August 31st, 2015
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Felicia Day at KUSP studios. Photo: Rick Kleffel
While Felicia Day is busily entertaining readers with hilarious stories about her youth in a prose that’s engagingly honest and raw, another storyline emerges. The home-schooled youth, the early-adopting gamer girl, the girl genius in college at the age of 16, the violin prodigy, all of these stories create a framework for what’s underneath You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) – a crisp vision of how computer technology can transform our lives.
Day’s autobiography is just as fun to read as you’d expect. If you’re a fan of her online persona, her many appearances in a variety of television series, her online series The Guild or her new entertainment juggernaut Geek & Sundry, you’ll find a lot to love here. If you’ve never experienced any of the above, the book will make you want to do so. The book is written with a clarity and unconscious style that will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading pretty much any sort of book.
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August 24th, 2015
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On this episode of the Agony Column, Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri discusses her new memoir Plenty Ladylike. She honed her political skills in high school and used the same smarts to achieve re-election when it was predicted that she would certainly lose.
Plus, William MacAskill — no relation — discusses his book Doing Good Better and his work in Effective Altruism, which uses statistics to measure just what helps the most people achieve the best outcomes.
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August 16th, 2015
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What is pain? How do we experience pain and what part do our emotions play in the experience of pain? KUSP’s Rick Kleffel speaks with Dr. Mel Pohl about chronic pain, the opiate epidemic and how an understanding of pain can diminish its effects.
August 10th, 2015
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Author and literary scholar, Alan Cheuse. Photo: Photo: Peter Hedlund-flickr-http://bit.ly/1Keg0Cx
Author and critic Alan Cheuse died last week at age 75. He regularly participated in interviews with KUSP Rick Kleffel. On this week’s Agony Column Literary Magazine show, listen back to a selection Cheuse’s insightful interviews.
August 3rd, 2015
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Enter the hearts and minds of those fighting on both sides of the war on drugs as host Rick Kleffel speaks with author Don Winslow about his novel The Cartel.
Winslow explores the intersection of economics, politics, crime and law enforcement the drive a conflict that has little visibility and offers few prospects for resolution
July 27th, 2015
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The waters off the coast of the Dominican Republic — and New Jersey — are home to wrecks lost to history. But those who explore U-Boats and pirate ships are not just there for treasure; there’s something more that brings them to the brink of death.
Robert Kurson discusses his books Shadow Divers and Pirate Hunters with host Rick Kleffel.
July 21st, 2015
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This week on The Agony Column, it’s all apocalypse, all the time.
Author Robert Repino brings on Mort(e), in which your housecat becomes your executioner; Emily Schultz brings on The Blondes and Ernest Cline explains our fascination with video games and science fiction with his book Armada.
July 14th, 2015
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It’s clear that the American justice system has a problem. Rick Kleffel speaks with legal scholar Adam Benforado, who uses neuroscience, psychology and data analysis to examine how justice works. He says it’s our understanding of ‘Ourelves’ that’s the problem. His new book is Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice.
Also on the program is an interview with Annie Jacobson, author of the book, The Pentagon’s Brain: An Uncensored History of DARPA, America’s Top-Secret Military Research Agency.
July 6th, 2015
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Following the recent historic decision by the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage — and the decision the same week by the Episcopalian Church to allow same-sex marriage in their Churches – Rick Kleffel talks with openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson.
And on the same program, Adam Benforado uses neuroscience to analyze the biggest flaw in our justice system — humans!
June 29th, 2015
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Rick Kleffel speaks with reporter Stephen Witt about his book How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century and the Patient Zero of Piracy.
He followed an electronic trail that led him from the most powerful man in American music, to a temporary factory worker and a German genius.
The untold story of the remaking of modern music…
Tags: Agony Column, author interview, Rick Kleffel, stepehn witt
