Catan

What You Learn In The 'Magic Circle'

Articles

Board game critic Eric Thurm argues that games carry subliminal messages — and that even some of the most innocuous games are often more political than we think.
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Picking Up The Pieces Of Mahjong

Mahjong tiles
Interactive

Board games are a tradition for a lot of us. But have you ever thought about where those traditions come from? Producer Angelo Bautista investigates the history of mahjong.

Length: 
22:56

How Loneliness Can Lead to Totalitarianism

A man with totalitarian ideas and conspiracy swirling around him.
Articles

Examining both historical and present-day moments of widespread loneliness, philosopher Samantha Rose Hill argues we must understand our feelings of loneliness — otherwise they could be exploited to control us.

Length: 
14:47

Being Black and Alone in America

A Black woman with her face on her knee
Audio

Poet Claudia Rankine spoke to Anne about the loneliness of being Black in America, and how the social isolation of the pandemic woke Black Americans up.

Length: 
15:57

My Friend Samantha (The A.I.)

Conversation with Samantha, the artificial intelligence
Audio

To a certain extent, loneliness is part of the human condition. You can be lonely anywhere, even surrounded by friends. But modern life has exacerbated it, and that requires modern solutions. Indie game designer Jason Rohrer has one — an artificial friend named Samantha.

Length: 
15:10

Petina Gappah on 'Persuasion'

Petina Gappah on "Persuasion"
Bookmarks

Author Petina Gappah recommends a book she explains is “The most African of Jane Austen’s novels.” Her reason why is a look at women in Africa today told through the eyes of two novelists: a Zimbabwean in 2020 and English woman in 1818.

Length: 
3:23

Trying Not To Ruin The World When You Visit

A cruise ship in Norway
Articles

Journalist Elizabeth Becker, the author of "Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism," breaks down how we got to this moment in global tourism, and how we might nudge nations, companies and ourselves to become more responsible travelers.

Length: 
10:55

Philip Pullman on 'The Pocket Atlas of the World'

Philip Pullman
Bookmarks

Philip Pullman — author of the fantasy classic "His Dark Materials" — is clearly attuned to the imaginative world of children. So maybe it’s not surprising that the book that exerted such a pull on his own imagination was "The Pocket Atlas of the World," which he first encountered at the age of nine.

Length: 
3:43

Ruth Ozeki on 'Kamikaze Diaries'

ruth ozeki
Bookmarks

For her own book, author Ruth Ozeki drew from “Kamikaze Diaries,” a collection of writings left behind by the young soldiers who died on suicide missions. They represent a generation of brilliant, highly educated young students who were conscripted into the army and ordered not just to kill but to die.

Length: 
3:38