Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Want to learn a second or third language?  You don’t have to slave away in a French seminar – it only takes a minute or two to pick up “ob.”  Next time on tob-oo thob-ah bob-est ob-of ob-our knob-ow-lob-edge.  Or should I say To the Best of Our Knowledge, word games, and secret...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There's something magical about making words. Ask any parent what their baby's first word was. Chances are they'll remember. Words are what set us apart from all the other animals. And they're endlessly fascinating. In this hour of To Best of Our Knowledge we'll meet a variety of people...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In 1945 Franklin Roosevelt worked out a deal with the king of Saudi Arabia. America got unlimited access to Saudi Oil, and in return, the U.S. protected the Royal Family against its enemies. Now that special relationship is under fire. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the politics...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It's called the Turing Test, an annual event in which the most advanced computer programs try to fool a panel of judges into mistaking them for real people.    And real people compete to try to win the coveted "Most Human Human Award."  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Contemporary nomads are primitive, tribal people who chase the seasons to fresh water and greener pastures.  They’re not middle aged American women who’ve published scores of children’s books, or not usually.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll meet Rita Golden Gelman,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Albert Einstein died more than half a century ago, but there's still a raging debate over what he thought about religion. He once said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, what exactly did Einstein conclude about...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Good house-keeping used to go hand-in-hand with good citizenship. And remember the phrase, "cleanliness is next to godliness"? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, thoughts on the art of keeping house. We'll talk about the science of dust, meet the Queen of Clutter, and hear novelist...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

American leaders say the fight against Osama bin Laden is not a religious war, but are they right?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the deep divide between fundamentalists and the secular world.  Also, a look at true believers in America - from the Holy Rollers of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In the early 1950's two-year-old Jacqueline Henley in New Orleans became darker.  After the neighbors complained, her aunt turned her over to New Orleans authorities.  A black couple wanted to adopt Jacqueline but -- she had the word “white” stamped on her birth certificate.   Next time on To...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Have you ever heard of Bibleman, the Caped Christian? This evangelical superhero quotes scripture while fighting villains. There's a Bibleman video series, as well as a live show, toys, and a computer game. Bibleman is just part of the seven-billion-dollar Christian pop culture industry. In...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

We’re all seeking something.  What about you? What are you looking for?Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

June 22nd, 1977. Two college women are camping. A man runs over their tent in a pickup truck. Then he attacks the women with an axe. Fifteen years later, one of the women returns to central Oregon to try to solve the crime. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Terri Jentz shares...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Toby Young thought he had it made.  He had a prestigious job at Vanity Fair magazine, a press pass that got him in everywhere, and a suave British accent to boot.  He was poised to take Manhattan.  Then everything went wrong.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, flops, failures and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Most movie stars will do anything to stay in the limelight.  But Debra Winger didn’t care.  Six years ago, she walked out of Hollywood.  She even taped her retirement card above her mirror so she’d see it every day.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, Debra Winger talks about the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine living your whole life in excruciating pain, 24/7, and actually choosing to go without any pain medication.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, one man’s permanent pain.  And is a teenager slashing her arms with a razor a cry for help or an ancient ritual of sacred pain?  Also,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

With the help of a smartphone app, you can now order dinner, hire a driver, or even schedule a housecleaner. Whatever it is you need, there's probably an app for that. But does all this convenience come at a cost? This hour, the rise of the on-demand economy, and how it's changing the nature of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour of To The Best of Our Knowledge, Susan Sontag reflects on how photographs help us experience other people’s pain. And, as the country faces war, we’ll hear stories about our great patriotic songs, and find some comfort in the ancient Sufi poet, Rumi.Read more

goggles

“Gifts make slaves, like whips make dogs” is a saying from Greenland’s Inuit culture.
How do you feel when someone gives you a gift? Grateful? Uncomfortable? Indebted?

Our guests weigh in on how major philanthropy could change the world, and the donors themselves. And one woman's...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Electrons to Enlightenment

Part Five

 

In the real world where we take out the garbage, we sometimes brush up against wonder and awe. We all look for it in different places. Some of us find it in God, like the great mystic poet...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

”My solid pigeon, that drape is a killer-diller, an E-flat Dillinger, a bit of a fly thing all on one page.”  Any idea what that means?  It’s hipster slang for “My, that’s a nice dress you’re wearing.”  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the roots of hipster slang – old movies, pulp...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The Meaning of Life

Part Four

 

Pete Best should have been famous beyond his wildest dreams. He had Ringo's job just months before the Beatles' "Love Me Do" became a smash hit. But he got tossed out of the band and ended up working...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars to try to improve themselves. They buy books and CDs, go to seminars...some even walk over hot coals in their bare feet. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll try to find out if the self-help movement is really helping us.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

beautiful food

Chefs and writers explore the language of food on the plate and on the page. We meet novelists who cook, chefs who write, and a poet of pies.  It's an hour of deliciousness in words and food.Read more

Pages