Episode Archives

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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine the world as we know it, only without us. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a writer imagines a world reinventing itself without human beings. He sees the New York subway system returning to its watery origins. The re-absorption of carbon into the earth, and endangered...Read more

a man near the Mississippi

The Mississippi River is an American icon. It's a body of water that’s been shaped as much by cultural processes as by environmental ones. From the state lines it draws to its role in literature and the arts, it’s a river that flows deep in the American psyche.

This episode is about the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Charles Monroe-Kane grew up hearing voices in his head. For years he tried to drown them out with potentially lethal quantities of hard drugs and alcohol. Lithium saved his life but coming clean about his past hasn't been easy. How do you admit, as a public radio producer, that for years you had...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Paul Ewald is a cancer researcher. He says we're entering a golden era in cancer treatment based on one emerging idea: most cancers are caused by viruses. It's good news, according to Ewald, who says we'll be able to treat cancer preventively, with vaccines. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It's the sesquicentennial of the Civil War -- it's been 150 years since that epic war began.   Americans will commemorate and remember it from different points of view. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Remembering the Civil War.   We'll talk about soldiers' experiences on the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

If grocery shopping isn’t your thing, here’s a new way to put food on the table: try sticking your arm under a rock until a big ol’ catfish clamps onto to you.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, noodling for catfish and other southern pastimes.  Also, Texas singer Steve Earle’s...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

We explore music and memory in this hour -- Kurt Cobain's lasting impact 20 years after his death; insidious and infectious earworms; and the retro worldly music of Pink Martini.Read more

voter sticker from Arizona

With the elections approaching, candidates and campaigns are working hard to get out the vote. But what would it take to get people politically involved all year round? This hour we explore a few ways, whether it's by using games to make the political process more fun, or mobilizing activists...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a visit with former Israeli commando Uri Avnery, who went on to become an outspoken critic of Israeli policy. He's seen his office bombed. He's been beaten and once barely survived an assassination attempt. Today Avnery is calling for a separate...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The Creative BrainCreativity is a little like obscenity:  You know it when you see it, but you can't exactly define it....unless you're a neuroscientist.  In labs around the...Read more

a preacher on the prairie

You know the earth is round, the sky is up, and your dog loves you.  But HOW do you know those things?  This week, how we form opinions – the psychology and brain chemistry behind our beliefs.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Computers permeate our lives.  They scan our groceries.  They entertain us.  They keep us safe.  But, can they write a poem?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, will your desktop be the next Bard?  And, the life of the original rock n’ roll rebel: the 19th century French poet Arthur...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There’s another September 11th.  On that day thirty years ago, a military coup overthrew Chile’s elected president, Salvador Allende.  Newly declassified documents show the C.I.A.’s extensive involvement in the coup.  On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the Pinochet file.  Also,...Read more

camera

When we’ve had enough of reality, we often seek escape in a movie.   But we don’t have to shut off our brains when we visit the cinema.  Some films actually encourage us to use our minds.  This hour, we explore philosophy through the lens of filmRead more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Remember the good old days? No? Well that's either because you haven't lived them yet, or you need to check the note you left on the bedside table. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we're looking at age and memory with a Nobel Prize winner searching through the mechanics of the brain...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In the recent election, the Tea Party emerged as a major force in American politics.  It's a striking story, when a few years before, the "New York Times" was speculating about the demise of the Republican party.  So, why the game change, after Barack Obama won the White House on a surge of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The past is nebulous - a place no one can go.  When we try to get our bearings there, we often find more than one truth.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll go back to Vietnam with Senator Bob Kerrey.  And, one woman pieces together her past in war-torn Liberia.  Also, paying...Read more

love neon sign

Red roses, chilled champagne, a candlelight dinner for two. Who cares?!?

This is the 21st century. We’ve got 30 million potential dates online. We’ve got every imaginable type of pornography at our fingertips. Odds are each of us could hook up with someone new tonight.

...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Everyone knows what comic books are about, right? But it's not all about people in long underwear hitting each other. This hour on To the Best of Our Knowledge, heroes, anti-heroes, and regular folks strutting their stuff in black and white.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The bitter chill of winter can be hard to take.  But there are people who love all that snow and ice; in fact, some don’t know anything else.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll explore the Far North, from the Inuit of Greenland to the bears of Alaska.  Also, a musical comedy...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Seven hundred million people get their music from the Internet. More than 10 million people own iPods.  Does this mean that compact discs and record companies are going the way of the gramophone and eight-track tapes?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll look at this digital...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

This hour we combine two seemingly unlikely things: food and death. But when you think about it food and death really do go hand-in-hand. From the Last Meal to the new phenomenon of Death Dinners. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Thomas Paine was a working class Englishman without many prospects when he landed in America in 1774. Two years later his pamphlet "Common Sense" laid the foundation for the Declaration of Independence and transformed American politics. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Nicola Griffith wanted to fight back. A lesbian activist well-versed in the martial arts, Griffith knew she had the moves. But when her friend was attacked in a bar, she couldn't bring herself to hurt her attacker. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the deadly, deep-minded lesbian...Read more

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