Philipp Meyer talks about his new novel, The Son, an epic of the American West and a multigenerational saga of power, blood, land, and oil that follows the rise of one unforgettable Texas family, from the Comanche raids of the 1800s to the to the oil booms of the 20th century.

Richard Rubin talks about finding and interviewing living American World War I veterans, aged 101 to 113, to capture their life stories before they died. The Last of the Doughboys is his decade-long odyssey to recover the stories of a forgotten generation and their experience in the Great War

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger explains why people talk about certain products and ideas more than others, what makes online content go viral, ad what makes some stories and rumors catch on. In Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and explains how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children.  

The Wall Street Journal calls the DSM-5 the “Book of Woe” and “A Manual Run Amok.” But the incoming president of the American Psychiatry Association, which revises the DSM, says the criticism is unwarranted. His name is Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, and he's also chairman of psychiatry at Columbia University.

It’s that time of year, when millions of students around the country sit in cap and gown, through speeches that are meant to inspire, but oftentimes, are simply forgotten. Knowing this, what can a commencement speaker say that’s worthwhile? Award-winning journalist Bob Woodruff, who gave last year's commencement address at Boston College, shares his thoughts.

Yesterday we heard about the "State of Friendship 2013" -- and the "mid-life friendship slump" for people in their 30s through 60s. Have you made a friend in the middle years? Call in 212-433-9692!

Ilya Marritz , WNYC reporter, discusses a recent case where an Airbnb host had to pay a $2400 fine for renting his apartment through Airbnb.

A May series on marijuana continues with the economics of the drug. Mark Kleiman professor of public policy at the UCLA School of Public Affairs, marijuana legalization consultant for Washington State, and co-author of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know  [Oxford University Press], talks about the supply and demand side of legalizing marijuana, including what it means for geopolitics and patents and taxes.

Rama Burshtein, director of “Fill the Void,” and Hadas Yaron, who plays the lead, 18-year-old Shira, the youngest daughter of an Orthodox Hasidic family living in Tel Aviv, who is about to be married. But Shira’s world is shattered when her older sister dies while giving birth to her first child. Deep in mourning, the family postpones Shira’s wedding and struggles to deal with their grief. “Fill The Void” opens May 24.

Celebrated travel writer Paul Theroux first went to Africa as a 22-year-old Peace Corps volunteer, and the pull of the continent never left him. In The Last Train to Zona Verde: My Ultimate African Safari, he tells what it was like to return, after 50 years on the road, to explore the little-traveled territory of western Africa and to take stock both of the place and of himself.

Janet Babin and Amy Pearl found a beach-goer in Sea Bright, NJ who was looking forward to the holiday weekend but said "It’s not going to be the same."

It's that time of year when new graduates must sit through commencement speeches, some of which will be boring, some of which will be inspiring, and most of which will be very earnest. Renowned financial educator and broadcaster Alvin Hall thinks that maybe they should be a little less earnest. 

The Brian Lehrer Show and Clear Health Costs partnered to bring transparency to health costs by asking you to report on the price of your last routine mammogram. Jeanne Pinder, founder and CEO of Clear Health Costs, discusses the data we've collected and what it tells us.

Restaurateur Danny Meyer was on the Lopate Show's Food Fridays series recently to talk about the food that chefs cook for each other for the family meals at each of his restaurants. He also told us what toppings he puts on his favorite pizza.

There's an article in today's New York Times about anger over bear bile farming in China and the growing animal rights movement in that country. Bear bile is an ingredient in some Chinese medicine, and the methods for collecting it from bears held in captive is seen by many as animal cruelty. Listen to Leonard's 2012 interview with Jill Robinson, founder and CEO of Animals Asia, discussing bear bile farming and bear rescue efforts and the documentary "Cages of Shame."

Tim Walker, co-founder of Lifeboat, a new organization that explores the "art and science of friendship," stops by to discuss the findings of their recent "State of Friendship Report."

This week, the American Psychiatric Association unveils the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the so-called bible of mental illness. The bible has changed with our society's understanding of mental illness and health; and it's changed along with what we've all come to understand as quote unquote, normal. But beyond that controversial book are the voices behind the diagnoses.

The latest episode of Q2 Spaces takes us to Washington’s Puget Sound and the small sailboat where musician, composer, collaborator and producer Jherek Bischoff was raised.