It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe the moral struggle and personal cost involved.Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Original Air Date:
November 10, 2018
Previous Airdates:
November 10, 2018
July 20, 2019
April 11, 2020
November 28, 2020
How do you cope with unpleasant people? We consider the adage “hell is other people.”Read more
Original Air Date:
January 22, 2017
Previous Airdates:
January 22, 2017
October 14, 2017
June 02, 2018
July 20, 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
Previous Airdates:
July 13, 2019
July 11, 2020
We’ve all had them—the big, significant, transformations that take your life in a new direction. And even though those gateway moments present new and exciting opportunities, they are almost always by definition uncomfortable.Read more
Original Air Date:
June 11, 2017
Previous Airdates:
June 11, 2017
March 03, 2018
July 06, 2019
What's the essence of religion? God? Scripture? Moral codes? Or is it really about something more unexplainable — primal spiritual experiences?Read more
Original Air Date:
November 24, 2018
Previous Airdates:
November 24, 2018
July 06, 2019
July 18, 2020
Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 13, 2018
Previous Airdates:
January 13, 2018
September 22, 2018
June 29, 2019
June 13, 2020
Covert spies painting nerve agents on doorknobs? It's not the only way to poison someone. We hear stories of radioactive paint, formaldehyde-spiked baby formula, and a beautiful garden full of plants that could kill you.Read more
Original Air Date:
October 13, 2018
Previous Airdates:
October 13, 2018
June 29, 2019
March 14, 2020
Do chimpanzees have spiritual experiences? A remarkable discovery in West Africa suggests they might.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 14, 2017
Previous Airdates:
May 14, 2017
November 25, 2017
July 14, 2018
June 22, 2019
October 17, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
June 22, 2019
February 29, 2020
The first birth is when you arrive here, as a wet, wiggling newborn. But there may be other transitions in your life that feel just as difficult and profound. Some people actually call those passages rebirth. Read more
Original Air Date:
September 15, 2018
Previous Airdates:
September 15, 2018
June 15, 2019
July 25, 2020
More than 38 million Americans knit or crochet. Not because they crave mittens and afghans, but because they like the way knitting feels. Handwork turns out be a powerful antidote for digital overload. Read more
Original Air Date:
December 05, 2015
Previous Airdates:
April 23, 2016
December 06, 2015
April 21, 2018
June 15, 2019
DNA tests are uncovering mixed bloodlines. For African Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? Does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 10, 2018
Previous Airdates:
March 10, 2018
October 20, 2018
June 08, 2019
May 16, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
June 08, 2019
May 02, 2020
Why do we have schools? To build a workforce? To create democratic citizens? Read more
Original Air Date:
May 26, 2018
Previous Airdates:
September 30, 2017
May 26, 2018
June 01, 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
Previous Airdates:
June 01, 2019
March 21, 2020
It doesn't matter whether you grew up going to Coney Island, Six Flags, or Pacific Park — to a kid, all amusement parks are magical. This hour we take a trip to the land of funnel cake, freak shows and fast rides.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 17, 2015
Previous Airdates:
May 17, 2015
August 26, 2017
May 26, 2018
May 25, 2019
Over-tourism is ruining some of our favorite places on earth. Maybe it’s time to think more carefully about where and why we go places.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 25, 2019
Previous Airdates:
May 25, 2019
Bees are endangered, but all over the world, people are stepping up to save them — in backyards, science labs, and the abandoned lots of urban Detroit.Read more
Original Air Date:
July 28, 2018
Previous Airdates:
July 28, 2018
May 18, 2019
July 18, 2020
For the first time since World War II, far-right and neo-fascist groups are winning converts and votes — all over Europe and also here at home. Why is it happening, and can it be stopped?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 24, 2018
Previous Airdates:
February 24, 2018
September 29, 2018
May 18, 2019
March 28, 2020
Cities can be cacophonous and loud, a chaos of sonic discord. If, that is, you don't really focus your listening. People who’ve trained their ears to hear urban soundscapes in new ways hear something different.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 29, 2018
Previous Airdates:
September 29, 2018
May 11, 2019
February 01, 2020
November 21, 2020
"Magical thinking" gets a bad rap these days. It suggests losing your grip on reality or being so gullible that you'll believe anything - from ghosts to miracles. But what if magic isn't pure fantasy? Maybe it's the gateway to wonder. Read more
Original Air Date:
February 17, 2018
Previous Airdates:
February 17, 2018
September 22, 2018
May 11, 2019
October 03, 2020
Whether it’s nail biting or handwashing, most of us have a compulsion we can’t give up. Maybe that’s a good thing?Read more
Original Air Date:
April 23, 2017
Previous Airdates:
April 23, 2017
November 04, 2017
August 11, 2018
May 04, 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
Previous Airdates:
May 04, 2019
February 01, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
April 27, 2019
January 25, 2020
Do you ever crave silence? Maybe some can’t stand to hear themselves thinking, but others go to great lengths to find respite from a blaringly loud world.Read more
Original Air Date:
December 09, 2017
Previous Airdates:
December 09, 2017
August 04, 2018
April 27, 2019
February 22, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
April 20, 2019
January 18, 2020
Do scientists see the world in a different way? Not really. Just be curious.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 16, 2017
Previous Airdates:
April 16, 2017
September 30, 2017
June 30, 2018
April 20, 2019
Milwaukee is a city on water, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, split by the historic Milwaukee River. How did it shape the city's history, politics, culture, and people? We find out in this live broadcast from Turner Hall in Milwaukee.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 05, 2018
Previous Airdates:
May 05, 2018
April 13, 2019
April 18, 2020
Computer scientists are closing in on the next frontier in artificial intelligence — machines that can create. Make art. Write stories. Compose music. The dream is to open the door to a whole new kind of creativity. Read more
Original Air Date:
January 15, 2017
Previous Airdates:
January 15, 2017
November 11, 2017
July 07, 2018
April 13, 2019
November 07, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
April 06, 2019