many of you will know alan alda as the star of the classic hit tv show "mash," playing the lead role hawkeye" pierce. what you may not know is that alda, now in his 80s, has spent the past decade channeling his creativity into the art of communication, teaching students at the alan alda center for communicating science. and our michel martin sat down with him to talk about his work, which is coaching people how to communicate complex ideas, especially relevant for these divisive times. here's their conversation. >> alan alda, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> gosh, you've done so many things in your life. i mean, people of course know you for hawkeye pierce and appearing on "mash," which is still, you know, one of the most watched -- the final episode one of the most watched tv episodes of all time. many people may not know that you also wrote many of the episodes. but you have this whole other life as a student of communication, as a person who's actively trying to help other people communicate better, particularly in the scientific realm, but beyond that. so, how di

women's lives available in the bookstore and the columbia journalism review she will be interviewing alan alda. [applause] he needs no introduction. so sit back and relax and enjoy. think you. [applause] [cheers and applause] . >> i usually talk into a bouquet of flowers. hello. [laughter] . >> don't be embarrassed. that is your job. [laughter] okay. we are in business. so with that background in mash. not only did he act in mash he was also a director. he has done so many movies and has gotten so many emmys and academy awards. [laughter] . >> okay. we are good. so with a lot of things including orange? . >> the apple tree. >> it means nothing to you right now but it was the one thing my father ever invested in. [laughter] . >> i'm so sorry. [laughter] but it is also interesting he was also on broadway. [applause] and here they wrote love letters. also one of my totally favorite shows and even though he was not elected president. >> we shot the show and we shot the final and i really wanted to win. that was right up to the last minute. [laughter] i literally thought that. >> and secretary of s

and at 10, alan alda discusses his book. and we wrap up booktv in prime time with mimi schwartz on the development of the artificial heart. that all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend, television for serious readers. a reminder that this weekend's full schedule is available on our web site, booktv.org. >> hi. good evening, everyone. my name is nick turner, i'm lucky enough to serve as the president of the vera institute of justice. i'm glad to have all of you here and to have an audience from c-span here as well to participate in this discussion. we're very lucky, i want to say a little bit about what we're doing tonight and introduce both fox and dan in a second. but first, i just want to say a quick thing about the vera institute for those of you who don't know. this is a wonderful organization that has been committed to justice reform longer than i have been around. i'm lucky enough to be the fifth president of it, but we got our start in 1961 working to reform the

and at 10, alan alda discusses his book. and we wrap up booktv in prime time with mimi schwartz on the development of the artificial heart. that all happens tonight on c-span2's booktv. 48 hours of nonfiction authors and books every weekend, television for serious readers. a reminder that this weekend's full schedule is available on our web site, booktv.org.