Binah

Los Angeles street rat turned world-famous rock star Flea, the bassist and co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, tells his origin story. His new memoir is Acid for the Children.

Poet Saeed Jones tells his coming-of-age story as a larger examination of race and queerness, and power and vulnerability. His new memoir is How We Fight for Our Lives.

Poets Adrienne Rich and Alicia Ostriker reflect on themes of Jewish identity, social justice, and radical feminism.

BJ Miller, Shoshana Berger and Lucy Kalanithi provide step-by- step instructions on managing the end of life, and answer questions about death that we’re all afraid to ask.

Journalist Anand Giridharadas argues that many elite philanthropic initiatives serve only to maintain the very power structures they claim they want to fix. His book is Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World.

New York Times Op-Ed columnist Gail Collins explores how attitudes toward older women have shifted in America over the centuries. Hear why women can, and should, expect the best of their golden years.

Science journalist Carl Zimmer argues that heredity isn’t just about genes that pass from parent to child, but also about other things that matter as much—or more—to our lives.

Novelist Richard Powers and author and environmentalist Bill McKibben examine the essential conflict taking place on our planet between humans and nonhumans.

Over 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. This number is projected to nearly triple to 14 million by 2060. San Francisco attorneys Trisha Friedeberg and Rowena Navia discuss the legal issues to consider related to Alzheimer’s, including how to put plans in place and how to access legal resources near you.

Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of the acclaimed, animated television series BoJack Horseman, shares his fabulously offbeat collection of short stories about love. His new book is Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory.

On today’s encore edition of Binah, Lizzie Post, great-great granddaughter of Emily Post and Co-President of the Emily Post Institute, explores the wide world of legalized weed and navigates the social etiquette surrounding pot today.

Modern rock anti-hero Ben Folds imparts hard-earned wisdom about art and life, after a multi-decade career in music, and performs new and fan favorite songs. His new memoir is A Dream About Lightning Bugs.

StoryCorps founder Dave Isay shares unforgettable stories of people pursuing the work they were born to do, channeling their passion, courage and commitment to transform a vocation into a calling.

Writer and essayist Adam Gopnik shows how liberalism is one of the great moral adventures in human history and why our lives may depend on its continuation.

Common Sense Media’s Michael Robb and Jill Murphy examine the pattern of media use among young American children, and offer recommendations and tips for parents based on their findings.

Former US Poet Laureate from 2008 to 2010 Kay Ryan colors her writing with sly humor and dramatic imagination, while making poetry accessible to a broad audience.

Chefs and owners of State Bird Provisions and The Progress, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski discuss the intersections of cinema, culture and gastronomy.

Dr. Ira Bowen, Senior Neurosurgical Resident at Riverside University Health System in Southern California, covers the latest research on mild trauma of the brain, and what can be done to heal from these injuries.

Chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and television presenter Lidia Bastianich discusses her life as a refugee who has lived the American dream, and preserving Italian culture and heritage through food traditions.

Poet, essayist, literary critic, translator, and former US Poet Laureate from 1997 to 2000 Robert Pinsky speaks on death, mourning, and life after loss.

On this edition of Binah, we feature two writers of imaginative and inspiring books for young readers. San Francisco-raised, bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier, whose latest book is Share Your Smile: Raina’s Guide to Telling Your Own Story, is joined in conversation by NPR’s Guy Raz. Also, actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director B.J. Novak, who is best known for his work on the hit television show The Office, reads from The Book With No Pictures.

Golden State Warriors basketball player, tech-investor and philanthropist Andre Iguodala shares his personal story at the intersections of class, race and sportsmanship. His new memoir is The Sixth Man.

Former US Poet Laureate from 2011 to 2012 Philip Levine depicts the reality of blue collar work and workers in order “to find a voice for the voiceless,” informed by his work experience in the automotive manufacturing plants during the 1950s.

Cultural critic Susie Linfield discusses how twentieth-century intellectuals struggled with Zionism, and how the contemporary Left has become focused on anti-Zionism while Israel itself has moved rightward.

Art critic and historian Hal Foster and SFMOMA senior curator Gary Garrels examine the life and work of San Francisco-born sculptor Richard Serra, whose site-specific steel structures can be seen throughout the Bay Area.

Alana Newhouse and Sue Fishkoff offer contemporary and historical examinations of Jewish foods.

Writer Julie Orringer shares the true story of American journalist Varian Fry’s extraordinary rescue of Jewish artists and writers threatened by the Nazis.

Lizzie Post, great-great granddaughter of Emily Post and Co-President of the Emily Post Institute, explores the wide world of legalized weed and navigates the social etiquette surrounding pot today.

New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks talks about moving from material gain to spiritual satisfaction, to focus on building character rather than attaining status. His new book is The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.