Michael Lewis: Moneyball Prequel Arrives December 2016

Michael Lewis: Moneyball Prequel Arrives December 2016

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Last night, I had the pleasure of meeting the talented and influential author, Michael Lewis. You probably know he wrote Moneyball, The Big Short and The Blind Side and has been compared favorably to literary genius, Tom Wolfe. Lewis revealed that he’s almost finished a prequel to his huge bestseller, Moneyball and it will be published in December 2016. Although his publishing schedule precluded him from accepting an in-depth interview with me last night, he did agree to one in December. So, not a strike out, just a delay in play.

Details of the prequel are under tight wraps, but I did learn this: it’s been eight years in the making, and he’s completed about 45,000 words (about 150 pages). He’ll send his trusty editor at Norton the remaining chunks every six weeks and is on schedule for a September completion. He says “once it’s on track, it’s like a freight train.

The topic? It’s about sports (possibly just football) and analyzes the distribution of pay across teams. As with most of his books, it’s a character driven story, featuring people who surprised him and are in a situation that forces them to reveal their true character. The only other clue he shared was that he had access to the “brain trust” of the San Francisco 49ers.

Here are highlights from the evening’s onstage conversation with Brian Adams at Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series:

On The Big Short Movie: Lewis described it as “a relief” to see how good the movie was and praised the talent and craftsmanship of the production team. He called out Christian Bale for his exceptional performance as Michael Burry, the Silicon Valley financial whiz, whose character “led us through the jungle of complexity.”  Lewis explained that Bale spent a day with Burry and was able to channel his breathing and his awkward mannerisms with incredible accuracy throughout the movie.

Lewis also praised the straight to camera moments, especially Margot Robbie in the bathtub and lamented the production limitations of being a mere writer. He didn’t feel ownership of the movie as he’d sold the rights, and didn’t sit on the set since he considered it “a pointless exercise.” He was, however, involved in promoting the movie with the cast and says they’re really “not that good looking,” with the exception of (gorgeous) Brad Pitt. In Lewis’s opinion, their star appeal is more to do with their force of personality and talent. He added, “I’m not a good judge of male beauty.” That got a huge laugh from the audience.

Michael Lewis with Barack Obama, Photo credit: Vanity Fair On Politics: Lewis considers Donald Trump a bully and that the race would now be between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, if Trump hadn’t bullied him so hard during the early Republican debates. He thinks that Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders wouldn’t be candidates today without the financial crisis of 2008 and mass outrage that followed, with the widespread feeling that the financial system is rigged. He asks: “Is this the beginning of something or the end of something?

It’s a very good question indeed. He even alluded to a dystopian future where fame rules supreme and the Kardashians become viable leaders of the modern world. A true horror indeed.

Lewis doesn’t like to make predictions, but when pushed, he admits that he thinks Trump will get the Republican nomination and he’ll lose spectacularly to Hillary because “he does dumb things.

On the Panama Papers: Lewis thinks the biggest leak of the century won’t have big reverberations in the US. He added, “You can go to Delaware to hide money…wait for the Delaware Papers!”

On Upcoming Projects: Lewis is working on a screenplay pilot re Wall Street in the 20’s; a book on President Obama that explores how leaders make decisions (based on the fabulously insightful Vanity Fair profile); and a book for kids about money: how to make it, use it, and the “social power of money.”

Do check back here in December for my interview with Michael Lewis!

Many thanks to Celebrity Forum founder, Dick Henning for the kind invitation backstage.

Update: This afternoon, I’ve been invited to join the BBC World Service show Business Matters to discuss my Michael Lewis encounter. Check back soon at Fresh Dialogues for more news on that.

