Category: Heard on NPR
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The “Boopsie Effect”: Gender, Sexiness, Intelligence and Competence
Last Thursday, I heard segments of a KUOW interview with Deborah Rhode, Stanford law professor and author of The Beauty Bias: The Injustice of Appearance in Life and Law, in which she spoke of the Boopsie effect, wherein women in upper-level positions in historically male-dominated professions find that “attractiveness suggests less competence and intellectual ability”.…
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Be Impeccable With Your Word: Confrontation vs. Condescension and Intimidation
I’ve had a number of opportunities recently to reflect on don Miguel Ruiz‘ first agreement: be impeccable with your word. Amid public conversations at the recent Coffee Party kickoff meeting, private discussions about reviews of academic papers and proposals, and listening to an interview about the science of wisdom, I’ve gained a greater appreciation for…
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The Coffee Party: Political Conversation vs. Confrontation
I attended a Coffee Party kickoff meeting at SoulFood Books, Music and Organic Coffee House on Saturday. Approximately 40 people subdivided into smaller groups to discuss their hopes and fears about the state of the union. Amid the largely liberal perspectives voiced by several participants, I was delighted to discover an unanticipated diversity of opinions…
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Applying the One Percent Doctrine to Climate Change
I remember hearing an NPR Fresh Air interview with Ron Suskind, author of The One Percent Doctrine: Deep Inside America's Pursuit of It's Enemies Since 9/11, shortly after the book came out in 2006, in which he explained that the title came from a statement made by [then] Vice President Dick Cheney about the Bush…
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Clinical Wisdom: Knowledge, Experience, Compassion, Creativity and Honesty
NPR's Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon), host of Weekend Edition Saturday, is one of my favorite mainstream media players … and with over 1.3 million Twitter followers, I know I am not alone. Simon Says, his weekly essays, are among the most insightful and provocative segments I hear on the radio. In this week's essay, The Kindness…
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NPR Freeloading Considered
It's pledge week at both of our local National Public Radio affiliate stations: KPLU and KUOW. I've been growing increasingly angry about the interruptions in news programming required to raise money to support the stations: every "pledge break" means one less news story I get to hear. I understand – and support – this practice,…
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Positivity, Praise, Practice and Perseverance
I was recently given an unsolicited opportunity to practice what I've preached here on my blog, about being positive (or filling buckets, as I'd put it) in the context of my family. My son came home with a mid-term report card that wasn't all As, and I immediately focused on finding the causes for the…
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4 months, 4321 miles and 92 gallons with my 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid
I wrote about buying a 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid – my first new car in 21 years – a little over 4 months ago. My appreciation for the car has been growing over time, and I wanted to share some of the insights and experiences that have unfolded during this extended "break-in" period. First of…
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Revenge of the Community Organizers
One of the low points of the recent U.S. presidential campaign for me – and there were many – was Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's contemptuous dismissal of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's earlier career chapter as a community organizer during her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention: I guess a small-town mayor…