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12-24-10: Special Podcast Extra : Jeffrey Rossman on 'The Mind-Body Mood Solution'


"Take Heed of that message that we're getting from somewhere deep inside of us that something needs to change..."

—Jeffrey Rossman

This Sunday, on KUSP's Talk of the Bay, from 7-8 PM PST, I'll, be doing a live, in-studio interview with Jeffrey Rossman, author of 'The Mind-Body Mood Solution: The Breakthrough Drug-Free Program for Lasting Relief from Depression,' a well-written and concise holistic approach to getting yourself in a better mood without using prescription meds.

Rossman's book is an excellent synthesis of a lot of work I've read of late, from Michael Pollan to Karen Armstrong. By including information from a variety of sources, by taking a wide view, he achieves a bracing vision of an informed lifestyle that can benefit everyone, not just the depressed.

While the book talks about and addresses depression, to my mind it's a good book to read even if you don't see yourself as depressed. The full spectrum of thought that Rossman covers is an engaging synthesis of common sense and cutting-edge medicine, with a philosophical nod to the juncture of spirituality and science.

The interview on Sunday is in a call-in show, so here are the phone numbers you can call: 1-800-655-5877, or 831-476-2800. You can hear my phone interview with Jeffrey Rossman by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



12-21-10: Nick Mamatas Reads at SF in SF Halloween Celebration, October 23, 2010


"...you are going to ruin zombies forever..."

—Nick Mamatas

Nick Mamatas wasted little time in his reading talking about himself. In fact, he said nothing, but immediately launched in what might have been the most off-putting preface to a reading I have ever heard a writer dare to give.

It begins, like most off-putting events, with an idea that seems irresistible. "Let's get George Romero to put his name on an imprint of zombie novels."

I'm here to tell you that idea has been tried, and I'll let Nick Mamatas tell you the upshot. Let's just say that his wildly entertaining introduction – and well as being utterly off-putting, also made his story even more compelling.

I frankly think that the plethora of zombie-every-gods-damned-thing should, in a better world, be the death of zombies. But I have had the same hope about vampires. I was sick of vampires some twenty years ago, but for every ten watered-down, pathetic, drivel-and-tripe ripoff-o-ramas, one truly outstanding novel or short story appears.

As much as I love the original Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead movies, I actually think that movies are much more likely to be the death of zombies than books. In fact, were there more readings like that of Nick Mamatas, more intelligent takes, well-performed by their writers like "The Ethical Treatment of Meat" by Claude Laumière, then we'd have a much more unkillable body of zombie literature.

In fact killing zombies in San Francisco is all of what Nick Mamatas' story is about. You get out there and drill with the best of them by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



12-20-10: A 2010 Interview with David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill


"..this young suicide bomber, I asked, 'Are you ready to die?' and he said, 'Absolutely.'"

—David Rohde

"He was literally in a foreign country and I was suddenly thrust into a whole new world; FBI agents, private security contractors..."

—Kristen Mulvihill

It was a conundrum; where and how to interview David Rohde and Kristen Mulvihill. I had studio time booked at KUSP, which isn't always or even ever easy. But I've had problems with the sound there, and just as important, the studio is quite small. Since I had inveigled Charles Kruger to come film the interview, I wanted to be sure he could get us all in the frame. In the prod studio at KUSP, that would be impossible.

I looked into filming the interview at the local Community TV studio, but the costs would have been prohibitive. So, I went with plan C, an interview at KUSP in the large, well-lit meeting room. I just set up my usual rig and put us at a corner of the table. Charles showed up professionally early, as did David and Kristen. I had everything ready, and when we sat down to talk, everything disappeared but the three of us and our conversation.

Interviewing a couple is a challenge I particularly enjoy, because it gives me a chance to create a conversation between two people who know each other well. Apparently, even though David and Kristen had been interviewed to within an inch of their lives, I found some new avenues of inquiry, and it's always enjoyable to see that happen.

What happens to me is that as I listen to what the authors have to say, any questions I might have had get quickly tossed into the trash in favor of new queries based on what I'm hearing. And for me as well, in this case, I wasn't interested getting the two of them to recap what happened in the book; I'll let my readers have the pleasure of that experience first-hand. Instead, I wanted to talk about some of the subtexts of the book that I found interesting; the spirituality that I detected underneath both of their texts, though certainly limited and understated, seemed to be important to them.

