Scientists and explorers have found a whole new world under our feet. It's an exciting place, and it's changing what we know about the planet and ourselves.Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
What if experiencing dread — the horror of it all — is good for you?Read more
Original Air Date:
October 26, 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:
October 12, 2019
The line between free speech and hate speech isn't always clear. When does sensitivity become censorship?Read more
Original Air Date:
September 28, 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:
September 14, 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:
August 17, 2019
What makes someone want to walk into a ring and hit someone? Choose to take a punch? Why men — and women — fight. And why so many of us like to watch.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 10, 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:
July 27, 2019
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
Original Air Date:
July 13, 2019
We're always online but still have an innate need to meet in person. How can we make gatherings, from dinner parties to work meetings, more meaningful?Read more
Original Air Date:
June 22, 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:
June 08, 2019
Even with all the music available today, most of us still listen primarily to just a few comfy genres. But there’s so much more out there — and so much of it defies neat, algorithm-friendly categorization.Read more
Original Air Date:
June 01, 2019
Between masks and vaccinations, COVID-19 has added even more to the ethical baggage we carry with us when we travel. As we get back out there into the world, we revisit a show from 2019 about the ethical dilemmas travel poses.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 25, 2019
Hope means believing there’s a future. But can hope co-exist with cataclysmic realities like climate change, or disruptive technological advances like artificial intelligence? Read more
Original Air Date:
May 04, 2019
This hour we talk with people who’ve turned that around and made hope real, whether it’s through political activism, faith, music, or reading a life-changing novel.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 27, 2019
Is hope something we’re innately born with, or something we can choose to have? We talk with people who tell us where they think hope lives in ourselves and our communities.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 20, 2019
Look around the political landscape and you see something we haven’t seen for decades — politicians proudly identifying as socialists. Has their moment arrived?Read more
Original Air Date:
April 06, 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:
March 23, 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:
March 16, 2019
Today, borders are a political flashpoint. But in a highly connected world, does the idea of a national border even make sense anymore?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 02, 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:
February 23, 2019
Where does creativity come from? And what exactly is going on in your brain when the Muse descends?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 09, 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:
January 26, 2019
You're thinking about hitting “delete” on all of it — Facebook, Twitter. But is that the answer, or should we resolve to stick around and make things better?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 22, 2018