Pico Iyer is a travel writer and a novelist who has spent time in far flung places like Ethiopia, Tibet, North Korea, Bhutan and Nepal exploring the history, culture and food of diverse cultures. In contrast to his life on the road in places, Iyer is now spending more time exploring his inner life. That’s what his latest book called Aflame Is all about. Several times a year, Iyer visits a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur which he finds to be a refuge from the crowded noisy world he usually inhabits. Iyer examines the benefits of just sitting still and doing nothing. We talk about Iyer’s relationship with the Dalai Lama and with singer Leonard Cohen when Cohen was a Buddhist monk living on a mountaintop. “Now What?” is produced with the help of Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.

Pardons are about presidential power. Many presidents wait until the end of their term to issue them. Not Donald Trump. He has pardoned more than 1500 people who took part in the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. President Trump has also issued more than 70 executive orders, another instrument of presidential power. They focus on shrinking the government, imposing tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada and freezing foreign aid. Many of these actions are facing lawsuits and judicial rulings. So, what will the federal government look like when the dust settles? I talk to legal scholar Jeffrey Toobin about the future of American democracy and his new book The Pardon: The Politics of Presidential Mercy. “Now What?” is produced with help from Steve Zimmer, Lucy Little and Jackie Schwartz. Audio production is by Nick Ciavatta.