Nobody wants to fail. But maybe we’ve got the idea of failure all wrong. Maybe it's not something to avoid, but something to strive for. . Read more
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Episode Archives
Men are not really from Mars and women are not really from Venus. But there are definite differences between the two genders. Norah Vincent was curious about what a man's life was like. So she spent eighteen months undercover...as a man. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Norah...Read more
Thirteen-year-old Ava Bigtree is having a difficult time. Her mother has just died and business is down at her family’s gator-wrestling theme park, Swamplandia! So begins Karen Russell’s critically-acclaimed debut novel, “Swamplandia!” In this hour of TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, we’ll meet...Read more
Maybe you can sing like Jennifer Lopez or Ricky Martin. If not, looking like them is the next best thing. Right now, it’s never been cooler to be Hispanic. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the Latino Revolution. From the rise of Latino-chic to the spicy secretes of salsa. ...Read more
Celebrate Midsummer's Eve with a visit to the fey folk. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll have an hour filled with stories of changelings and other-kin, Fairy Courts and green children. We'll conjure up a world of enchantment, but beware! There are no Tinkerbells in the world....Read more
From the minute we can pick up a crayon, most of us want to draw something - a house, a tree, the sun. As we get older we aim for nuance and sophistication - landscapes and shadows, faces and expressions. A gifted few will achieve something greater - they’ll make art. On this hour of To the...Read more
Science and the Search for Meaning: Five Questions, Part Two: What Does Evolution Want?
If there’s one strand of evolutionary theory that sticks in the craw of nearly every religious believer, it’s the idea that human beings are just an evolutionary accident. But...Read more
Atheists are finally coming out of the closet, and in some cases denouncing religion. Others still crave a sense of the sacred even though they don’t believe in God. Do atheists have something to learn from religion? Why do so many people call themselves "spiritual but not religious"? And...Read more
Today's entertainment industry is shrinking the gap between real life and fantasy. Popular television shows like Big Brother turn ordinary life into an engaging drama. Virtual worlds like Second Life give users a chance to recreate themselves with the click of a button. But how real is...Read more
The pint-sized wizard harry Potter has conquered the book world, and it’s not just kids who love him. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, what’s behind Harry Potter’s popularity. Also, acclaimed author Katherine Paterson (pronounced Patterson) on the emotional lives of...Read more
Nature, red in tooth and claw. That line from Tennyson's poem still strikes a chord when we contemplate the natural world. Today, there's a divide in how we view nature. On the one hand, we swing through it like a playground, on the other, we're forced to step back to allow for nature's power in...Read more
“The bearded lady/tried a jar/she’s now/a famous movie star/Burma-shave.” Jingles like that could be found on signs across America’s highways between the 1930's and the 1950's. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story behind the legendary Burman-Shave advertising campaign. Also...Read more
We’re all a little bit wild inside, but how often do we let it out? If you've been spending too much time indoors in front of a screen, maybe it's time for a dose of the real thing. This week,stories of people who found strength, wonder and joy by heading into the wild.Read more
Do African-Americans believe Jesse Jackson speaks for them? A resounding 72% between the ages of 18 and 45 say "No." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the battle between the Civil Rights generation and the Hip-Hop generation. We'll speak to young blacks about who does speak for them...Read more
As Western economies struggle, some Eastern economies are booming. India and China now threaten to surpass the West as economic – and political – superpowers. But it’s not just politics that’s changing in South Asia. Across the region, centuries-old religious traditions are also entering a...Read more
Plugged into devices, fixated on screens, their world muted by headphones jammed in their ears, college students on campus in Ann Arbor can seem oblivious to risk. Poet Laura Kasischke marvels at their fearlessness in...Read more
In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Simon Winchester tells the remarkable story of Krakatoa. The volcanic eruption spewed chunks of land 25 miles into the air. The blast was heard three thousand miles away. And it kicked up monstrous tidal waves that killed nearly forty thousand...Read more
An early spring thaw is good news if you live in a snow belt state. But it's not just the snow mound at the bottom of the driveway that's melting right now – the polar ice caps are melting too. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, stories from the lands of snow and ice. What do we...Read more
American citizens worry about suicide bombers on airplanes, but intelligence analysts say the real threat today is in cyberspace. Cyber attacks on American companies and military installations are on the rise. Could terrorist hackers take down America's power grid? Or financial networks. In...Read more
When Meg Gaines was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her doctor told her to go home and think about the quality, not the quantity, of her days. Instead she grabbed him by the bow-tie and said “I don’t think you understand. I intend to live.” Today Meg Gaines is helping other cancer patients...Read more
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
What makes a great school? Is it the quality of teaching, class size, or the curriculum? When it comes to school reform, everyone seems to have an opinion. Today, we're rethinking schools and the way we teach.Read more