Do you have a tattoo? One in five American adults do. It seems there are tattoo parlors everywhere. What’s most popular? Quotes from great works of literature. "So it goes."Read more
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Episode Archives
Thirty years ago, the Iranian Revolution rocked the Middle East and upended the country's cozy relationship with America. We'll take stock of Iran three decades later as we examine the country and it's culture through music, film and politics. Also Salman Rushdie reflects back on "The Satanic...Read more
Can you imagine spending a week at an airport? By choice? Alain de Botton did exactly that. He tells us about it, as we explore airports and air travel.Read more
After World War Two, existentialism was all the rage in the U.S.A. College students rebelled by smoking European cigarettes and wearing black clothes and berets. Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus felt that Americans were too self-confident and superficial to accept this dark, brooding...Read more
Patti Smith revolutionized rock'n'roll in the Seventies by fusing poetry with rock music. Now, she's written a remarkable memoir about her emergence as an artist, and her friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. In this hour of To the Best of our Knowledge, we'll talk with Patti Smith...Read more
Patty Loveless is a coal miner’s daughter. And a country singer, just like her distant cousin Loretta Lynn. When Patty Loveless’ father contracted black lung disease the family had to move to Louisville, Kentucky – so Patty’s dad could receive medical attention. In this hour of To the Best of...Read more
You may recall the story of six young people who reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary in Medjugorje. Journalist Randall Sullivan talked to one of the visionaries and concluded she believes what she was reporting. But where does that leave us? Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
In case it’s not obvious: we LOVE books on TTBOOK. But we’re also incredibly picky about which books we choose for interviews.Read more
Imagine losing your lover, mother, stepfather and sister in less than eight months. That's what happened to country music singer/songwriter Carlene Carter. Her mother is June Carter Cash and her stepfather is Johnny Cash. Carlene Carter drew on all of this loss and tragedy to create a new album...Read more
It will go down as one of the most amazing archeological discoveries in history. Homo naledi - a new species of human-like fossils found in South Africa - is already rewriting the story of human evolution. These 15 skeletons are the largest cache of pre-human bones ever found. But so far,...Read more
Your mother always told you money can’t buy happiness. Well, she was wrong. And economists have calculated the price. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the high cost of happiness. Also, why we cry: from crocodile tears to the three-hankie movie. Writer Andrew Solomon’s struggles...Read more
Any day now, the United States will welcome the three hundred millionth American. He or she may be a new born baby, or someone who comes across the border – legally or illegally. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll look at America’s changing demographics, and consider the price...Read more
As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to give the most important speech of her life, listen back to the speech that marked her entrance into public political life, now available for the first time in its entirety. On May 31st, 1969, Hillary Rodham became the first student to give a commencement...Read more
The US is in the middle of its longest and most expensive war to date. Not the war in Iraq – the war on drugs. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge – we’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars fighting for a “drug-free” America, yet heroin, cocaine and other illegal drugs are cheaper...Read more
Jonathan Kaplan is a field doctor who travels to war zones around the world. He treats people who’ve been shot or maimed. Many of his patients die on the operating table. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge what war looks like from the inside. Also singer/songwriter Steve Earle...Read more
Nearly 20 million households in America are one paycheck away from losing their homes. For many of these families, keeping a roof over their head means having to choose between the rent or dinner that evening. This hour, we explore how housing insecurity drives poverty in America.Read more
What we eat can often say a lot about us. But why do we consider certain foods more appealing than others? In this hour, we look a the trends and tastemakers who shape our feelings about food.Read more
Rose O’Neal Greenhow was the Pamela Harriman of her day - the “hostess with the mostess” in Washington D.C. But Rose ran a Confederate spy ring out of her house. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we get close to some brazen women of American history and popular culture. And we’ll...Read more
Democracy is one of those rubbery words. We kind of know what it means. But do we really? It’s voting and elections, but it’s much, much more than that. Democracy has inspired The Velvet Revolution and the Arab Spring. It encouraged the Suffragists and the Civil Rights Movement. It stirred the...Read more
Some people think they just can’t do math, but it turns out our brains are hard-wired for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We’re born with a numbers sense. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge celebrating our mathematical minds. Also, the natural history...Read more
Japan has a “slow life” movement. Italy has a “slow cities” movement. Spain has a network of siesta salons. And Americans? 10 to 15 million of us now meditate or do yoga. Is it possible the world is finally ready to slow down? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge a look at the...Read more
The Buena Vista Social Club made history as the top-selling record in world music. It also put Cuban music on center stage, and sparked a brisk tourist trade to Cuba. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll talk with Ry Cooder, the mastermind behind Buena Vista Records. Also, why...Read more
Back in 1933 novelist James Hilton wrote of an earthly paradise hidden in the Himalayas. He called it Shangri-La. But Hilton didn't invent the idea. Myths about Shangri-La go back centuries, and they pop up in a variety of places from Tibet to Kashmir. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
The most mysterious musical instrument in the world lives inside your body. Your voice. You can’t see it, can’t touch it, and yet – it expresses all of who you are. On this episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll explore they mysteries of the voice. We’ll hear from soprano Renee...Read more