Tara Roberts: Diving for Stories

From his long running role as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, to his recent Broadway appearance in Glenngary Glen Ross, and his new incarnation as an off-beat action hero in the movies Nobody and Nobody 2, Bob Odenkirk does it all.

With her Black scuba-diving companions she has sought to reveal the appalling cost in lives lost in sunken slave ships, while at the same time honoring those lives by telling their stories.

Alan joins his old friend to compare notes on staying happy when old; and Roger shares tips from a forthcoming book, including some that may seem counterintuitive – like don’t use common sense, believe everyone, and don’t pay attention to people in your way.

Tina Fey’s reimagining of a movie Alan made over 40 years ago has been a big hit for Netflix. She and Alan have fun talking about how she went about updating the story for a new generation.

Alan lets bots mostly run the show to see how much they can do and still be under human control. For a while, it seems to go well, but then dangers start to emerge— and it gets a little scary.

Alan and Clear and Vivid’s executive producer Graham Chedd chat about and play clips from some of the shows coming up in season 30. Guests include actor Bob Odenkirk, scuba diver Tara Roberts, and some AI chatbots.

Research often derided for being a waste of money has led to world-changing breakthroughs, ranging from GPS to Ozempic.

To celebrate Sir Paul’s 83rd birthday June 18th we are reprising a wonderful conversation recorded five years ago. Alan and Paul exchange their experiences writing and performing; and McCartney demonstrates how some of the Beatles’ greatest hits began with what he calls “oobley” chords on the piano.

Reaching back to the first season of Clear and Vivid, a replay of the July 2018 episode when the violin virtuoso tells Alan why he likes to talk to his audience as well as play for them; why he plays Bach very differently from Tchaikovsky; and why the first time he played the Stradivarius that was to become his 30 years later, “I thought that I'd died and went to heaven.”

In a world awash with misinformation, how do we know what’s true? How can we be certain about anything? It turns out one of the most effective ways began with a polite disagreement over the best way to pour a cup of tea.