October is a wonderful time of year. The air starts to get crisp, and it feels like fall outside. The leaves are changing, and halloween is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to go pumpkin picking or bake an apple pie. It is also a nice time to sit on the couch with family or friends and watch a movie while the cold weather sinks in.

 Renee Knake Jefferson is a Professor of Law and at the University of Houston Law Center. Hannah Brenner Johson is the Vice Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at California Western School of Law in San Diego. They will discuss their new book

.SHORTLISTED: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court where they tell the largely forgotten stories of nine extraordinary women who broke through barriers and endured routine indignities to build influential legal careers and advance the ranks of women in state and federal courts—The authors reveal these inspiring, overlooked women as complex, often intriguing individuals and as valuable mentors to all women who aspire to a position of leadership or power—whether in law, medicine, business, academia, or politics.  For more on Renee Jefferson and Hannah Johnson

 voiceamerica.com - Variety Channel

Dr. Gerry Goldhaber has emerged as the nation's leading safety warnings and communication expert. He has worked with 100 of the top 500 corporations in the U.S and 50 of the top 100 laws firms, including the FDA, CPSC, and the DOD. In Dr. Goldhaber's book "Murder Inc", he recommends twelve steps to take control of our safety, and outlines a model of corporate responsibility and government regulation that balances public safety measures and company profits to the benefit of all. He says "I provide a roadmap for manufacturers, and regulators to engage in to reduce the likelihood of consumers suffering from serious or deadly consequences." More about Dr. Goldhaber

Maggie Kast has been a writer since the 1990's. In her book, Side by Side but Never Face to Face, she writes about Greta, her narrator, who has been wrenched from a long and tightly-circled marriage to Manfred, an Austrian Holocaust survivor. Coming from very different backgrounds, they sometimes abraded each other, but the friction struck sparks, and the marriage remained vital. Together they mourned the accidental death of a daughter and experienced a widening of spiritual horizons as they grieved. Today Maggie discusses coping with the pain of losing a daughter and the challenges of having a son with a developmental disability, including the stigma of his being labeled “retarded,” her journey to convert to catholicism, what drew her to the Hmong people of Vietnam and insight from her research into their unique culture, and her views on psychotherapy and philosophy. For more on Maggie Kast.

@PatriciaRaskin and @PatriciaRaskinRaskinResources