Bill Clinton’s Hero: Former Climate Skeptic Richard Muller

Bill Clinton’s Hero: Former Climate Skeptic Richard Muller

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

On December 7, President Bill Clinton appeared at Celebrity Forum in Silicon Valley and talked at length about climate change, referring to Berkeley scientist Dr. Richard Muller  as “a hero of mine.”
You may recall Dr. Muller, the self described “former skeptic” who frequently emphasized the fallibility of research on global warming and was funded by the Koch Foundation. But last summer, after thorough research with the Berkeley Earth project, he announced his dramatic conversion in an Op-Ed in the New York Times. He now concludes that global warming is happening, and that humans are essentially responsible for all of the warming in the last 250 years.
I happened to be sitting next to Dr. Muller last week, and although he was whisked backstage by some big secret service staffers after Clinton’s speech, he agreed to answer a few Fresh Dialogues questions by email about his research and how he feels about hero worship by number 42.
You might be surprised to learn three things about Dr. Muller:
1. He says Hurricane Sandy cannot be attributed to climate change.
2. He suggests individually reducing our carbon footprint is pointless – we need to “think globally and act globally” and encourage the switch from coal to gas power in China and developing nations. He’s a fan of “clean fracking.”
3. He says climate skeptics deserve our respect, not our ridicule.
Muller hopes that Berkeley Earth will be able to coordinate with the Clinton Foundation on their mutual goal of mitigating global warming.
Here’s our interview: (it also appears at the Huffington Post, together with a lively debate)
.
van Diggelen: You wrote in the New York Times that the Berkeley Earth analysis will help settle the scientific debate regarding global warming and its human causes – how so?

Muller: Science is that small realm of knowledge on which we can expect and obtain agreement.  I felt that many of the skeptics had raised legitimate issues.  They are deserving of respect, not the kind of ridicule they have been subjected to. We have addressed the scientific issues in the most direct and objective way, and just as I have adjusted my conclusions, I expect that many of them will too.

van Diggelen: Regarding the human cause of global warming, you say that your conclusions are stronger than that of the Intergovernmental Panel. You concluded “essentially all of this increase in temperature results from the human emission of greenhouse gases.” The panel said “most of the warming.” Why is this significant?

Muller: The IPCC said “most of the warming” (meaning 51% or more) for the past 50 years.  They could not rule out an important role from solar variability.  We say essentially all of the warming of the past 250 years.  Our analysis allows us to make a better prediction for the future since it does not have confusion from a solar component.

van Diggelen: What’s your message to climate change skeptics?

Muller: Most of your skepticism is still valid.   When something extraordinary happens in weather, such as the accidental occurrence of Hurricane Sandy hitting New Jersey and New York City just at the peak of tides — many people attribute the event to “Climate Change.”  That’s not a scientific conclusion, and it is almost certainly wrong.  Hurricanes are not increasing due to human causes (actually, they have been decreasing over the past 250 years).  Tornadoes are not increasing due to human causes.  (They too have been decreasing.)  So please continue to be skeptical about most of the exaggerations you will continue to hear!  Proper skepticism is at the heart of science, and attempts to suppress such skepticism represent the true anti-science movement.

However, we have closely examined the evidence for temperature rise, and there are several conclusions that are now strongly based on science.  The temperature of the Earth has been rising in a way that closely matches the rise in carbon dioxide. The history of solar activity does not match the data at all.  Based on this, the human cause for this warming is strongly indicated.  Read our Berkeley Earth papers and see if your objections are answered.  I believe that the key objections have all been addressed.  Based on this, you should consider changing your skepticism on global warming, even if you are properly skeptical about all the claims that are lumped together under the rubric of “climate change.”

van Diggelen: You’ve said that the difficult part is agreeing what can and should be done about climate change…any suggestions?

We need to recognize that the greatest contributors to climate change in the coming decades will be China, India, and the developing world.  Thus any solution must be focused on realistic actions that they can take.  The Clinton Foundation is doing wonderful work on energy efficiency and energy conservation, and working closely on this with the developing world. The only other action that we can take that could be equally important over the next 20 to 30 years is to help them switch from coal to natural gas.  (For the same energy delivered, cleanly-produced gas creates only half to one third of the greenhouse emissions.)  This was the subject of my WSJ Op Ed with Mitch Daniels.  It is also discussed in detail in my new book “Energy for Future Presidents.”

van Diggelen: What are YOU doing to reduce your carbon footprint?

