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dark man in mask

“Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody.”
-- Mark TwainRead more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Many people treat it as a national holiday, more Americans watch it than vote in presidential elections, and it leaves an economic footprint larger than the Gross Domestic Product of 49 countries: it's Super Bowl Sunday. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll go behind the scenes of...Read more

a loner

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Plato argued that poets would be banished from the ideal republic. He said poets are only good for promoting petty emotions, such as anger and lust and love. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, poetry. We'll talk with four-time Slam Poet champion Patricia Smith about how powerful words...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

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

a politically divided map

 Political animosity between the right and the left is off the charts.  Social scientists say we're living in one of the most polarized periods in history and that conservatives and liberals don't just disagree anymore. They hate everything about each other.  It's time to de-...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Atheists have been called the most hated minority in America, but recent atheist manifestos by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris have all made the bestseller list. Have these atheists changed our thinking about religion? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the New...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Noelle Howey got the shock of her life when she was 14.  She found out her dad liked to wear women’s clothes.  In fact, he really wanted to be a woman.  So he re-lived his teenage years ... as a girl, just as Noelle herself hit adolescence.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge stories...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

a workspace with notebook, coffee, laptop and notebook

American companies generate a lot of wealth. But Americans aren't seeing much of it. Media theorist Douglas Rushkoff says that's because today's corporations are obsessed with one thing -- growth. We'll find out why our economy's operating system is broken and how we can fix it, as we rethink...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Her novel “Bel Canto” was a hit so now novelist Ann Patchett is a star.  But back when they were in college, it was her fellow student Lucy Grealy who got treated like a rock star.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at uncommon friendships.  Ann Patchett tells how her...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Born 200 years ago, Charles Darwin was a revolutionary figure, and yet polls show that more than half of all Americans still don't accept his theory of evolution. So, is Darwinian evolution compatible with faith in God? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, what Darwin himself thought...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It’s the longest-running prime-time animated series in TV history...with sixteen seasons and more than 350 episodes. So far.  Not bad for a four-fingered family whose first gig was doing animated segments on a TV variety show.  In this hour of the Peabody Award Winning Program To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Remember what it was like to be a kid, playing outside with friends for hours at a time? Sure, it may just seem like fun and games, but it may also have been invaluable training for life as an adult.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Who would have guessed that number two on the Best Seller List this summer would be an intellectual thriller starring four brainy Princeton seniors and a 15th century manuscript written in code?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, meet the authors of “The Rule of Four.”  Lost and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Chaotic headlines out of Washington, ice melting in Antarctica, world temps rising and global conflict on the rise… it could be worse. It could be Ragnarok. Writer Neil Gaiman retells the ancient Norse myth of the Twilight of the Gods and apocalyptic end of the world in his stunning new...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

Imagine a world where flying robots watch over our borders, assist with search and rescue missions, and survey roads and pipelines. Sounds like science fiction, but in many parts of the country it's a reality. This week, we explore the rise of drones, both as a military tool and a disruptive...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

Kayfabe is an old carny term for fakery. Now it’s the code of honor for professional wrestling. Kayfabe means you never, EVER admit to ANYONE under ANY circumstances that pro wrestling’s fake. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge - the spectacle of professional wrestling. We’ll talk real...Read more

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