Episode Archives

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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Say you’re in Vegas playing high-stakes poker.  You haven’t slept in days.  To make matters worse, you’re being stared down by two of the best poker players in the world.  And...you’re bluffing.  So, you bet it all to bring the pot to well over a million dollars.  In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

a lonely person in a meadow

If you've ever been alone on Valentine's Day, you probably know how isolating it can be to feel like the only single person in a world full of happy couples. But being alone doesn't have to be shameful. This hour, we're changing the script and making the case for the lovelorn, the loners, the...Read more

colors and light

We may think it’s pretty clear what is – and isn’t – science, but history is littered with cases where the line wasn’t so obvious.  For instance, Isaac Newton studied alchemy, and Galileo was a practicing astrologer.  This hour explores the edges of science, and we hear about the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Pragmatic.Problem-solving. And non-partisan -- Mayors just might be the next best hope for democracy.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Larry Brilliant is a doctor, co-founder of the digital social network the Well, and he was the first executive director of Google.org. But back in the Sixties, he was a hippie doctor who joined Wavy Gravy's traveling bus caravan and then landed in an Indian ashram in the Himalayas, where his...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Sometimes, a single word speaks volumes about its era. Sputnik conjures up both the heady excitement of the early Space Race and the whole scary history of the Cold War. In this hour, To the Best of Our Knowledge touches on a few of these cultural touchstones....from Sputnik to Snoopy. We'll...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Future Perfect: Dreamers, Schemers & Visionaries

Part One

 

Imagine a poor child in Uruguay. Now imagine giving that young girl a hundred-dollar laptop computer. Imagine the educational opportunities that this laptop will provide...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

“Lets Make Our Own Movie!”  That was a wild idea back in the days of young Mickey Rooney, but today, anyone can do it.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, how digital cameras make us all directors, and why movies may never be the same.  Also, screenwriter Andrew Davies...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Consider this future world: a vaccine that makes you continually happy.  A chip in your brain that lets you communicate telepathically with your spouse.  Human lives that span hundreds of years.  Sound far-fetched?  Not according the James Hughes of the World Trans-humanist Association.  He says...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

America's gone craft crazy. Everyone's knitting, or keeping scrapbooks; throwing pots or wood-working. And naturally, there are new chains of stores that carry all the supplies these crafters need, or think they do. To the Best of Our Knowledge considers what we mean by the word "craft." Does it...Read more

self help books

Every new year brings a fresh start, another chance to remake yourself. We all aspire to be better people, but following through on our goals can often be difficult.Read more

I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every family of the state. UW President Charles Van Hise in 1905

If you live in Wisconsin, chances are you've heard of the Wisconsin Idea. It's the century-old dream of sharing the best of higher education with the entire state -- bringing the values of the liberal arts, scientific knowledge and search for truth to everyone. It's a cherished tradition,...Read more

a muse

How does creative work get done? When the answer finally comes to a question that's dogged you for weeks or years, where is it coming from?

 

In this special hour, Nathan Englander - acclaimed novelist, short story writer, playwright - is our guest...Read more

book

We love books. We line them on shelves like totems. We pile them next to our beds in some hope they'll affect our dreams.  For many of us, books are sacred objects. And sometimes, just sometimes, they’re even magical.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Science fiction offers us visions of histories we don't know -- histories of the future and the past.  Today, legendary science fiction writers talk about science, utopia, and the imagination.  Plus, the winners of our 3 Minute Futures fiction contest!

...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When the Soviet Union fell, China was poised to take over as America’s next great enemy.  The 9/11 happened and there was a new enemy.  So, what about China?  Next time, we’ll take a closer look at China today and what the future holds for US/China relations.  Also, a talk with Nobel prize-...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Are you deadline driven?  Most focused, most productive as “zero hour” approaches?  Well, what about the ultimate end, the true end of the time frame. 

Deadline, indeed. 

How does knowing that you’re going to die affect your life?  In this hour we’re minding mortality.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Robert Olen Butler had a crazy idea.  The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist wanted to show how writers really work.  So he created his own web site, pointed a camera at his word processor, and wrote...every night for three weeks.  Believe it or not, thousands of people tuned in for the these...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

American flags are everywhere.  U.S. soldiers are once again heroes.  And some people say it’s downright unpatriotic to criticize the president or the war against terrorism.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the new meaning of patriotism and the crackdown on dissent....Read more

Barbara Ehrenreich

A collection of all of Barbara Ehrenreich's interviews on "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" over the years. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What animals will still be living in the year 3000?  Forget about tigers, rhinos and pandas.  They’ll go the way of the dodo bird.  But scientist Peter Ward says rats and coyotes will flourish.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the future of evolution.  Also, best-selling novelist...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The geography of organized religion in America is changing. Today, more and more Americans identify themselves as spiritual, rather than aligning themselves with a particular religion. They're cobbling together faith and spirituality from sources all over the world, picking and choosing the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When somebody asks Josh Ritter what kind of music he plays, sometimes he ends up lying. After all, Ritter's music is hard to describe - a little bit rock n' roll by way of Bruce Springsteen with a twist of Bob Dylan. Anyway you describe it, Josh Ritter has arrived. We'll get inside the music...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine a scenario where universes bubble up out of black holes.  Space itself can boil, and humankind may have to fight for survival by building gigantic atom-smashers the length of several star systems.  That future may be closer than you think.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more

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