It started as a joke. Danny Wallace put a small ad in a London newspaper. It simply said “Join me” and invited people to send a passport-sized photo. The only problem was, no one knew what they were joining. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of Danny Wallace’s “Join Me”...Read more
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Episode Archives
"Everyone is on the Internet but they're not all talking with each other. There are groups upon groups out there, but they don't talk to one another. So while the Internet brings everyone into a share space, it does not necessarily bring them together." -- David LynchRead more
In the early 1950's two-year-old Jacqueline Henley in New Orleans became darker. After the neighbors complained, her aunt turned her over to New Orleans authorities. A black couple wanted to adopt Jacqueline but -- she had the word “white” stamped on her birth certificate. Next time on To...Read more
TTBOOK staffers share some of our favorite interviews and shows produced by our favorite Canadian. Read more
Do you think your memory is a record of what actually happened? Chances are, it's not. New scientific findings show that with every act of remembering, our brains...Read more
Wallace Stegner put it this way. “National Parks are the best idea we ever had.” This weekend, the National Park Service celebrates its birthday by making the parks free for a day. We're celebrating with an hour on the history and politics of national parks. And we'll meet some folks whose...Read more
Does Western aid to impoverished African countries really help? Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo says no: it just lines the pockets of corrupt leaders and creates a culture of dependency. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the ethics of foreign aid, and hear why...Read more
Michael Chabon's a pretty successful writer of literary fiction. As far as he's concerned, literary fiction is just another genre, with its own set of conventions. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we get into the fight over genre fiction. Agatha Christie's grandson says the...Read more
Suppose you drop a family photograph on the subway, is it still yours? Not if Brian Dunn finds it. He collects lost photos and makes them his own. I’m Jim Fleming. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge “Who owns what?” If there are copyrights are there copy “...Read more
In this hour of To The Best of Our Knowledge, Susan Sontag reflects on how photographs help us experience other people’s pain. And, as the country faces war, we’ll hear stories about our great patriotic songs, and find some comfort in the ancient Sufi poet, Rumi.Read more
”My solid pigeon, that drape is a killer-diller, an E-flat Dillinger, a bit of a fly thing all on one page.” Any idea what that means? It’s hipster slang for “My, that’s a nice dress you’re wearing.” In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the roots of hipster slang – old movies, pulp...Read more
For decades, men have written about their first sexual experiences, but there’s almost no literature like that for women. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, memoirist Mary Karr reflects on her first kiss and other rites of passage for girls. Also, Jonathan Kozol describes...Read more
“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”
-- Mark TwainRead more
If there's one sweeping societal change that we've failed to put our finger on, it may be this: more people than ever before in America are living alone. And loving it. And, far from being dysfunctional neurotics - people who live alone are happy, socially involved and solvent. In...Read more
The Meaning of Life
Part Four
Pete Best should have been famous beyond his wildest dreams. He had Ringo's job just months before the Beatles' "Love Me Do" became a smash hit. But he got tossed out of the band and ended up working...Read more
From Soup to Nuts:
Part Two
This may be the century when Americans forget how to cook. We're just too busy. Take-out's too easy. And, who needs to cook when you can buy ready-made...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
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
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
It's been more than four decades since the Civil Rights movement ended racial segregation in America. Yet few would say African-Americans are now fully integrated – or assimilated. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, African American writers talk about race, and how black history –...Read more
Who's calling your shots? Who's in charge of your thinking, your perceptions? Maybe it's simple. Your mind is the boss, then your brain runs your body. Everything's fine. Until it's not and you find yourself confronting depression or autism or a head injury that leaves you with brain damage....Read more