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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

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

Are humans innately violent? If you stripped the civilization out of us, just how bad would we be?Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

On February 13th, 1945 Kurt Vonnegut and other American POWs were hiding in a cellar during the firebombing of Dresden.  They were remarkably lucky, as 135,000 people died that night.  During the bombing one soldier said, “I wonder what the poor people are doing tonight?”  Nobody laughed but, as...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

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

He was the most surprising Booker Prize winner in years.  DBC Pierre had been a con man and a drug addict before he became a writer.  Now he’s won one of the world’s great literary prizes.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk with some award-winning writers including DBC...Read more

person at chalkboard

Thousands of the world's languages are disappearing in the wake of globalization. And because language is the DNA of culture, a lost language is a lost culture. Today, stories from the frontlines of the language revitalization movement. Also, Dr. Larry Brilliant's improbable journey from...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

Doug Gordon heads off to host and produce "Beta" on WPR Next.

TTBOOK staffers share some of our favorite interviews and shows produced by our favorite Canadian. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Couples know the frightening statistic: 50 percent of today’s marriages will fail.  And the real victims are the children.  As they grow up they are more likely to be aggressive or depressed, end up in mental health hospitals, or get divorced themselves.  In this hour of To the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

"Music can change the world." It's been said so many times - I wonder if it means anything anymore. Can it? Really, can music change the world? Can a song bring about peace? Or, overthrow a government? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll listen in on the soundtrack to war and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

George Orwell wrote "1984" in response to two of the reigning ideologies of his day - fascism and communism. Does his dystopian story of Big Brother and Doublethink still matter today? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk with actor Tim Robbins, who recently staged a...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ok, you choose: endure traditional strict religious strictures and a life of hard labor or, fully indulge in the pleasures of today? Amish youth are given that choice. When they turn 16 they're let loose to experience all the temptations the world. Then, they have to decide between the world and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Good house-keeping used to go hand-in-hand with good citizenship. And remember the phrase, "cleanliness is next to godliness"? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, thoughts on the art of keeping house. We'll talk about the science of dust, meet the Queen of Clutter, and hear novelist...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Woody Allen is an Academy Award-winning film-maker and screenwriter, but he's notoriously media-shy. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Eric Lax on talking to Woody Allen over 36 years. Also, we'll explore how independent screenplays work.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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Elephants mourning their dead.  Chimpanzees dying of grief.  And the everyday joy of a dog at play.  Biologist Marc Bekoff says the evidence is all around us, if we learn how to see it.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the case for animal emotions.  And we’ll spend some time with a...Read more

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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

Film on radio? Why not? This hour, join us LIVE from the historic Orpheum Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, for a special “Wisconsin Film Festival edition” of To The Best of Our Knowledge for film on radio. We’ll talk Dogme with “Italian for Beginners” director, Lone Scherfig. Also, the anti-...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The world of plants can be a dangerous place. Gorgeous monkshood, with stalks of purple blooms can cause delusions and death. A plump cashew can make you miserable if it isn't steamed properly. And aconite, almost indistinguishable from parsley can cause paralysis and stop your beating heart...Read more

an open door

Well we made it through the anticipated apocalypse. 

Now, to say, "Goodbye old year; hello, new."
 
To help us begin again, we’ve got a collection of stories about putting challenges behind us. About transformation. About coming through hard times into...Read more
To The Best Of Our Knowledge

One of this year's big novels is Colson Whitehead's sweeping historical novel, "The Underground Railroad." It's an unflinching look at the experience of slavery, inspired by the classic slave narratives. And being a sci-fi geek, Whitehead also weaves in bits of fantasy, creating an alternative...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The collapse of the twin towers gave birth to a strange new world.  It was a city of fire and dust, rubble crunching under foot and eerie underground rivers.  William Langewiesche  was the only journalist with unrestricted access to Ground Zero.  What he found there was startling, natural, and...Read more

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