Episode Archives

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An independent woman.

For the first time in American history, young women are choosing independence over marriage.  Single women today outnumber married women and have more political power than ever before.  It's what Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger and other feminist icons predicted.  This hour, how...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

A police officer's shooting of a young, unarmed Afrian American man here in Madison joins a long list of national tragedies.  So we devote this hour to conversations about race and justice.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Next time you catch an old episode of the Flying Nun, you may want to pay attention.  Because today’s convents are closing.  The average nun is seventy years old, and even devout sisters often have to bite their tongues when they talk about the pope.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Violence may be a national scourge, but an awful lot of people devour shoot-‘em-up movies and video games.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the seduction of violence.   Why, for instance, four and five-year-old children love fantasy games where they kill each other.  Also, the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In the history of near-fame experiences, one story stands out.  Pete Best was the Beatles’ drummer just a few months before “Love Me Do” became a smash hit.  His replacement, Ringo Starr, became a huge star.  And Pete Best?  He worked for decades as a civil servant in Liverpool.  In this hour of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Do you believe in social progress and the power of networks to solve problems?  Steven Johnson does.  And he's coined a new term for himself and others like  him -- the peer progressive movement.   We'll learn all about it as we explore how digital networks are changing our lives.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Thirteen-year-old Ava Bigtree is having a difficult time.  Her mother has just died and business is down at her family’s gator-wrestling theme park, Swamplandia!   So begins Karen Russell’s critically-acclaimed debut novel, “Swamplandia!”  In this hour of TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, we’ll meet...Read more

woman on a mountain

There's been a hot spotlight shining down on women this past year.  From allegations of a war on women to the debate about reproductive rights, it's hard to tell how far women have come and just where they're going. So, what does feminism look like today? The first woman governor...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

On this 4th of July weekend we ask a simple question: Who is a patriot?Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Maybe you can sing like Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin.  If not, looking like them is the next best thing.  Right now, it’s never been cooler to be Hispanic.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the Latino Revolution.  From the rise of Latino-chic to the spicy secretes of salsa. ...Read more

discount stores

There’s a powerful new voting bloc in America. They’re white, working class, and they live in places that have been left behind. We'll talk with "Hillbilly Elegy" author J.D. Vance, and country music star Brandy Clark joins us in the studio to play some music and talk about her hometown.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Graphic novelist Neil Gaiman has a talent for creating strange and fantastic worlds.  His “Sandman” comic books helped spawn the Goth movement, and with characters called Dream and Death, he created a new mythology.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll visit with Neil Gaiman at...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

As America endures the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the hardships our grandparents and great grandparents lived through are suddenly relevant again. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, stories from the Great Depression – advice from the generation that survived...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Cameron Sinclair has something to say to architects out there: design like you give a damn. The founder of Architects for Humanity says the houses and office buildings we build today will literally shape the world our children inherit. So give a damn. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Eighty per cent of Americans say they believe in heaven. But when they're asked to describe it, many are at a loss for words. Do they think that there's another universe in the sky or do they believe that heaven is something more abstract and metaphorical? We'll explore our enduring fascination...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Nature, red in tooth and claw. That line from Tennyson's poem still strikes a chord when we contemplate the natural world. Today, there's a divide in how we view nature. On the one hand, we swing through it like a playground, on the other, we're forced to step back to allow for nature's power in...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

“The bearded lady/tried a jar/she’s now/a famous movie star/Burma-shave.”  Jingles like that could be found on signs across America’s highways between the 1930's and the 1950's.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story behind the legendary Burman-Shave advertising campaign.  Also...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

If you ever find yourself on a dark country road in Ireland, bring along some salt, red thread, and a cross.  That’s what you’ll need to protect yourself from “the other crowd.”  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the fairies of Ireland.  They’re magical, vengeful, and still alive and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Calling Lynne Cox a swimmer is like calling Mohammed Ali a tough guy.  At age fourteen, she swam to Catalina Island from mainland California.  At eighteen she swam between the islands of New Zealand.  Years later, with miles of hard swims behind her, she turned her eye to the unthinkable - the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

David Rothenburg is a philosopher and a jazz clarinetist, who also loves birds.  So one day he sat down in the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and started playing music.  Lo and behold, a white-crested laughing thrush started singing with him, riffing on the tunes he played.  Since then Rothenburg...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Poet Nick Lantz has a darkly satirical take on American culture. Lately, he’s been thinking about political spin and how politicians speak. In this interview—the third in our series ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

America is in trouble. The decline of the dollar, climate change and the ugly math of Social Security and national debt are just a handful of the challenges facing the next generation. And who's to blame for the current mess? Baby Boomers - according to a growing movement, pitting one generation...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Scientists have proven what pet owners already knew - cuddling with your dog or cat is good for you – and for your pet.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, keeping animals well, and how they return the favor.  From gorilla conservation and eco-tourism to the dilemmas posed...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine a world where flying robots watch over our borders, assist with search and rescue missions, and survey roads and pipelines. Sounds like science fiction, but in many parts of the country it's a reality. This week, we explore the rise of drones, both as a military tool and a disruptive...Read more

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