Muller: I am trying to get people to stop asking that question!  It is very misleading.  This is a problem in which we need to think global and act global (NOT local!)  Reducing our own footprint, if it is done in a way that will not influence China and the developing world, is not a worthwhile action.  It may make us feel good, and then in the future after the world has warmed (because our actions were not something that China could afford to copy) we’ll be saying “at least it wasn’t MY fault.”  Wrong!  We need to be acting to help China and the emerging economies.  Focusing on ourselves at home is a way of avoiding coming to terms with the problem.

van Diggelen: What should others be doing? If you could have President Obama’s ear for 5 minutes, what would you say?

Muller: Double (or more) our efforts to help China become more energy efficient.  And equally important: develop “clean fracking” standards.  Work with China to expedite and accelerate their switch from coal to natural gas.  Devise market-based approaches that will guarantee that the developing world will apply clean methods to their natural gas production.  Show leadership by approving a US move to nuclear power; reverse your unfortunate canceling of the Yucca Mountain waste storage facility.  In the US emphasize technologies that can work in China (e.g. natural gas), not those that are too expensive (e.g. autos with costly lithium-ion batteries).

van Diggelen: Just how urgently is action needed on climate change?

Muller: We need to act, but no need to panic.  I see no tipping points that are scientifically valid.  Of course, we don’t understand the atmosphere and biosphere well enough to be sure.  Rather than speed of action, the key parameter is finding solutions that are profitable — because those are the ones most likely to be applicable to the poorer nations.

van Diggelen: How do you explain Hurricane Sandy? Some scientists say it was exacerbated by climate change? Warmer oceans, more evaporation? Higher sea level swells?

Muller: None of the above.  Hurricane Sandy was a freak storm that happened because a relatively small hurricane (it wasn’t even a category 1 storm when it hit New York City) veered towards the coast during a very high tide.  None of the causes of the damage can be attributed in a scientific manner to climate change.

The word “scientific” in that last sentence is very important.  Many of the critics of the skeptics claimed that the skeptics were not being scientific.  Yet that is also true of the alarmists.  There is an unfortunate tendency, when the issue is very important (as in climate change) to abandon science and work from gut feelings.  No, that is a mistake; when the issue is important, then it is most urgent that we stick to our science!  We must be objective!

Hurricane Sandy cannot be attributed to global warming.  The rise over the oceans, in the last 50 years, has been about 0.5 degree C.  That’s tiny!  In those 50 years, sea level rose by 4 inches.  So the high tide, if not for global warming, would not have been 14 feet but “only” 13 feet 8 inches.  There was a similarly severe storm in 1938 (my parents lived through it out on Long Island).  We should stop attributing all freak storms to climate change.  This is an important issue, so let’s emphasize the science.

Unfortunately, there will always be scientists with some credentials that will exaggerate, maybe even convincing themselves.  I recall back in the 1950s, when I was a kid in New York City, that the freak storms and changes in climate were attributed by some eminent scientists to atmospheric nuclear testing.  (Maybe the freak storms and changes in climate should now be attributed to the nuclear test ban.)  It is not science to list the bad things that have happened lately and claim that they “may be linked” to climate change. Even scientists, such as those who were passionately afraid of thermonuclear war, tend to see connections in things that aren’t there.

Climate change is real, and we need to do something to stop it.  But it is not strong enough (0.6 C in the last 50 years) to be noticeable by individuals.  It takes scientists analyzing large amounts of data to see it.  (A statistical analysis of hurricanes shows that they have actually been decreasing in number that hit the US coast over the past 150 years.)  That gives us a good idea about what has been happening, and allows us to make predictions for the future.  Those predictions are worrisome enough that we should act — always remembering to keep our focus on China. But let us not be deluding into thinking that every extreme event is evidence supporting our worry.

van Diggelen: How did it feel to be called a hero by Bill Clinton?

