Dr. Bob Rich Shares His Author & Life Insights

 

Credit: Sasha Talks | Guest Dr. Bob Rich

Meet the 'Professional Grandfather'

Storyteller - Writer - Editor

Dr. Bob Rich is an Australian author, and activist who calls himself a "Professional Grandfather" because his primary motivation is to work for a survivable future for the younger generations, especially those born after 1993. He has retired from several previous occupations but remains active in writing and various advocacy efforts for environmental and humanitarian causes, including his political work with the Australian Greens party. Dr. Rich has run a counseling psychology practice for decades helping clients in need. His role as a "Professional Grandfather" involves promoting a global culture of decency, compassion, and cooperation to address issues like climate change. 

He is also a storyteller with 20 published books in a variety of genres including both fiction and nonfiction. Seven of his books, and over 40 short stories, have won awards. Everything he does, including his writing, is working toward a survivable future for them, and one worth surviving in. He carries on much of this work at his popular blog, Bobbing Around. Credit: Dr. Bob Rich. 

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November 26, 2025 - 1 pm AEDT (AET)

#Personality The Chancellor by Kati Marton

Credit: The Chancellor, Kati Marton

Overview

Angela Merkel has always been an outsider. A pastor’s daughter raised in Soviet-controlled East Germany, she spent her twenties working as a research chemist, entering politics only after the fall of the Berlin Wall. And yet within fifteen years, she had become chancellor of Germany and, before long, the unofficial leader of the West. In this “masterpiece of discernment and insight” (The New York Times Book Review), acclaimed biographer Kati Marton sets out to pierce the mystery of Merkel’s unlikely ascent. With unparalleled access to the chancellor’s inner circle and a trove of records only recently come to light, she teases out the unique political genius that had been the secret to Merkel’s success. No modern leader so ably confronted Russian aggression, enacted daring social policies, and calmly unified an entire continent in an era when countries are becoming more divided. Again and again, she cleverly outmaneuvered strongmen like Putin and Trump, and weathered surprisingly complicated relationships with allies like Obama and Macron. Famously private, the woman who emerges from this “impressively researched” (The Wall Street Journal) account is a role model for anyone interested in gaining and keeping power while staying true to one’s moral convictions. At once a “riveting” (Los Angeles Review of Books) political biography, an intimate human portrait, and a revelatory look at successful leadership in action, The Chancellor brings forth one of the most extraordinary women of our time. Credit: The Chancellor

Credit: Kati Marton

Meet the Author

Kati Marton, an award-winning former NPR and ABC News correspondent, is the author of Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, a New York Times bestseller, as well as Wallenberg, The Polk Conspiracy, A Death in Jerusalem, and a novel, An American Woman. Credit: Kati Marton