"...I looked up some of the old books..." — Jeffrey Lieberman
Jeffrey Lieberman, MD was relaxed and enthusiastic when we sat down to talk about this book 'Shrinks' at KQED. He was joined by his wonderful wife Rosemarie, who was acting as his (very effective) publicist. Every writer should be so lucky. But of course luck is there for the prepared mind, and few minds are as prepared as Dr. Lieberman's. It was a joy to sit and talk about one of my favorite my books this year.
For me, a big part of the interest in the interview was to evoke Dr. Lieberman's personal story as much as to discuss the direct content of the book. The latter is, as mentioned in the interview, really compelling and a must-read for those of us who have always had a mass of conflicting images in our minds.
Lieberman makes what happened with Freud and his followers all too clear. But he was there are pharma-psychotherapy came into being and into vogue. He was there as the DSM was written and re-written. He was there for the rise of medical and brain imaging technology.
Lieberman's an easy-going gentleman, who has a knack for diving into difficult and complicated subjects in a manner that is crystal clear. For me this book and this conversation, helped to clarify years of years of half-understandings. Moreover, Lieberman's story plays out against the bigger story of science under fire today. As we move towards a choose-your-reality world where belief seems to supersede facts, Lieberman's story of science in the thrall of personality is an important reminder of what happens when we do not ask ourselves the hard questions.
05-09-15 UPDATE:Podcast Update: Time to Read Episode 204: Jeffrey Lieberman 'Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry'
Click image for audio link.
Here's the two-hundred-fourth episode of my series of podcasts, which I'm calling Time to Read, or when I warn the writer in advance, the lightning round. This is turning out to be really fun, and especially since I get to take on my game show host persona.
This week, I'm way behind, but who knows what the hell might happen. I am hoping to get back up and stumbling. I have lots of great books in the hopper to review and lots of great interviews to podcast.
My hope is that in under four minutes I can offer readers a concise review and an opportunity to hear the author read from or speak about the work. I'm hoping to offer a new one every week.
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]
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..."
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 : 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
