It's not easy in America today to find work that matters, that’s meaningful, and that pays enough to live on. Which is the one thing we don’t talk about. What’s wrong with work — and how do we fix it?Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Original Air Date:
September 01, 2018
Previous Airdates:
September 01, 2018
August 31, 2019
September 05, 2020
“The climate crisis is a crisis of culture and thus of imagination,” says writer Amitav Ghosh. So what changes in our conversation about global warming when we tap into the imaginative worlds of novelists and artists?Read more
Original Air Date:
August 12, 2017
Previous Airdates:
August 12, 2017
February 10, 2018
November 24, 2018
August 31, 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
Previous Airdates:
December 22, 2018
August 24, 2019
August 15, 2020
The virtues of transgressive, subversive, rule-breaking art, both as an aesthetic and as a way of life. Read more
Original Air Date:
June 04, 2017
Previous Airdates:
June 04, 2017
November 17, 2018
August 24, 2019
August 01, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
August 17, 2019
June 27, 2020
Modern anti-depressants have saved a lot of minds. And lives. But what have they done to our bodies? And how do we navigate that trade-off between body and mind?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 24, 2018
Previous Airdates:
March 24, 2018
November 17, 2018
August 17, 2019
April 25, 2020
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
Previous Airdates:
August 10, 2019
We delve into the new science of revulsion.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 28, 2016
Previous Airdates:
August 28, 2016
February 24, 2018
December 01, 2018
August 10, 2019
From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies?
Original Air Date:
August 19, 2017
Previous Airdates:
August 19, 2017
August 18, 2018
August 03, 2019
April 04, 2020
We’ve been taught to ignore, stifle, or just get over anger for many years — but what if we embraced it?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 01, 2018
Previous Airdates:
December 01, 2018
August 03, 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
Previous Airdates:
July 27, 2019
June 27, 2020
A garden, a tree, an apple and a serpent. The story of Adam and Eve is as old as sin. But it’s a lot more than a Bible story.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 05, 2017
Previous Airdates:
September 16, 2017
February 05, 2017
August 25, 2018
July 27, 2019
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
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
Original Air Date:
November 10, 2018
Previous Airdates:
November 10, 2018
July 20, 2019
April 11, 2020
November 28, 2020
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
January 23, 2021
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
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
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
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
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
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
February 06, 2021
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
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
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
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