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Episode 54: Columbia University Professor Dr Peter Coleman: Conflict: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
What if the key to resolving conflict isn’t avoiding it, but learning to navigate it better? Columbia University professor Dr. Peter Coleman thinks so. An expert in constructive conflict resolution and a sustainable peace expert, he’s explored the forces that drive conflict, from our families and workplaces to communities and nations. Join Roberta as she and Dr. Coleman discuss how even our deepest disagreements can be navigated with greater wisdom, adaptability, and understanding.

Episode 54: Columbia University Professor Dr Peter Coleman: Conflict: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
What if the key to resolving conflict isn’t avoiding it, but learning to navigate it better? Columbia University professor Dr. Peter Coleman thinks so. An expert in constructive conflict resolution and a sustainable peace expert, he’s explored the forces that drive conflict, from our families and workplaces to communities and nations. Join Roberta as she and Dr. Coleman discuss how even our deepest disagreements can be navigated with greater wisdom, adaptability, and understanding.
Past Episodes

Episode 17: Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde: Learning to Be Brave
“Being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day. ” – How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith and Life
In June of 2020, with the eyes of the world watching and the ears of the world listening, Bishop Mariann Budde had the courage to speak up about the mistreatment of protestors at the hands of the police and the misuse of St. John’s Church in Washington D.C. Her experience during that time, and the days and weeks that followed, led her to write How We Learn to be Brave.
As the ninth bishop of Washington, Bishop Budde is the spiritual leader for 86 Episcopal congregations and ten Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. She is also the first woman elected to this position. Join Roberta as she talks to Bishop Budde about that seminal moment in 2020, courage and faith, and a little bit of Eleanor Roosevelt to round things out.

Episode 16: One Weekend This Summer: Our Time in the Canyon with Joni, Brandi & 27,000 Friends
Take a trip to the Pacific Northwest with Roberta to experience the epic return of the legendary musician Joni Mitchell during Brandi Carlile’s “Echoes through the Canyon” weekend at the Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State. Roberta talks with concertgoers who traveled across the country—and the world–about the impact that Joni and music has played in their lives. We hear many remarkable moments from the June 9 & 10, 2023 shows featuring Joni, Brandi, Sarah McLachlan, Annie Lennox, Marcus Mumford and many more. Highlights include “A Case of Blue,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Both Sides Now,” and “The Circle Game.”

Episode 15: String Thing Studio Founder Felicia Eve
Felicia Eve has been everything: a podiatrist, a stay at home mom, a fundraising consultant, and, currently, a business owner as the CEO and founder of String Thing Studio, a yarn shop in Brooklyn. Join Felicia as she sits down with host Roberta and shares her stories on life, loss, and most importantly, yarn.

Episode 14: Writer Ben Greenman
Have you ever thought about sneezing on Larry King? Well, if you have, then you and Ben Greenman have that in common. Join Roberta Panjwani as she interviews Ben about some of his work and his forays into almost becoming a doctor. For the unfamiliar, Ben Greenman is the New York Times bestselling author of The Slippage and Superbad and the former longtime editor for The New Yorker. Not content to only do that, he’s also Questlove’s long-time collaborator and has written memoirs with George Clinton and Brian Wilson as well.

Episode 13: Oprah’s Book Club Director Leigh Haber
Publishing icon, editor, and former Vice President of Book at O magazine, Leigh Haber joins us this episode to discuss books, writers, audiences, and the connections between them. Join host Roberta Panjwani as we dive into Leigh’s role as Director of Oprah’s Book Club, what it’s like to interview writers (or as she calls them, Rock Stars) and the power of books to make change and do good in the world.

Episode 12: Actor Robert Sean Leonard
What do you want to do? Who do you want to be? These are the questions that Tony Award winning actor Robert Sean Leonard grapples with. Join him and Roberta as they talk about his work as an actor and some of the artists he’s collaborated with. Wondering why that name sounds familiar? You might recognize Robert as Neil Perry from Dead Poets Society, Dr. James Wilson in House MD, or onstage as Edmund on O’Neill’s A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.
Past Episodes

Episode 53: Lyndon Harris: Forgiveness at Ground Zero
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the haunting images remain etched in our collective memory. But some of the most extraordinary stories began after the smoke cleared.
Lyndon Harris was the priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s Chapel, just steps from Ground Zero, where he led a massive volunteer effort caring for first responders

Episode 52: Curtis Duffy: One of the Best Chefs “Ever” (Rebroadcast)
What happens when one of America’s most celebrated chefs meets one of television’s biggest hits?
At Ever, the worlds of fine dining and ‘The Bear’ collide. As the inspiration and filming location for the series’ acclaimed restaurant, Chef Curtis Duffy’s two-Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant helped bring some of the show’s most

Episode 51: House of Gael: Live from Northern Ireland
Live! From Portrush, Northern Ireland, it’s host Roberta Panjwani and Laura and Gavin, the founders of the Belfast-based band House of Gael! They discuss blending traditional Irish sounds with a modern spirit, the power of music to celebrate unity and diversity, and how music helped transform their lives after a

Episode 50: Pluribus Executive Producer and Writer Alison Tatlock
Apple TV+’s Plur1bus is one of the most talked-about shows of the year. Why? Well, the tagline says it all: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.”
This month, Roberta sits down with Plur1bus Executive Producer and Writer, Alison Tatlock, to talk storytelling, world-building, and

Episode 49: Anna Quindlen: Live from the Friends Foundation Author Luncheon
At the beginning of April, the Ridgewood Library Friends Foundation hosted their 36th Annual Author Luncheon with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen. It sold out – 416 tickets! – in an unprecedented 5 days. We are so pleased that Anna allowed us to publish her interview and talk from the

Episode 48: Author Russell Shorto: Taking Manhattan
This month Roberta talks to Russell Shorto about his new book Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America, which drawing on deep archival research to offer a fresh take on America’s beginnings and the transfer of power in the region from the Dutch to the

Episode 47: “Cinephile” Author and Podcaster Adnan Virk: Let’s Go to the Movies!
This month on A Bend in the Road, Roberta is joined by broadcaster, film critic, and host of the Cinephile podcast Adnan Virk for a lively deep dive into the movies that matter now.
Known for his sharp insights and contagious love of cinema, Virk brings his passion, encyclopedic knowledge,

Episode 46: Author Laurie Gwen Shapiro
What really happened inside the marriage that helped turn Amelia Earhart into a legend? That’s the question author Laurie Gwen Shapiro sought to answer in her new book: The Aviator and the Showman. Through newly uncovered letters and archival material, she reexamines the partnership between Amelia Earhart and George Putnam,

Episode 45: Author Gretchen Rubin: Get Happy (Rebroadcast)
Yale graduate Gretchen Rubin had quite the pivot when she went from clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to founding the Happiness Project. How that came to be and what her surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, luck, and love entails (hint: tune in to the five

Episode 44: Writer John Seabrook: From Fields of Ambition to a Fallen Empire
This month, Roberta sits down with The New Yorker writer John Seabrook to talk about his new book The Spinach King, a chronicle of the rise and fall of his family’s empire: Seabrook Farms. Recently selected as one of the 100 Most Notable Books of 2025 by the New York