Arts and Culture

Books

As an acquisitions editor for Penguin Books, Jodie Archer saw many novelists struggling to write books that would sell. Then she went to grad school at Stanford, where she and her advisor created an algorithm to help.More

Computer code

When a computer program fixes a writer’s novel, or improvises a few bars of music, is that real creativity? Are they not just doing what they were programmed to do? Blaise Agüera y Arcas would wholeheartedly disagree.More

Asumaya

Our musical guest for this hour, Asumaya, talks about how one person can play the music of a full band. Alongside some performances, he...More

A brief history of the legal squabbles that brought Tetris to America.More

Goldsmith's Instagram experiment

We don't always consider the small changes in our influences, thinking  and communication that occur directly as a result of those wasted seconds bouncing between emails, Facebook posts and Reddit threads, but conceptual artist and professor Kenneth Goldsmith argues there's opportunity in those precious clicks and darts from page to page.More

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Around 2 million years ago, it’s believed our hominin ancestors settled down and adopted a more communal style of living centered around...More

Stills from “The Lottery,” courtesy of Hill & Wang.

Miles Hyman is Shirley Jackson's grandson. He's an artist who specializes in graphic novels and adaptations of classic literature. His latest book has a lot of personal meaning for him.

More
Esperanza Spalding / Shorefire Media

Jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding talks about the inspiration behind her latest album, 'Emily’s D+Evolution.'More

Groundhog

Groundhog Day co-writer Danny Rubin talks about writing the story and the film's enduring impact.More

A field full of small American flags

Is bullying a public issue baked into America's DNA?More

Piano with sheet music

Julian Barnes discusses composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his bully - Joseph Stalin.More

Dog and cat facing each other

Chances are if you were picked on as a child, you probably haven't patched things up with your bully and become friends. But fourth-...More

Has bullying changed from physical to psychological terror?More

If you've ever been bullied, you've probably had revenge fantasies. But you probably haven't taken it to the extreme that Allen Kurzweil...More

Snake head with red eye

David Pizzaro explains how disgust shapes our moral reasoning.More

Eggs and bacon shaped like a skull and crossbones

Journalist Christa Weil has a taste for food that's on the challenging side.More

Taco with chapulines (grasshoppers) and beans

What's the new trend in sustainable, eco-friendly food? Bugs! Entomologist Arnold van Huis explains.More

Pages