Michael Ellsberg

Biography:

Michael Ellsberg is a professional developmental editor and book proposal writer. He did major developmental work on his father Daniel Ellsberg's bestseller Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers. Michael graduated from Brown University in 1999 with a degree in International Relations.

Past Shows:

	Accidents, Risk, & Prevention
	Tuesday June 10, 2008

Writer Marc Gerstein was joined by co-author Michael Ellsberg and his father Daniel Ellsberg to discuss their book on major accidents and catastrophes, and how they often could be prevented. For example, the death of students from the recent China quake might have been averted if their schools weren't so badly constructed, and there was a stronger motivation to protect children, said Gerstein. In the case of the Challenger disaster, NASA's top brass didn't listen to the warnings of engineers about the safety of O-rings. Additionally, the timing of the launch was kept even though the weather was too cold because Pres. Reagan wanted to have a link up with Christa McAuliffe during his State of the Union speech, Daniel Ellsberg detailed. Leaders, across political systems, often gamble with risks, and other people's lives, when the alternative is a possible loss to their status, he added. Michael Ellsberg talked about "bystander behavior" in which psychological factors such as ... More
Host: George Noory