New experiences rewire the brain. So after all we’ve been through, are we different? We consider the "COVID brain" in both neuroscience and the arts.Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
We explore the ancient, obscure, occult science and art of alchemy — it turns out to be a lot more relevant to our lives than you’d believe.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 19, 2020
We surround ourselves with possessions, but at what point do they start to possess us?Read more
Original Air Date:
September 05, 2020
A new generation of Black farmers are working to reclaim land, hoping to grow justice along with vegetables and plants.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 22, 2020
When things don't go the way they're supposed to — viruses, star systems, presidents, even fish — why do we so quickly seek order to explain the chaos?Read more
Original Air Date:
August 08, 2020
Millions of animals migrate every year to a destination they've never seen. How do they do it — and what can we learn from them?Read more
Original Air Date:
July 25, 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:
July 04, 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:
June 20, 2020
How can we, individually and collectively, find meaning in the experience of the coronavirus pandemic?Read more
Original Air Date:
May 23, 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:
May 16, 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:
May 09, 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 25, 2020
Skin is 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:
April 18, 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:
April 04, 2020
This week's show comes to you from our kitchens and homes. We’re thinking about the heroic doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 28, 2020
From Africa to England, to a kamikaze cockpit, and to realms of fantasy. Books aren’t just books. They’re passports.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 14, 2020
Every night, millions of us turn out the lights hoping and praying for a good night’s sleep. And every night, millions of us lie awake in the dark.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 07, 2020
Are there new ways to treat depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder? We explore some unconventional treatments for mental illness, including exercise, psychedelics and even horror films.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 15, 2020
Exchanging glances with the natural world happens more often than you’d think. It can be so profound, there’s a name for it: eye-to-eye epiphany.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 08, 2020
What drives us toward armed conflict? And what does it take for peace activists to face down tyrants and military leaders?Read more
Original Air Date:
January 11, 2020
Clocks and calendars chop time into increments. It’s efficient, and it helps us get to meetings on time. But what does time feel like when you stop counting it?Read more
Original Air Date:
January 04, 2020
What can we learn from the natural world — from animals, from the water — about surviving and even celebrating the cold?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 21, 2019
Africans are moving into cities in unprecedented numbers. Lagos, Nigeria, is on track to have 100 million people. So how and why do cities thrive?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 14, 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:
November 30, 2019