Fun, fiasco, pandemonium, checkmate, swashbuckler, ubuntu, dromomania…do you know the stories behind these words?  Phil does and he shares these and hudnreds of other words in his latest book.

The longest word used by Shakespeare? Honorificabilitudinitatibus!

Even if you’re not studying for the spelling bee, this book is great fun and you’ll have lots of “ah ha!” moments.

You can see Phil Cousineau every Friday night  on our local PBS station hosting “Global Spirit,” a show that brings together three people from different cultures around the world to talk about spirituality, art, music and more.

Journalist Hanna Rosin is a senior editor at The Atlantic and a founder and editor at DoubleX, Slate’s women’s section, and she says the answer is definitely women and that’s the reason they are rising in success in school and at work.

Rosin compares and contrasts the way men and women get educated, earn money, spend money, work, play, date, marry, and commit acts of violence.  She finds that the age of testosterone may be drawing to a close as women shift gears and take control of their own lives, no longer sitting by phone, waiting for the guy to call (so to speak.)
A  majority of undergraduate students in the United States are women.  And although women still don’t make as much as men, they’re catching up. Women’s flexibility is cited as the characteristic that makes them better suited to the rapidly changing world.

Rosin says these changes are not just in the United States, but around the globe.

1.Writer, filmmaker, educator and youth sports coach Phil Cousineau talks about words…not only the etymology, but the stories behind the words. His new book is “The Painted Word: A Treasure Chest of Remarkable Words and their Origins.”

2.Hanna Rosin, author of “The End of Men and the Rise of Women,” explains how the role of women in our culture has been shifting as more women than men are going to college and are moving into high paying jobs. She says that women’s ability to be flexible versus men’s inflexibility to change is a big reason why there are so many changes in today’s society.

3. Trips for Kids long-time volunteer Stephen Goetz talks about the organization that takes inner-city at-risk youth out on mountain bike rides…he covers the history of the organization, the Earn-a-Bike program,  the Re-cyclery Bicycle Thrift Shop in San Rafael, and the volunteer and donation opportunities.

From that humble start, Price grew the organization into a non-profit that serves inner-city and at-risk youth, offering mountain bike rides every day of the week, two each on Saturdays and Sundays…

The bikes have been donated or given to the organization by many corporate sponsors and individuals. The organization started as all-volunteer but is now employing people to help run the operation which includes a Re-cyclery Bicycle Thrift Shop.

The Earn-a-Bike program allows kids to work in the shop, learn numerous skills, and earn points towards bikes and bike parts.

Stephen Goetz is a long-time volunteer who shares stories about the organization and  ideas on how to help by volunteering or donating to Trips for Kids.

1. David Kirp is a professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Policy…he talks about the research behind his book “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of  Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools.

2. Adam Grant, the youngest tenured professor at the Wharton School, talks about being a giver, taker or matcher…and explains why the nice guy sometimes finishes first and sometimes last. His new book is “Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success.”

3. Urban Explorer Moses Grant talks about climbing Notre dame, scaling some of the tallest buildings and bridges in the world, and creeping around under great cities like Paris and New York. His book chronicling his adventures is “Hidden Cities.”

Grant was interested in looking at success…how to achieve it, who achieves it…and do nice guys finish last? Turns out nice guys do finish last sometimes and sometimes they finish first!

There are three types of people in the world: givers, takers and matchers. Grant says most of us are matchers. He gives examples of all types and explains the importance and or the risks of each…

Find out how you can be a giver while not becoming a doormat. And when is it OK to be a taker?

How does the number of siblings you have affect your generosity?

Find out why people named Dennis are more likely to become dentists than people with other names…and can you believe there are studies about these things?!

In his book “Hidden Cities,” Moses explains how he meets up with others for adventures in the catacombs under Paris, up on bridges on several continents, and even to the top of the off-limits pyramids…

He did find all sorts of graffiti on the top of one pyramid so it’s pretty obvious that Moses is not the only urban explorer.

If you like to travel, even to your own city, but prefer to see something other than “the usual sites,” Moses offers all sorts of ideas…

His new book is “Improbable Scholars: The Rebirth of a Great American School System and a Strategy for America’s Schools.

Kirp says  of charter schools and voucher systems do not  work and he explains why…he also says the do-or-die theory of closing under-performing  schools doesn’t work. He talks about what does work and uses the example of the Union City, New Jersey, school district as an example.

The low-income, crowded immigrant community has a failing school district…so they turned it around with a slow and steady approach using quality early education, a word-soaked curriculum, and hand-on help for teachers.

The district graduates 90% of its high schoolers, higher than the state or national average. In his book, Kirp explains how this approach rather than the quick fix, sometimes glitzy approaches, works.

But this is not your typical middle school science class lecture…

Mary’s research takes her from olive oil taste testing int he Napa Valley to company that has dogs taste test new dog food formulas to the Netherlands where a saliva scientist investigates spit.

And Mary looks at digestion science throughout history…and how current medical breakthroughs are helping some people live normal lives again. This has to do with fecal transplant therapy…yes, poop transplants…it’s in her book.

Mary says that sometimes talking about the taboo subjects help open up discussion that actually can help people…so start reading and start talking…you will be sharing little tid bits from this book with friends and family…perhaps not at the dinner table…

In The Way of the Knife, Mazzetti examines what he calls a shadow war…away from the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, waged by the CIA and military Special Operators…

He talks about the CIA’s transformation after 9/11…

He compares the role of the spies when the CIA started and the role they play today…

He looks at the roles drones have played in the past and the current situation…

Mazzetti explains what started the unraveling of the relationship between the United States and Pakistan…and he tracks down the cast of characters in this shadow war and talks about some of the fiascos, near-misses, and messy successes.