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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

How do you win friends and influence people if you're an immigrant from Leningrad who's bullied at school?   You write your way to friendship.  That's what Gary Shteyngart did. We meet him in this hour as we explore creative writing.  Also, the connection between alcohol and creativity.  And how...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

For centuries Western travelers have felt the pull of exotic places.  Tibet has always held a special fascination.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, is the Western romance with Tibet grounded in reality, or based on some notion of Shangri-La?  Also a look at Bruce...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It's a post-apocalyptic novel that's been compared to Stephen King's "The Stand" and Cormac McCarthy's "The Road." It covers a vast time span and features a different kind of vampire, known as "virals." It's called "The Passage" and it's one of this summer's hottest books. We'll meet the author...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Are Americans dumbing down instead of smartening up? Many surveys say yes. According to a 2006 National Geographic-Roper survey, nearly half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 don't think it's necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made. In...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Malcolm Gladwell is living proof that a new hairstyle can change your life. After he grew out his hair, people started treating him differently. He racked up speeding tickets. He was surrounded by policemen who thought he was a rapist on the loose.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

How far did your food travel to get to you today? 100 miles? A thousand? Or just down the street. No matter where today's meal came from, there's a story behind it. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, food stories. New York chef Dan Barber faces a moral crisis in the form of a...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour, we find ourselves surrounded by sound.  The sounds of nature, cosmic horror, capitalism, and experimental electronics.

If you want to give our theme remix a whirl, you can download files here and ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Jordan, Oman, Syria  even Madison, Wisconsin, and the list grows day by day. People are filling the streets and demanding change. They want different things, but their protests have one thing in common: they have no leaders. They're organizing without...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What's your favorite podcast? Are you thinking about launching one of your own? Smart phones and digital distribution have made it easier to get into the radio game. After the breakout success of Serial, it seems like everyone’s talking...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Sales clerks at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, reportedly call the best-selling "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", "the girl who pays our paychecks". The award-winning Swedish crime thriller has sold so many copies, publishers are racing to find the next Scandinavian best-seller. We meet...Read more

dog

The way we think about animals often defies logic.  In America, dogs may sleep on our beds, but in Korea, they often end up on the dinner plate.  Some people may be horrified by a pet boa constrictor's appetite for live mice, but a cat that roams outside is a far deadlier killer. And...Read more

Towering radio

We remember the magical moments of chemistry in certain interviews; the brilliant sound design that emerged from particular studio sessions; the stories that took us places and those that changed us.Read more

a model brain

Do you ever think about the way you think?   Lately, we've been doing a lot of thinking about what we think about when we think about thinking.  Join us as we explore the life of the mind.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

East Meets West

Part Four

 

Imagine growing up in Pakistan. Islam is a way of life. You get up every morning at 4:30 to pray. Then when you're 18, you move to the American Midwest, Iowa, to attend college. That's the story Kumail...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Roast pig may look delicious on the holiday table, but you might pass on the pork if you met Piglet.  That famous New Zealand pig swam in the ocean each day, loved the violin and, as the story goes, sang to the moon.  But she was more than an exceptional pet.  To one man she was an  ambassador...Read more

scientifically perfect comedy (two men in horse masks)

A little laugh goes a long way. This week, we’re taking a crash course in how to be funny. 

From Chicago’s famous Second City, to a humor research lab, this hour's a laugh riot. We also talk with a laughter coach, Canadian comic Mary Walsh, and longtime New Yorker humorist Ian...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq

Part Three

 

For many soldiers and Marines, war is not fundamentally about the mission. War is not really about the enemy. It's not even about patriotism. War is about the man to the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Are you afraid of getting old? Most people are, but studies show we're usually happier in our 60s and 70s. Aging often brings wisdom and resilience - and a new creative spark. We celebrate the fine art of aging - and hear about some artists who remade their careers late in life.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wisdom may come with age, but if you want to make scientific history, it pays to be young.  Newton invented calculus before he turned 25.  Einstein published his special theory of relativity when he was only 26.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, does genius slip away with age?  Also...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine sipping tea with a militant Muslim and listening to how he set off a series of bombs in a crowded marketplace, trying to kill as many people as possible.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, an anthropologist describes her visit to a militant training camp in Pakistan. ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ever get the feeling that nothing’s original these days, that every new song that comes out is just a rehash of another? This hour, we’re looking at the fine line between inspiration and imitation, and finding out what separates an original work from a bland copy.Read more

robot lady

China Mieville’s new novel, “Embassytown,” features sentient beings famous for their unique language and a woman who’s a living simile. Ursula K. LeGuin says that “Embassytown” is “a fully-achieved work of art.” We’ll meet China Mieville, as we explore the language of science fiction.  Also...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When’s the last time you took a selfie? You know, a snapshot of yourself that you share online. From feminist selfies to funeral selfies to politicians’ selfies, there’s been hot debate about selfies lately. This week artists, critics and psychologists weigh in.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Science and the Search for Meaning: Five Questions, Part Four: Can Islam and Science Coexist?

Islamic culture was once the center of the scientific world. During Europe's Dark Ages, Baghdad, Cairo and other Middle Eastern cities were the key repositories of ancient...Read more

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