Summer reading lists are full of so-called "beach books." But if you’ve got enough time to lounge by a pool or swing in a hammock, why not tackle something more substantial?Read more
A Kaleidoscope of Ideas
Episode Archives
Original Air Date:
October 12, 2019
What if the most unselfish thing you could do was to pursue pleasure and joy? We make the case for the transformative power of joy, pleasure and delight.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 23, 2019
They say "don't feed the trolls" — but why should sexist and racist trolls get to own the web? Was it built for them, or for all of us?Read more
Original Air Date:
July 04, 2020
Jazz wasn't just born in America. There's an alternative history — a story of colonial empires, grassroots revolutions and the global migration of sound.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 17, 2019
Millions of people are caring for someone with severe memory loss, trying to find ways to connect. One of the best ways anyone has found is music.Read more
Original Air Date:
July 27, 2019
Your voice is unique. It's how your friends and family know you. But how comfortable are you with your voice? And how freely do you use it?Read more
Original Air Date:
June 20, 2020
We take a hard look at how racism infects not only the police, but the entire criminal justice system.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 23, 2019
Sometimes, we take our body for granted. But even the everyday things it can do – keep our heart beating, fight off illness – are pretty extraordinary. Do you know what your body can do?Read more
Original Air Date:
January 13, 2018
Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 30, 2019
The board games we play tell us so much more about ourselves than we think — our history, our politics and our inner psychology.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 28, 2019
The line between free speech and hate speech isn't always clear. When does sensitivity become censorship?Read more
Original Air Date:
June 09, 2018
Where do you go to find models of powerful women? The ancient world was full of them, real and mythic, but today we barely know their names. Why? This week we rediscover the women of ancient myths and legends.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 14, 2019
As monocropping and agribusiness continue to dominate modern farming, we speak to farmers, botanists and indigenous people about how they are reclaiming our seeds.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 16, 2019
Whether you know it or not, your closets are filled with personal information. Do you think about what are you saying with your clothes?Read more
Original Air Date:
January 26, 2019
Every so often, a new literary movement coalesces. A new generation of writers finds a voice. This time they’re young, gifted, and Native American.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 23, 2020
How can we, individually and collectively, find meaning in the experience of the coronavirus pandemic?Read more
Original Air Date:
May 16, 2020
Not everyone has a big yard to stretch out in while sheltering in place. But maybe all you need is a virtual space to call your own.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 10, 2018
DNA tests are uncovering mixed bloodlines. For African Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? Does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice?Read more
Original Air Date:
May 09, 2020
Wherever you live — city or country, East coast, West coast, or in between — we share common, contemplative experiences on our walks outside.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 09, 2019
Where does creativity come from? And what exactly is going on in your brain when the Muse descends?Read more
Original Air Date:
June 08, 2019
We owe our past and future existence on Earth to fungi. Some can heal you, some can kill you, and some can change you forever.Read more
Original Air Date:
December 23, 2017
Who really runs the world? Presidents and prime ministers, or CEOs and bankers? And who’s responsible when everything falls apart?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 24, 2018
Modern anti-depressants have saved a lot of minds. And lives. But what have they done to our bodies? And how do we navigate that trade-off between body and mind?Read more
Original Air Date:
April 25, 2020
In times of crisis, we need music. We look at how far people will go — even under quarantine, during a pandemic — to find ways to make music together.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 18, 2020
We all miss touching things — groceries, door knobs, hands, faces. And most of all, skin. The living tissue that simultaneously protects us from the world, and lets us feel it. In this episode, the politics, biology, and inner life of your skin.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 05, 2018
Milwaukee is a city on water, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, split by the historic Milwaukee River. How did it shape the city's history, politics, culture, and people? We find out in this live broadcast from Turner Hall in Milwaukee.Read more
Original Air Date:
October 18, 2015
Checking someone else’s privilege can be a form of hostility. Checking your own can be an act of humility. Does anyone actually benefit from talking about privilege? This hour, the benefits and drawbacks of talking about privilege.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 10, 2018
It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe the moral struggle and personal cost involved.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 04, 2020
Why do people turn to poetry during troubled times? We saw it after 9/11 and we're seeing it now. When the world seems broken, poetry is often the one kind of language that helps.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 19, 2017
From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies?