Randy Fertel

The author of Winging It: Improv's Power and Peril in the Time of Trump.

For more info or to buy your copy, click the link below:

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

I wrote Winging It before Trump’s second term. Today, we are living inside the book.

Winging It is now available as an audiobook. And the timing couldn’t be stranger or more necessary.

Link in bio.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

His acceptance speech said it all.

Watch the entire evening’s recording in my latest Substack post: https://t.co/f7M6p9axM6

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Bill Owens and correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi pushed back against money and power interests at CBS News, for which they shared The Ridenhour Prizes Courage Prize at the 21st annual awards. As executive producer of 60 Minutes for years, Bill knew what was at stake.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Watch the entire evening’s recording in my latest Substack post: https://t.co/f7M6p9axM6

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Sharyn Alfonsi, a “60 Minutes” Correspondent for over a decade, shared the Ridenhour Courage Prize with Bill Owens, legendary executive producer of “60 Minutes.” Both had pushed back against money and power interests at CBS News.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Their acceptance speeches at the 21st annual Ridenhour Awards were exactly what you’d expect from the best in the business.

In this clip, Sharyn reminds us that editorial independence and fearless investigative journalism are key to democracy and must be protected.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

For more, read Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump, now on audiobook:
https://t.co/XRIFqHTPfo

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Neuroscientists agree: we have one brain, but two minds. Cold Cognition is rational, logical, slow. Hot Cognition is impulsive, instinctual, fast.

Improv, from jazz to stand-up to political demagoguery, feeds our Hot brain and bypasses judgment. That’s the power—and the peril.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

illegal rendition and torture, and the rule of law itself.

He will receive the 2025 @ridenhourprizes Prize for Truth-Telling this Thursday in Washington, D.C. We need such demonstrations of courage, ethics, and dedication to the truth now more than ever.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Erez Reuveni was a 15-year Department of Justice veteran with a distinguished bipartisan record as DOJ deputy acting director of the Office of Immigration Litigation. Reuveni’s whistleblowing served as a safeguard against future abuses of immigrants,

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

going forward.“

@RepRaskin and the other extraordinary recipients of The Ridenhour Prizes keep alive Ron's spirit of truth-telling and transparency.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

In 2024, Congresman Jamie Raskin received the 20th anniversary Ridenhour Prize for Courageous Truth-telling. I was honored to gift him a copy of my book, Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump, where I write in the conclusion:

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

the humanity the story carried, and the moral implications: “How can the president put children and people’s families in that situation and then just run away from the whole thing?” she asked. Hannah was a better listener than her dad. Listening well must form part of our agenda

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

an invasion of Iraq.
Such dedication to honesty and transparency is needed now more than ever.
In the DC area on April 30th? Join us. Purchase tickets here: https://t.co/nbsrVjnc3n

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

The The Ridenhour Prizes for Courageous Truth-telling will be held next week at the National Press Club in D.C. The Prizes memorialize My Lai whistleblower Ron Ridenhour’s commitment to truth and transparency.

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Wilson investigated the charge at the request of the CIA on a trip to Niger and reported back that it was “highly unlikely.” Wilson’s revelation called into question the Bush Administration’s truthfulness, and undermined its claim that it had ample evidence to justify

[Randy Fertel @rfertel]

Listen to Winging It: Improv’s Power and Peril in the Time of Trump, now available on audiobook, and let it change the way you hear the world around you.
Purchase audiobook here: https://t.co/XRIFqHTPfo