Muller: I didn’t know whether to correct him or just feel awed. President Clinton is the true hero for his fantastic foundation, and for addressing many of the most serious problems in the world, from AIDS to clean water to ending poverty.

To read more about Muller’s analysis and conclusions, see Berkeley Earth and his books “Energy for Future Presidents” and its predecessor “Physics for Future Presidents.”

With thanks to Celebrity Forum Founder, Dr. Richard Henning for the introduction to Dr. Muller.

 

Scene Magazine Features Fresh Dialogues

Scene Magazine Features Fresh Dialogues

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

This month, Scene Magazine – Silicon Valley’s Guide to Style, featured a four page story by Julia Prodis Sulek all about Fresh Dialogues. Here’s a short excerpt of the article below – click here to see more

 

 

 

“Just Between Us” by Julia Prodis Sulek

Alison van Diggelen coaxes thinkers, activists and the merely famous to talk about green tech – and themselves

“Martin Sheen sends her old-fashioned handwritten letters. Maureen Dowd has invited her out for cocktails in Washington D.C. Marketing guru Guy Kawasaki sought her help with a few edits on his new book.

One time real estate investment consultant and mummy blogger Alison van Diggelen has remade herself into a citizen journalist, interviewing celebrities, Silicon Valley pioneers and the media elite in her fledgling video webcasts she calls “Fresh Dialogues.” Along the way, she also has established herself as a master networker and relationship builder, counting TV interviewer Charlie Rose and KQED’s Michael Krasny among her mentors.

For interview subjects jaded by “gotcha” journalism, they’re drawn in by her gentle charm and enchanting Scottish brogue.

“The relationship between a journalist and the interviewee is usually at best cautious and at worst paranoid,” says Guy Kawasaki, who just published his 10th book. With van Diggelen, “it’s much closer to a conversation between two friends. You can relax in an interview with her.”

Read more from the Scene Magazine Feature

Check out interviews with Martin Sheen, Charlie Rose and many other celebrities at the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel

Check out other Fresh Dialogues Media and Appearances

Celebrity Forum host, Dick Henning reflects on 40 years

Celebrity Forum host, Dick Henning reflects on 40 years

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh DialoguesDick Henning on Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window

Celebrity Forum founder, Dick Henning is a hero of Silicon Valley. He’s brought every U.S. president* since Richard Nixon; world leaders like Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher; and cultural icons like Jane Goodall, Robert Ballard, Cary Grant and Lauren Bacall to Silicon Valley for his award-winning speaker series.
(more…)

Martin Sheen, the activist and actor

Martin Sheen, the activist and actor

By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues

Download or listen to this lively Fresh Dialogues interview

 

We welcome feedback at FreshDialogues.com, click on the Contact Tab | Open Player in New Window

Check out the new Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel for more exclusive interviews, including Elon Musk, Harry Hamlin and Jessica Jackley.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Sheen who was visiting Silicon Valley as a guest of Dick Henning’s Foothill College Celebrity Forum Series.  In this first part of our Fresh Dialogues interview, Martin talks about the roots of his social activism, his faith, his marriage and his movies.

Read transcript highlights.

We also explore:

* Money and happiness

* Silicon Valley millionaires

* Social conscience

* What is God?

* His college fantasy

* His heart attack during the filming of Apocalypse Now

To read selected quotes from the interview click here

Here is Part Two of Fresh Dialogues with Martin Sheen when we explore his environmental activism, his “West Wing” perspective on President Barack Obama and what two exciting movie projects Martin will be working on through 2009.

Note: Martin donated all proceeds from his Celebrity Forum appearance to the Berkeley based nonprofit, The San Carlos Foundation What a guy!

Check out the Fresh Dialogues YouTube Channel more exclusive interviews.