It was also fascinating as ever to hear about the challenges they faced actually writing the book. David is used to a very different sort of writing, while Kristen has spent her time in the world of graphic design. They're a great pair in this book, and I wanted to find out how they summoned a very different muse to create the book. It proved to be one of those conversations that feels more like three people getting together to talk about a book they love than a Q & A. You hear the lack of questions and the eloquence of the answers by following this link to the MP3 audio file.



New to the Agony Column

09-18-15: Commentary : William T. Vollman Amidst 'The Dying Grass' : An Epic Exploration of Simultaneity

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with William T. Vollman : "...a lot of long words that in our language are sentences..."

09-05-15: Commentary : Susan Casey Listens to 'Voices in the Ocean' : Science, Empathy and Self

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Susan Casey : "...the reporting for this book was emotionally difficult at times..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 213: Susan Casey : Voices in the Ocean: A Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins

08-24-15: Commentary : Felicia Day Knows 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' : Transformative Technology

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Felicia Day : "I think you have to be attention curators for audience in every way."

08-22-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 212: Felicia Day : You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)

08-21-15: Agony Column Podcast News Report : Senator Claire McCaskill is 'Plenty Ladylike' : Internalizing Determination to Overcome Sexism [Incudes Time to Read EP 211: Claire McCaskill, Plenty Ladylike, plus A 2015 Interview with Senator Claire McCaskill]

Agony Column Podcast News Report : Emily Schultz Unleashes 'The Blondes' : A Cure by Color [Incudes Time to Read EP 210: Emily Schultz, The Blondes, plus A 2015 Interview with Emily Schultz]

08-10-15:Agony Column Podcast News Report : In Memory of Alan Cheuse : Thank you Alan, and Your Family, for Everything

07-11-15: Commentary : Robert Repino Morphs 'Mort(e)' : Housecat to Harbinger of the Apocalypse

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Robert Repino : "...an even bigger threat. which is us, the humans..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Robert Repino : Mort(e)

07-05-15: Commentary : Dr. Michael Gazzaniga Tells Tales from Both Sides of the Brain : A Life in Neuroscience Reveals the Life of Science

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Michael Gazzaniga : "We made the first observation and BAM there was the disconnection effect..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 208: Michael Gazzaniga : Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

06-26-15: Commentary : Neal Stephenson Crafts an Eden for 'Seveneves' : Blow It Up and Start All Over Again

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Neal Stephenson : "...and know that you're never going to se a tree again..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 207: Neal Stephenson : Seveneves

06-03-15: Commentary : Dan Simmons Opens 'The Fifth Heart' : Having it Every Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Dan Simmons : "...yes, they really did bring those bombs..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 206: Dan Simmons : The Fifth Heart

05-23-15: Commentary : John Waters Gets 'Carsick' : Going His Way

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with John Waters : "...you change how you would be in real life...”

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 205: John Waters : Carsick

05-09-15: Commentary : Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD and 'Shrinks' : A Most Fashionable Take on the Human Mind

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : "..its influence to be as hegemonic as it was..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD : Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry

04-29-15: Commentary : Barney Frank is 'Frank' : Interpersonally Ours

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Barney Frank : "...while you're trying to change it, don't ignore it..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 203: Barney Frank : Frank: A Life in Politics from the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage

04-21-15: Commentary : Kazuo Ishiguro Unearths 'The Buried Giant' : The Mist of Myth and Memory

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Kazuo Ishiguro : ".... by the time I was writing this novel, the lines between what was fantasy and what was real had blurred for me..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 202: Kazuo Ishiguro : The Buried Giant

04-17-15: Commentary : Erik Larson Follows a 'Dead Wake' : Countdown to Destiny

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Erik Larson : "...said to have been found in the arms of a dead German sailor..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 201: Erik Larson : Dead Wake

04-15-15: Commentary : Peter Bell Reflects 'A Certain Slant of Light' : Strange Stories of Modern Scholars

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2014 Interview with Peter Bell : "...I looked up some of the old books..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 200: Peter Bell : Strange Epiphanies and A Certain Slant of Light

03-14-15: Commentary : Marc Goodman Foresees 'Future Crimes' : Exponential Potential

Agony Column Podcast News Report : A 2015 Interview with Marc Goodman : "...every physical object around us is being transformed, one way or another, into an information technology..."

Agony Column Podcast News Report UPDATE: Time to Read Episode 199: Marc Goodman : Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It

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