, we’ve experienced a global financial crash, a pandemic, multiple wars, and a climate crisis with repeated natural disasters. I…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 698: My 1989 speech to my 20th Harvard reunion - prescient & tragically hopeful
A couple of weeks ago I recorded myself reading a speech I originally gave June 9, 1989 - 36 years ago - at my 20th college reunion, Harvard class of 1969…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 697: (1) Can government save capitalism from itself? CHRIS HUGHES, Facebook co-founder, (2) my prescient & tragic 1989 speech to my 20th Harvard reunion
As we reel and resist Trump’s careless breakdown of government, society and the economy, I speak with CHRIS HUGHES, a co-founder of Facebook, who left the…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 696: 30 years of research: Inequality hurts everybody-even the rich-Wilkinson & Pickett-THE SPIRIT LEVEL
In Trump’s tax bill, 60% of cuts go to the top 20% (income: $217K+). More than a third to top 5% ($460K+) Households earning less than $51K will see income…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 695: TIM JACKSON, THE CARE ECONOMY - What if we kept score by valuing what actually matters?
When I decided to speak with TIM JACKSON about his new book, THE CARE ECONOMY, I had second thoughts. What could be further from our current reality in the US…
Free Forum with Terrence McNallyEpisode 694: DON INGBER (2012)-Biotech Breakthroughs at Harvard’s Wyss Institute reveal costs of Trump’s research cuts
The chaos Trump is creating in Southern California is a distraction from the other cruel, careless, and destructive actions of his administration. The assault…