They were originally broadcast on a California radio station in the two-minute window between the daily segments of Terry Gross's very popular National Public Radio show called Fresh Air.

There is a table of contents of the entire volume on this page. You may move directly to each piece in the volume by clicking the appropriate link. 

Please be aware that some of the pieces will take a long time to load because of the size of the graphics involved. In such cases, you may read the text, which will load right away, and not wait for the graphics to load. Or you may wait for the graphics to load. If you have the time, I recommend the latter, because in most cases the graphics are stunning.

You see, scuba divers can be taught; surfers can only be entertained. And I am a teacher, not someone whose mission in life is to amuse others, although I'm told I can be very funny at times. 

But please know that this site will do more for you in the long run than will most “cool” (in quotation marks because I haven't the foggiest notion what that word means except in the context of temperature) sites. 

In this regard, my philosophy is much like President Reagan's when he made the observation that if you feed someone by giving him or her a fish to eat, you'll have to give that someone a fish every day. But if you teach that someone how to fish, then he or she will be able to feed him or herself from then on without help from anyone. 

I can teach you how to (1) correctly analyze and digest information, (2) think clearly and innovatively using that information, and (3) effectively communicate the results of that thinking to others. If you learn these skills — and you can, believe me, if you want to — not only will you be able to feed yourself every day, but you'll be able to put on a banquet at the same time and feed others as well until they, too, learn how to “fish.” 

You have my word. 

Now to continue.

On addiction 
You can’t be controlled by a substance against your will.

On the atomic bomb
Should we have dropped it on Japan?

On economists
They are about as relevant and reliable as astrologers.

On operational thinking
Don’t tell me what a word means; explain to me how it works.

On faith
Action speaks louder than words.

On affirmative action
Never be a hero with someone else’s rights.

On the politically-correct Bible
An exercise in nonsense.

On conscience
Everyone’s got one whether he or she likes it or not.

On “the poor”
How to raise millions above the poverty line at no cost to the taxpayer.

On the brain
The most awesome device in the known universe.

On appearances
Judge not by appearances lest ye be hornswoggled.

On compassion
You better understand it before showing it to others.

On education
College degrees say little or nothing about one’s level of smarts.

On prayer
It works, but only God knows how.

On electing presidents
Issues! Shmissues! Do I like the guy or not?

On skin color
There’s no such thing as racial prejudice in the absence of racial classification.

On experience
Rely on your own experience, not on other people’s advice.

On denotative and connotative meanings
Is that what it really means or are you being massaged?

On statistical correlation
Statistics prove nothing.

On fear
There are two kinds — one good for you and the other bad for you.

On assertions
Program! Program! You can’t tell a fact from an opinion without a program.

On lifestyle
The word “lifestyle” is about as meaningful as the words “etaoin shrdlu.”

On “the disadvantaged”
Given that everyone is disadvantaged, who, then, are the “disadvantaged”?

On luck
Ain’t no such thing.

On self-imprisonment 
No one does it to you; you do it to yourself.

On life
As within, so without.

On “the system”
Another “ain’t no such thing.”

On political correctness
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, smells like a duck . . . .

On hypnoverbalism
If you’ve got it, you’d better get rid of it.

On smarts
There’s no teacher like experience.

On life
Another sure-fire recipe for a miserable, unhappy life.

On peer pressure
Who owns you — you or the folks next door?

On bad laws
With public servants like these who needs enemies?

On Latin words
Sic transit gloria mundi.