Bob Lerman describes how his parents and upbringing in a family of nine brothers and one sister influenced his path in life.  After growing up in South Bend, Indiana with a focus on sports and music, he became attracted to the world of ideas at Brandeis University and subsequently at MIT.  His career spanned jobs at four universities, a Congressional committee, a research institute in Israel, and now Urban Institute, a policy research organization.   Bob discusses some of his ideas and policy proposals for helping people avoid poverty, for family cohesion, and for building skills for a rewarding career.  He explains why he became a strong advocate for scaling apprenticeship in the US and gives brief impressions of the current political landscape.