In my clubbing days over a quarter-century ago, I used to have to work to meet people to get into cool clubs and VIP rooms. I went for the music and dancing, but New York City clubs are like status sorting machines. At first I didn’t know many people, but over the years I met and befriended club owners, DJs, staff, and friends of all these people. They could bring[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time, by Robert Downey Jr. and Thomas Kostigen: I listened to this book for a book club. I found it painful to listen to. It’s nice to eat foods that pollute less so I won’t argue with it, but it distracts from the problem: our culture lost values that kept humanity safe, secure, healthy, and living[…] Keep reading →

Why do my students give me reviews like: “This was the best course I ever took at NYU. There is no substitute for doing the exercises. Thinking I understand a concept and actually trying to execute the concept was difficult. Only in working through the exercises was I able to be aware of what I am currently doing. With these exercises, I now have a roadmap for how to be[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written before about my functional new word Enlightendigenous. In that post I shared what I learned about the evidence for the philosophy and practice of indigenous people in North America influencing and inspiring Europeans into what became called the Enlightenment. Europe at the time had little to no democracy or social mobility. Your status at birth—that is, the status of your parents—determined your place and role for life with[…] Keep reading →

Following up a recent post I love where I live. How it’s being destroyed, part 3: Drugs, here are a few more pictures and videos of addicts in my neighborhood. To clarify, I’m not going out of my way or looking for these images. As a New Yorker, I’m usually in a hurry. Most scenes like the ones below I pass by without taking pictures or videos. These images are[…] Keep reading →

Adam teaches leadership at Columbia Business School, where I learned there were classes in leadership, which changed the direction of my life. Regular listeners know I consider leadership the most important missing element in sustainability. To change the environmental effects we’re barreling into, we have to change the causes, which are our behavior, which result from culture. Changing culture requires leadership, not just management. Effective leadership inspires. Adam’s latest book[…] Keep reading →

If you don’t know my apartment, this picture and why it makes me feel so joyful and free will take some explanation. You’re seeing the space below my window, which faces nearly due south. For the past two months, the sun hasn’t shone directly into my apartment. On the solstice one month ago it rose almost exactly to the left, went overhead, and set to the right. Now, a month[…] Keep reading →

Of the throngs of people who pass this Gandhi statue in Union Square, I’d guess a few percent notice it. That modesty and humility are part of its appeal to me. Also that my parents met in Ahmedabad, India, where his ashram was. I spent a year there as a child. My father probably spent ten or fifteen years of his life there. Also that Gandhi has long been one[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Manufactured Landscapes, by Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky: I hadn’t heard of Burtynsky before reading a review of an exhibit in Manhattan of decades of his photography, which included several images. He creates images that are compositionally beautiful of scenes that are scary and horrific but resulting from our culture and lifestyles. They show mines, factories, dying landscapes and ecosystems, and apocalyptic scenes. I plan to[…] Keep reading →