Episode Archives

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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Are you deadline driven?  Most focused, most productive as “zero hour” approaches?  Well, what about the ultimate end, the true end of the time frame. 

Deadline, indeed. 

How does knowing that you’re going to die affect your life?  In this hour we’re minding mortality.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

American flags are everywhere.  U.S. soldiers are once again heroes.  And some people say it’s downright unpatriotic to criticize the president or the war against terrorism.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the new meaning of patriotism and the crackdown on dissent....Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Science fiction offers us visions of histories we don't know -- histories of the future and the past.  Today, legendary science fiction writers talk about science, utopia, and the imagination.  Plus, the winners of our 3 Minute Futures fiction contest!

...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Robert Olen Butler had a crazy idea.  The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist wanted to show how writers really work.  So he created his own web site, pointed a camera at his word processor, and wrote...every night for three weeks.  Believe it or not, thousands of people tuned in for the these...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

From Soup to Nuts

Part Six

Once upon a time, there was a chef who made the greatest cakes in the world. His name was Antonin Careme. But this is no fairy tale. It’s a true story of a man called the King of the Cooks. In this hour of To the Best...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Say you’re in Vegas playing high-stakes poker.  You haven’t slept in days.  To make matters worse, you’re being stared down by two of the best poker players in the world.  And...you’re bluffing.  So, you bet it all to bring the pot to well over a million dollars.  In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

They can talk to angels, they're intuitive, and their aura is an unusual vivid blue. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll find out about indigo children. The new age movement says they're here to save the world, but modern medicine says they're normal kids with attention deficit...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

These days, we're becoming more and more like corporations. We outsource our individual needs for everything from dating to weight loss. We brand ourselves. We behave like individuals in competition with each other rather than people with an opportunity to collaborate. But it doesn't have to be...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When your country doesn’t live up to its own values, what do you do?  Put your head under the covers or man the barricades?  Fighting for freedom means different things to different people. In this hour,  we talk with some of them -- from Wikileaks’ controversial founder Julian Assange, to the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq

Part Four

 

President Obama says our combat mission in Iraq will end by August 31, 2010. This leaves many unanswered questions. What was our mission in Iraq? Did we succeed? What will...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

America's gone craft crazy. Everyone's knitting, or keeping scrapbooks; throwing pots or wood-working. And naturally, there are new chains of stores that carry all the supplies these crafters need, or think they do. To the Best of Our Knowledge considers what we mean by the word "craft." Does it...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

By today’s medical definition, Brad Pitt is overweight, and Russell Crowe is obese.  The standards are even tougher for women.  But are those extra pounds really that bad?  Maybe it’s time we all lighten up about fat.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why one expert says America’s...Read more

self help books

Every new year brings a fresh start, another chance to remake yourself. We all aspire to be better people, but following through on our goals can often be difficult.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Linus has his security blanket.  Renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks had the Periodic Table of the Elements.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, My Chemical Life.  Oliver Sacks remembers a childhood steeped in chemistry.  Also, Primo Levi survives Auschwitz, through chemistry.  And,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

According to a "New York Times" poll he's the third most famous person in Japan, right behind Hirohito and Bruce Lee. But the truth is he's not even a person, he's a giant green, radioactive lizard named Godzilla. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll explore the history of...Read more

book

We love books. We line them on shelves like totems. We pile them next to our beds in some hope they'll affect our dreams.  For many of us, books are sacred objects. And sometimes, just sometimes, they’re even magical.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Child rape at Penn State. A murderous rampage in Norway.  A new civil war in Sudan. Ruthless drug cartels. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Hate Crimes. Murder. Genocide. What is wrong with us? Are we really that bad?Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Do you remember the first time you saw a piece of art or heard a piece of music that shocked you?  Something you immediately knew your parents would hate?  Remember how good it felt, to like something bad?  In this show, we're talking about shock value — the virtues of transgressive, subversive...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Trayvon Martin’s death and George Zimmerman’s acquittal has sparked a debate over race this country hasn’t seen in many years.  So, whose America is it?  The young black teen in a hoodie?  The illegal immigrant who’s been living here for twenty years?  Muslims?  Native Americans? You?Read more

Barbara Ehrenreich

A collection of all of Barbara Ehrenreich's interviews on "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" over the years. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Betsy Lerner was a chubby kid.  Then an overweight teenager.  Then, a compulsive eater with a secret food life.  Binging and dieting consumed her life – until the day she tried to kill herself.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the story of Betsy Lerner’s struggle with weight.  And,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine that you grow up with dreams of fame and fortune.  You're going to become a world-famous rock star.  The only problem is your childhood friend becomes the world's biggest rock star instead.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Neil McCormick shares his story of being upstaged...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The idea of creative collaboration is a relatively new one.  For centuries, science and culture focused on the self self-expression, self-realization.  But two is the magic number.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll explore creative partnerships.  Joshua Wolf Shenk talks about...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The geography of organized religion in America is changing. Today, more and more Americans identify themselves as spiritual, rather than aligning themselves with a particular religion. They're cobbling together faith and spirituality from sources all over the world, picking and choosing the...Read more

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