Today's conversation with Dr Sara E Gorman, co-author of Denying to the Grave, addresses a number of important topics that are primarily centered in public health, including guns in the home, vaccinations, Ebola and more. In addition to the science behind topics such as these, the book also addresses the the qualities of leaders who inspire denialism, the importance of better science education, the dangers of the Internet and more. To learn more about Sara, go to https://segorman.com/

Today's conversation with Philosophy Professor Scott Samuelson covers generations of philosophers through a magical kind of timeline map of Rome. But more than just a conversation about Philosophy, Scott's book gives insight into art history, linguistics and language arts, architecture, religion, ancient and Renaissance history, a field guide to some of Rome's most important and lesser-known buildings, philosophy, government, human nature, joy, happiness, death, and food. It's a wide-ranging and incredibly interesting book and conversation. To learn more about Scott, go to https://scottsamuelsonauthor.com/ Read Scott's article on why he believes everyone should be introduced to philosophy: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/plato-to-plumbers/361373/

On today's conversation with celebrity historian Raffi Andonian, we talk about the value of national parks as places to hold difficult conversations, to enlighten the public and to preserve history for the past, and to illuminate how we operate in the present and the future. The specific example we discuss from Raffi's book Creating Space for Conflicted Histories Remembering the Atomic Bomb is The Manhattan Project Historical National Park. Based on his research for the book, Raffi developed 4 key questions to help us disseminate how we think about and honor past experiences, people and moments in our history. There's no question that Raffi has a dynamic grasp of history and makes it comes alive for everyone who encounters him. Take a listen to this conversation and realize that history is nowhere near dead; it's vibrant, alive and well and helping to shape our paths forward. Links: - To get tickets to one or both of Raffi's visits in ND, go to https://www.humanitiesnd.org/raffi. - To buy a copy of Raffi's book, check out any of your favorite online booksellers, or better yet, order it through your favorite local, independent bookshop. - Find Raffi on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/@celebrity_historian

My first conversation for the launch of the 100 Watt Podcast is Humanities North Dakota's Executive Director Brenna Gerhardt. She challenges the status quo with the attack on the humanities across all aspects of our lives. If this conversation doesn't inspire you to think more deeply and find a way to engage with some of the many programs that HND offers across the state of North Dakota, then I don't know exactly what will. HND values kindness, humility, good faith and the free marketplace of ideas and intellectual curiosity. Seems like those are values we all have in one way or another. Turns out, HND is determined to help us rediscover that our neighbors are largely good people, even when we disagree. Find out more and about all the programs: https://www.humanitiesnd.org/