Faith Middleton Show - RSS/Podcast

  Why do some children succeed while others fail? The story we usually tell about childhood and success is the one about intelligence: success comes to those who score highest on tests, from preschool admissions to SATs. But in How Children Succeed, Paul Tough argues that the qualities that matter most have more to do with character: skills like perseverance, curiosity, conscientiousness, o...

What is Connecticut food? Which crops, livestock and seafood have shaped the complex cuisines that its people have cherished for more than four centuries? From familiar comforts like chicken potpie and fried oysters to curious concoctions like Grape-Nuts pudding and steamed cheeseburgers, Connecticut's food history is long and varied. Eric D. Lehman and Amy Nawrocki, authors of A History of Con...

What is it about other people’s language that moves some of us to anxiety or even rage? For centuries, sticklers the world over have donned the cloak of authority to control the way people use words. Now this sensational new book strikes back to defend the fascinating, real-life diversity of this most basic human faculty. With the erudite yet accessible style that marks his work as a journa...

  Check out the "cool way to separate eggs."       Today we talk burgers, bourbon and soup. It's the usaul crowd plus our specail guests from Plan B Burger Bar.

In her book Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg offers discerning wisdom on understanding faith as a healing quality. Through the teachings of Buddha and insight gained from her lifelong spiritual quest, she provides a road map for cultivating a feeling of peace that can be practiced by anyone of any tradition. Salzberg joins us live for the full hour...

Pork every which way, from the book Pig. Plus two sisters create inventive dinner party recipes explained in their book, Bite Me.

Susquehanna County, in the remote northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, is a community of stoic, low-income dairy farmers and homesteaders seeking haven from suburban sprawl—and the site of the Marcellus Shale, a natural gas deposit worth more than one trillion dollars. In The End of Country, journalist and area native Seamus McGraw opens a window on the battle for control of this land, revealin...

The United States experienced its most harrowing military disaster of World War II not in 1941 at Pearl Harbor but in the period from 1942 to 1943, in Atlantic coastal waters from Newfoundland to the Caribbean. Sinking merchant ships with impunity, German U-boats threatened the lifeline between the United States and Britain, very nearly denying the Allies their springboard onto the European Con...

  The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life - Master Any Skill or Challenge by Learning to Love the Process In those times when we want to acquire a new skill or face a formidable challenge we hope to overcome, what we need most are patience, focus, and discipline, traits that seem elusive or difficult to maintain. In this enticing and practical book, Thomas Ster...

Why are we attuned to the latest headline, diet craze, smartphone, fashion statement?  Why do we relish a change of scene, eye attractive strangers, develop new interests? How did Homo sapiens survive near-extinction during an environmental crisis 80,000 years ago, while close cousins very like us have died out? Winifred Gallagher's new book New tries to understand our need for novelty and chan...

It happens to all of us. we get so busy we throw together meals without thinking about health consequences. How to cook fast and healthfully on The Food Schmooze.

  Saul Steinberg: A Biography The issue date was March 29, 1976. The New Yorker cost 75 cents. And on the cover unfolded Saul Steinberg's vision of the world: New York City, the Hudson River, and then...well, it's really just a bunch of stuff you needn't concern yourself with. Steinberg's brilliant depiction of the world according to self-satisfied New Yorkers placed him squarely in the...

Two, four, six, eight. Who or what or where do you appreciate?

Banning guns and ammunition—does it make sense and will it make us safer? We have a Connecticut police lieutenant with twenty-six years of experience, a consultant internationally on violence prevention. We look at whether gun bans will work and what we need to do to protect soft targets like schools and churches. He's frank; he's seen a lot in the communities he visits. It's not just America's...

Party with us on The Food Schmooze: We've got kitchen tips for the holiday season, we'll introduce you to The Toaster Oven Lady, and Mark Raymond from Frederick Wildman & Sons drops by with a slew of recommendations: a gift wine, a champagne for celebrations, and more. Wine Recommendations Michel Tornino, 2010 Don David Malbec Reserve, $16 Museum Real, 2008 Reserva, $30  C...