Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda artwork

Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda

323 episodes - English - Latest episode: 12 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3.3K ratings

Learn to connect better with others in every area of your life. Immerse yourself in spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. It's something we need now more than ever.

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Episodes

Katie Couric and Sheryl Sandberg Take Over the Pod

October 30, 2018 01:15 - 1 hour - 56.1 MB

While Alan Alda is on vacation, he's invited his friend Katie Couric to take over the pod with some of her favorite episodes! Alan's producers interviewed Katie about this episode and Katie talks about the shared experience that she and Sheryl Sandberg have in common. After her husband died suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia, Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg (Lean In) thought she would never experience true joy again. Sheryl speaks about her book, Option B, that delves into how she proved hers...

Katie Couric and Bryan Stevenson Take Over the Pod

October 23, 2018 01:15 - 50 minutes - 46 MB

Alan is on vacation (literally). So, he asked his friend Katie Couric if she'd lend him a couple of episodes of her podcast. Alan sent in his producers to interview Katie about her podcast. In this episode Katie and her co-host Brian Goldsmith welcome Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Bryan could have gone anywhere—he chose to move to Alabama to help confront racial disparities and reform the criminal justice system. On the pod, they d...

Season 2 of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda Starts Nov 13th - Official Trailer

October 02, 2018 02:30 - 2 minutes - 2.64 MB

Season 2 of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda starts on November 13th! Listen to the official trailer to meet some of Alan's next guests -- you're not going to want to miss the spectacular bonus episodes in the works! New episodes are available every Tuesday. Subscribe and listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you like to enjoy podcasts. For more details and to subscribe to Alan's newsletter, please visit AlanAlda.com. These episodes are made possible thanks to the generous suppor...

Season 2 of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda Starts Nov 13th - Official Trailer

October 02, 2018 02:30 - 2 minutes - 2.98 MB

Season 2 of Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda starts on November 13th! Listen to the official trailer to meet some of Alan's next guests -- you're not going to want to miss the spectacular bonus episodes in the works! New episodes are available every Tuesday. Subscribe and listen for free on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you like to enjoy podcasts. For more details and to subscribe to Alan's newsletter, please visit AlanAlda.com. These episodes are made possible thanks to the generous suppo...

Hostage Crisis: How to Negotiate Through the Unthinkable with Chris Voss

October 02, 2018 01:15 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MB

Chris Voss is a former FBI hostage negotiator who has used communication to save lives. Alan Alda interviews Chris about his experiences and they discuss intense situations where empathy has been successfully used as a tool to guard against the unthinkable. Alan also has a few tricks up his own sleeve as he lures Chris into a role play situation to see how well he does under pressure. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Father Greg Boyle on Compassion, Kinship, and Real Ways to Help Others

September 25, 2018 01:15 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MB

How do you talk to a member of a deadly gang? How do you help someone leave that life, and why did they join it in the first place? The answers are surprising. And they throw light on how to communicate with anyone. In this episode of Clear+Vivid Alan Alda has a lively and eye-opening conversation with Father Greg Boyle who tells how his Homeboys Industries in Los Angeles has been a lifeline to thousands of young people escaping the deadly culture of gang life. And how he answers violence wi...

Isabella Rossellini on Communicating the Wonder of Nature

September 18, 2018 01:15 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MB

Isabella Rossellini is a legendary actress, iconic model, filmmaker, writer, and now - if that's not enough - she's working on her master's degree in Animal Behavior. In this wildly fun conversation, Alan Alda talks with Isabella about how how animals communicate with one another and with us. And how Isabella communicates with us about the sometimes bizarre sex lives of animals — in her popular video series called "Green Porno." Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

The Quest to Understand Ourselves Through Art and Mind

September 11, 2018 01:15 - 40 minutes - 37 MB

Is a work of art complete if no one experiences it? Nobel Prize winner Eric Kandel talks with Alan Alda about the vital role of the audience when we communicate through art and story And his prize-winning discoveries on memory come alive in his own memorable stories. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Cheryl Strayed Shares Her Advice on How to Give Advice

September 04, 2018 01:15 - 45 minutes - 42 MB

Cheryl Strayed, one of the most exciting and uplifting authors of our time, is funny, down to earth, complex, and the perfect person to offer Alan Alda solid advice about how to give good advice. She's the author of Tiny Beautiful Things and the co-host of the New York Times/WBUR podcast Dear Sugars, which originated with her popular Dear Sugar advice column, and she's the co-author of The Sweet Spot advice column in the New York Times Thursday Styles section.  Her novel, Wild, about her life...

Cheryl Strayed Shares Her Advice on How to Give Advice

September 04, 2018 01:15 - 45 minutes - 42 MB

Cheryl Strayed, one of the most exciting and uplifting authors of our time, is funny, down to earth, complex, and the perfect person to offer Alan Alda solid advice about how to give good advice. She's the author of Tiny Beautiful Things and the co-host of the New York Times/WBUR podcast Dear Sugars, which originated with her popular Dear Sugar advice column, and she's the co-author of The Sweet Spot advice column in the New York Times Thursday Styles section. Her novel, Wild, about her lif...

George Mitchell on Bringing Together Enemies - Part 2 Northern Ireland

August 28, 2018 01:15 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MB

George Mitchell helped end decades of lethal violence in Northern Ireland with the historic accord known as the Good Friday Agreement. In this episode Alan Alda talks with Sen. Mitchell about how he achieved that agreement through effective communication, and an understanding of human nature. He describes the essential elements of effective communication that brought together the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as the political parties of Northern Ireland, bringing an e...

