It's been said that "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." But the rock critic Robert Palmer didn't have any trouble. Palmer wrote effortlessly about all kinds of music – rock and roll, blues, jazz and world music. The fact that Palmer was also a musician didn't hurt. In...Read more
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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
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
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
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
As the Zika virus continues to make headlines, consensus is slowly growing among scientists that it’s showdown time for the mosquito. Time to marshal the technology to wipe them off the face of the earth. Which seems pretty extreme. Doesn’t it?
So, should we bio-...Read more
Physicist Lawrence Krauss says science can finally explain the age-old mystery: How can something come out of nothing? Or, to be more specific, how can the Big Bang pop out of empty space? Krauss also set off an intellectual brawl by saying theologians and philosphers have nothing...Read more
Are you planning to see the world this summer? Or enjoy the frugal pleasure of a stay-cation? Remember, the best travel isn't about miles logged – it's about minds expanded. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, travel stories. Travel guru Rick Steves develops an unexpected passion for...Read more
Uncovering the real story in Iraq is getting harder. Western journalists have become targets, just like American soldiers. And reporters now take elaborate precautions to avoid being killed or kidnaped. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the hazards of war reporting...Read more
John Brown was a terrorist, a man who led a raid in Kansas that butchered five unarmed men. He was also, arguably, of the few white people in 1850s America who was totally color blind. According to a new book he was "the man who killed slavery and sparked the Civil War." So, was John Brown a "...Read more
Where’s James Bond when you need him? You have to wonder about the spy business after the dubious information that was used to justify America’s war against Iraq. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an argument for revealing all the secrets to the public. And, a look back at Anthony...Read more
Creativity 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
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
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
Of all the days in the life of Nelson Mandela - the days in jail, awaiting sentence and his election in 94 - one day stood out as the most nerve-wracking. The day of the Rugby World Cup in 1995 - South Africa versus New Zealand. But it was much more than a sports match. It was the chance to...Read more
Filmmaker Ken Burns calls the national parks "America's best idea." We'll take you to Yosemite,Denali and Carlsbad Caverns. We'll also explore some forgotten parts of our history: how the "buffalo soldiers" helped create America's first parks, and why the very idea of protecting nature has...Read more
You’re part of the “Freedom Movement,” - a group of anti-globalization anarchists. You’re blowing up security stations to fight “The Corporation.” Sounds like a scene out of Seattle during the World Trade Organization protests of a few years ago, doesn’t it? But it’s not. It’s...Read more
Science and the Search for Meaning: Five Questions, Part 3: Does the Soul Still Matter?
For centuries, we’ve been told the soul is what makes each of us unique. It’s why we have moral responsibility. And it’s the part of us that lives on after we die. ...Read more
Salman Rushdie's new novel is called "The Enchantress of Florence." It's a tale of two cities, consisting of stories tucked inside stories tucked inside stories...along the lines of Scheherazade's stories of "One Thousand and One Nights." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Salman...Read more
You know those end of the year lists? Best books, movies, music and so on? This hour, To the Best of Our Knowledge shares the best interviews from 2015. Plus a booklist or two.Read more
Who did the press hail as the conqueror of the air? Alberto Santos-Dumont, who flew around the Eiffel Tower while Jules Verne and H.G. Wells watched and wondered. He even tied his “personal airship” to the lamp posts outside restaurants in Paris, and worked to revolutionize transportation. ...Read more
In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Russia and China. They were the two Communist giants. Now each is carving out a new future. By most accounts, China is doing it better. It’s still an authoritarian state, but the economy if booming. And Russia? Well, it’s capitalism’s wild...Read more
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
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