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The Leonard Lopate Show
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Donkey Kong (tifotter/flickr)
Don't Worry, Learn To Be Happy
On today’s show: a psychologist and Harvard professor explains how we can learn to be happy...and it doesn’t involve millions of dollars, convertibles, and luxurious mansions. Next, the director and subject of a new documentary on the world of competitive video gaming. Then, famed science fiction writer William Gibson on his new novel. And on this month’s Backstory, we look at how Zimbabwe transformed itself from one of Africa’s most stable countries to one of its most chaotic.
Positive Psychology
Can you learn to be happy? Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar says yes. In Happier, Dr. Ben-Shahar argues that happiness isn’t as elusive as most people think. He says that all we need is some keen self-awareness and purposeful action to uncover the key to happiness.
Happier is available for purchase at amazon.com
The King of Kong
“King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters” is a documentary that tackles the world of competitive video gaming. It follows Steve Wiebe as he perfects the game of Donkey Kong and takes on the reigning champion in a cross-country duel to see who will set the highest score ever. Leonard talks to Mr. Wiebe and the film’s director, Seth Gordon.
Visit the King of Kong website
The film opens on August 17 at the IFC Center and the AMC Empire
Spook Country
William Gibson is often considered the most influential science fiction writer of the past quarter century. Now that the present has caught up with Gibson’s vision of the future, he’s started writing about our own time – when everyday life feels like science fiction. Gibson's new novel is Spook Country.
Spook Country is available for purchase at amazon.com
William Gibson will be speaking and signing books
Tuesday, August 14 at 7pm
Union Square Barnes & Nobles
33 East 17th Street
Backstory: Zimbabwe
In the space of just seven years, Zimbabwe has managed to transform itself from one of Africa’s most stable and prosperous countries to one of its poorest and most chaotic. One estimate suggests that three million Zimbabweans have fled across the border in recent years. On this month's Backstory, we are joined by Isabella Matambanadzo, Zimbabwe Program Manager for the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, and Princeton N. Lyman, the Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, to explore the roots of Zimbabwe’s crisis.
Beyond Humanitarianism is available for purchase at amazon.com
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Tom Daschle on Fixing America’s Health Care System
The Leonard Lopate Show
Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle has accepted President-Elect Barack Obama’s offer to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. You can hear Tom Daschle talk about his prescriptions for fixing American’s health care crisis on the Leonard Lopate Show in March 2008.
Big Plans for America
The Leonard Lopate Show
Democratic Congressman Rahm Emanuel from Illinois has agreed to be Chief of Staff under President-Elect Barack Obama. You can hear him on the Lopate Show in 2006 discussing his thoughts on what the Democratic party needed to do in order to succeed.
Barack Obama, Circa 2004
The Leonard Lopate Show
As the Democratic Convention is underway in Denver, listen to Barack Obama on the Leonard Lopate Show in November 2004. He had recently won a seat in the U.S. Senate, and only a few months before, his rousing speech during the 2004 Democratic National Convention catapulted him into the national spotlight.
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Sen. Joe Biden on the Lopate Show
The Leonard Lopate Show
Sen. Obama has chosen Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be his running mate. To find out more about his personal and political life, listen to Leonard’s Aug. 2007 interview with Sen. Biden. At the time, the Senator from Delaware was still a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.
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Guest Picks
The Leonard Lopate Show
Find out surprising facts about some recent guests on the Leonard Lopate Show. Check out our Guest Picks section! Did you know that football star Herschel Walker loves Judge Judy, Laurie Anderson is a big fan of agility training for dogs, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi likes Johnny Depp?
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