Tina Fey and the Transformative Power of Improv

August 21, 2018 04:05 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MB

Two icons of improv and comedy together on the same podcast. Alan Alda and Tina Fey - do we need to say more? This episode was originally recorded live on stage. Tina also joined Alan in studio to answer 7 questions about herself. Her answers are profound and funny and show why she's one of the great comedians of all time. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Ann Patchett on Novelists and the Sources of Empathy in Story

August 14, 2018 04:10 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MB

Ann Patchett is a best selling author with an uncanny ability to write amazing characters, who capture our imagination and hold us in their emotional grip. Alan Alda talks with Ann about her approach to writing and how empathy influences both her stories and her personal life. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Bringing Together Enemies - Part 1: The Middle East

August 07, 2018 01:15 - 41 minutes - 38 MB

Author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin reflects on the modern state of feminism and the #MeToo movement – and how she’s brought people together in the Middle East through experiences that change their understanding of one another. (In Part 2 of these conversations on “Bringing Enemies Together” Senator George Mitchell discusses bringing peace to Northern Ireland.) Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bringing Together Enemies - Part 1: The Middle East

August 07, 2018 01:15 - 41 minutes - 38 MB

Author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin reflects on the modern state of feminism and the #MeToo movement – and how she’s brought people together in the Middle East through experiences that change their understanding of one another. (In Part 2 of these conversations on “Bringing Enemies Together” Senator George Mitchell discusses bringing peace to Northern Ireland.) Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Is Empathy Good or Bad? A Conversation with Paul Bloom

July 31, 2018 01:10 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MB

Yale Professor Paul Bloom doesn't think empathy is such a good thing. He's even written a book about it called, The Case Against Empathy. However, he does have an interesting theory about what he calls rational compassion. Paul and Alan Alda discuss their views for and against empathy and find out that they have more in common than they thought. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Renée Fleming and the Healing Power of Music

July 24, 2018 01:10 - 39 minutes - 36 MB

Surprisingly, Renée Fleming has been using her iconic voice to help scientists discover how music heals us. Alan talks with Renée about their mutual interest in science, her new starring role in Carousel, and what it's like to really be present as a performer. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Judge Judy on How to Figure Out Who’s Telling the Truth

July 17, 2018 04:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MB

Every day, 10 million Americans watch Judge Judy on TV. Her style is direct and to the point. Her job is to know how to quickly separate fact from fiction. She talks with Alan about justice and what it's like for a judge to have such an impact on the lives of others. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Kate Bowler and How to Handle the Worst News of All

July 13, 2018 04:00 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MB

Alan talks with Kate about the awkward, funny, and often misguided, ways people approach the subject when they know someone is seriously ill. New York Times Bestselling author and Duke University divinity professor, Kate Bowler tells Alan how stage 4 cancer led her to write a humorous, and graceful book about communicating with someone who’s received the worst possible news. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Itzhak Perlman on the Spontaneity and Connection of Performance

July 09, 2018 23:30 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MB

In this delightful and spirited conversation, Alan Alda talks with his good friend the world-renowned violinist, Itzhak Perlman. They explore the power of spontaneity in both music and acting, and what happens when a musician talks to the audience. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Sarah Silverman and the Joy of Enjoying People You Don't Agree With

July 09, 2018 23:25 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MB

Alan Alda talks with comedian Sarah Silverman about how she befriended someone who was hateful toward her on Twitter, and how her new series on Hulu challenges her to connect with people that she doesn't agree with. Her question to us is “Can Americans put down their "porcupine needles" and really listen to one another again?” Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/clearandvivid

Clear + Vivid™ with Alan Alda - Official Trailer

May 23, 2018 10:35 - 1 minute - 1020 KB

Clear and Vivid is a series of Alan Alda’s spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. With his unique blend of humor and insight, Alda explores the ways we can conne...

Clear + Vivid™ with Alan Alda - Official Trailer

May 23, 2018 10:35 - 1 minute - 1020 KB

Clear and Vivid is a series of Alan Alda’s spirited conversations with people who know how hard it is, and yet how good it feels, to really connect with other people – whether it’s one person, an audience or a whole country. You'll know many of the people in these conversations – they are luminaries in our culture. Some you may not know. But what links them all is their powerful ability to relate and communicate. With his unique blend of humor and insight, Alda explores the ways we can connec...

Guests

Steven Strogatz
2 Episodes
Adam Driver
1 Episode
Ann Patchett
1 Episode
Ashley Hamer
1 Episode
Billy Collins
1 Episode
Brian Greene
1 Episode
Bryan Stevenson
1 Episode
Carl Safina
1 Episode
Chris Hadfield
1 Episode
Chris Voss
1 Episode
Cody Gough
1 Episode
David Linden
1 Episode
Eric Topol
1 Episode
Frans de Waal
1 Episode
George Whitesides
1 Episode
Isabel Allende
1 Episode
Jonathan Haidt
1 Episode
Kate Bowler
1 Episode
Katie Mack
1 Episode
Madeleine Albright
1 Episode
Melinda Gates
1 Episode
Pardis Sabeti
1 Episode
Paul Bloom
1 Episode
Penn Jillette
1 Episode
Robert Sapolsky
1 Episode
Sarah Vowell
1 Episode
Sherry Turkle
1 Episode
Sheryl Sandberg
1 Episode
Stephen Fry
1 Episode
Steven Johnson
1 Episode
Tom Hanks
1 Episode