UMich Retirees Podcast

UMRA Reads: The Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

"Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, a novel of large beauty and power, creates a magical world out of four generations of black life in America, a world we enter on the day of the birth of Macon Dead, Jr. (known as Milkman), son of the richest black family in a mid-western town; the day on which the lonely insurance man, Robert Smith, poised in blue silk wings, attempts to fly from a steeple of the hospital, a black Icarus looking homeward..."

"We see Milkman growing up in his father's money-haunted, death-haunted house with his silent sisters and strangely passive mother, beginning to move outward--through his profound love and combat with his friend Guitar...through Guitar's mad and loving commitment to the secret avengers called the Seven Days...through Milkman's exotic, imprisoning affair with his love-blind cousin, Hagar...and through his unconscious apprenticeship to his mystical Aunt Pilate, who saved his life before he was born."

 

-- Amazon Books

Why Incompetence Fails to Recognize Itself with Professor David Dunning

Why Incompetence Fails to
Recognize Itself

David Dunning

Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Faculty Associate in the Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research

 

Professor Dunning discusses the psychology underlying the notorious "Dunning-Kruger Effect," where people remain unaware of their incompetence and ignorance, thus left with illusions of expertise they do not have (a condition that visits all of us sooner or later). He touches on its implications for health, education, the workplace, politics—as well as the digital age. Dunning (with Justin Kruger) received the 2023 Grawemeyer Award in Psychology for the work, which has been featured internationally on National Public Radio Public Broadcasting Service, The British Broadcasting Service, The New York Times, and other venues. Even Doonesbury.

 

UMRA Reads: The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is a book about three female code breakers -- Osla, Mab and Beth -- at Bletchley Park during WWII. The women form a friendship (and a book club) over the years, but a betrayal and traitor among their colleagues lands one of them in locked up in an asylum in the years after the war. But through a letter carefully smuggled out, she's able to issue a cry for help from her confinement.

In this exciting and enthralling tale, The Rose Code tells the story of their friendship, their work and their disappointments and triumphs.

UMRA Reads: The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family

"Happy Days, The Andy Griffith Show, Gentle Ben—these shows captivated millions of TV viewers in the ’60s and ’70s. Join award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard and audience-favorite actor Clint Howard as they frankly and fondly share their unusual family story of navigating and surviving life as sibling child actors."

"With the perspective of time and success—Ron as a filmmaker, producer, and Hollywood A-lister, Clint as a busy character actor—the Howard brothers delve deep into an upbringing that seemed normal to them yet was anything but."

"By turns confessional, nostalgic, heartwarming, and harrowing, The Boys is a dual narrative that lifts the lid on the Howard brothers’ closely held lives. It’s the journey of a tight four-person family unit that held fast in an unforgiving business and of two brothers who survived “child-actor syndrome” to become fulfilled adults."

 

-- Goodreads

Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific Episodes from Ancient to Present

Tax Follies & Wisdom: Odd to Horrific
Episodes from Ancient to Present

Joel Slemrod

Paul W. McCracken Professor of Business Economics and Public policy and
Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy in the
Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Professor of Economics in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

 

 

Professor Slemrod, an authority on tax policy design, is known for his pioneering research on how tax policies influence households and companies. He will use stories to illustrate basic principles of taxation, including how taxes are used to change behavior, both for sinister and laudable purposes, and share notable tax policy successes and failures. Slemrod has testified before Congress, advised the Congressional Budget Office and Internal Revenue Service, and assisted treasury departments on every continent. He has published 17 books, including Rebellion, Rascals and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages, and was named U-M's David Bradford Distinguished University Professor of Economics in 2021. Learn more about him here: https://lsa.umich.edu/econ/people/faculty/jslemrod.html.

UMRA Reads: The Toledo War: The First Michigan Ohio Rivalry by Don Faber

Most are familiar with the Michigan-Ohio football rivalry, an intense but usually good-natured contest that stretches back over one hundred years. Yet far fewer may know that in the early nineteenth century Michigan and Ohio were locked in a different kind of battle---one that began before Michigan became a state. The conflict started with a long-simmering dispute over a narrow wedge of land called the Toledo Strip. The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry gives a well-researched and fascinating account of the famous war. Don Faber is best known as the former editor of the Ann Arbor News .

Attack from Within with Barbara McQuade

Attack from Within

Barbara McQuade

Professor from practice at Michigan Law

 

Professor McQuade will discuss observations and recommendations from her recent book, Attack from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America (Seven Stories Press, 2024). The book defines disinformation as "the deliberate use of lies to manipulate people, whether to extract profit or to advance a political agenda." She will discuss why disinformation is especially dangerous at this point in U.S. history, especially the threats it poses to democracy, public safety, and national security. National, social media, and individual strategies to recognize disinformation and counter its effects will be discussed. Attack from Within will be available for purchase on site from a local book seller.

Barbara was appointed U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan by President Barack Obama in 2010. The first woman in that role, serving until 2017. Her interests include criminal law, criminal procedure, national security, data privacy and civil rights.

Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate

Legacy Law Center: Estate Planning,
Elder Law, Probate

Terrance (Terry) Bertram
President of the Legacy Law Center

Terry Bertram is a U-M alum, who has been providing estate and elder law planning services in the greater Washtenaw County area for over 30 years.  His talk will focus on the importance of keeping estate plans updated and the steps to assure solid planning for elder life, as well as protecting one's legacy for family members and/or designated recipients.