Standing on 8 feet of ice in Antarctica you can actually feel the call of the Weddell seal below through your boots. The Carthusian monks say you can feel the vow of silence in your soul. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, touching the sound of a monk's silence and a seal's call. And...Read more
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Episode Archives
The celebrated writer Susan Sontag died a few years ago from a brutal form of blood cancer. She fought her illness to the end and didn't want anyone - including her son - to tell her she was dying. Now that son, David Rieff, has written a memoir of his mother's death. And he tackles a difficult...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 24, 2008
The beauty biz is booming. The image conscious consumer can choose between a full-service menu of make-over options: laser facial resurfacing, liposuction, eyelid enhancing, breast implants and even a nip and tuck – wherever. And reality TV makes the whole process downright seductive. But why...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 27, 2008
Music writer Carl Wilson doesn't like Celine Dion's music so why would he write a book about her 1999 hit album, "Let's Talk About Love"? Wilson shares his story of trying to get in touch with his inner Celine Dion fan. And what the experience taught him about musical taste. Also, we'll explore...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 27, 2008
Every good story comes to an end, but in some stories the End is just the beginning. It takes a special kind of writer to create a believable Apocalypse in the pages of a novel, and right now there are a lot of them. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Apocalyptic Fiction – new stories...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 20, 2008
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is. From Bold declarations to bald-faced lies. On To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the audacity of American politics. How did we get from Thomas Jefferson to William Jefferson...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 13, 2008
How far would you go for what you believe? If you're a practicing Jew or Christian, does it matter to you to do everything the Bible tells you to? If you follow a guru, how much of your life are you willing to change? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the strange things that...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 30, 2007
We're into the holiday season. Or, as some might say, the seasonal affective disorder season. Or better yet, the depression season. So have another cocktail, another piece of cake. Take a few pills. It'll be January soon enough. But why are we trying to force happiness anyway? I mean, what's so...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 16, 2007
In biology it's widely accepted, but the study of the evolution of language was once banned by The French Linguistic Institute. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll let it develop, and take a look at the story of French as well. Also, composer Stephen Paulus finds music in and...Read more
Original Air Date:
November 11, 2007
We're familiar with the idea of hearing voices...perhaps our "inner critic" or the voice of a parent or beloved family member. But what if you, or someone you loved, really heard voices? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Daniel B. Smith talks about the phenomenon of auditory...Read more
Original Air Date:
November 04, 2007
Is there an irreconcilable conflict between Islam and the West — a “clash of civilizations”? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll hear prominent Western and Muslim intellectuals debate this idea.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 04, 2007
9/11 changed the American psyche. According to some reports, Americans wanted to eat comfort food, like macaroni and cheese, get married and have babies. They wanted leaders - male leaders - who were strong, who could rescue the female victims, like Jessica Lynch. Or did they? In this hour of To...Read more
Original Air Date:
October 28, 2007
It's been fifty years since Jack Kerouac's groundbreaking novel, "On The Road" was published. But there's still a lot we can learn from the book. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, John Leland on the lessons of "On The Road" and why Kerouac still matters. Also, Joyce Johnson shares...Read more
Original Air Date:
September 09, 2007
There's no question – we crave authenticity. You want "real" Chinese or Mexican food? Then make sure you find a restaurant that makes food the way it's made in the old country. Music lovers are also obsessed with authenticity - from folk and blues to rap...just consider the mantra of hip hop - "...Read more
Original Air Date:
August 19, 2007
In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge we'll talk with Daniel Pinchbeck and hear the latest science on brain plasticity. Who says you can't teach an old brain new tricks?Read more
Original Air Date:
August 05, 2007
"Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you." That's according to Ogden Nash. Saturday night is definitely a special night. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Susan Orlean tells us about some of the Saturday...Read more
Original Air Date:
June 10, 2007
Author, Author
Part Four
Violence, crime, destitution. No so much fun in real life, but in literature they can be divine. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll dive into the world of pulp fiction. From the classic noir...Read more
Original Air Date:
June 10, 2007
When asked what he thought about Western civilization, Gandhi once famously said: I think it's a good idea. Gandhi's form of extreme nonviolence led to the civilized retreat of the British from the Indian sub-continent. But does non-violence still have the right stuff to effect social change in...Read more
Original Air Date:
May 13, 2007
It's been described as many things -- a battlefield, a tender trap, a drug. But according to Rob Sheffield, love is a mix tape. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Sheffield will tell us how music was a big part of his marriage to Renee… and how it helps him to cope with her loss. Also...Read more
Original Air Date:
April 01, 2007
William Faulkner, Earnest Hemingway, Virginia Wolfe: they were unknown writers at some point. But, who are the world’s next literary lions? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the young writer. We'll talk with the next generation of novelists about to come into their own. And, a re-...Read more
Original Air Date:
March 25, 2007
These days, everybody wants to make a movie. And with today's technology, just about anyone can. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the rise of the indie film. Chris Gore talks about "My Big Fat Independent Movie." And we'll meet a former waitress who spent her life-savings to make a...Read more
Original Air Date:
March 18, 2007
Daniel Tammet has an amazing mind. He can recite from memory 22 thousand digits in the number pi. He can learn a foreign language in a week. But he also has trouble with simple directions, like telling the difference between left and right, and he's had to teach himself to laugh at jokes. Tammet...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 11, 2007
Smoking cigarettes is bad for you. Ok, we can all agree on that. So then, why are 20 percent of us still smoking? That's 60 million Americans. And new smokers start every day. Why? It's more than just nicotine. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll explore the sublime pleasures of...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 31, 2006