Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In Japan’s ancient Edo period, the math geek was born – but it’s not who you think!  Samurai, women, children and farmers were among the original creators of the sangaku - Japanese temple geometry.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, math for the gods.  Also, can numbers unlock the...Read more

A peek into Steve's office.

In case it’s not obvious: we LOVE books on TTBOOK. But we’re also incredibly picky about which books we choose for interviews.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

As Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to give the most important speech of her life, listen back to the speech that marked her entrance into public political life, now available for the first time in its entirety. On May 31st, 1969, Hillary Rodham became the first student to give a commencement...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Since the explosion of surfing in the 60s, hanging ten has become one of the coolest sports around.  Today, women, children, and seniors surf their way across peaks of blue water.  Some of them even find the divine along the way.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll find out how...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Americans change their dining room tables about as often as they change their spouses, about one and a half times in their lives.  IKEA isn’t concerned about your marriage, but it does want to change the way you look at your furniture, and yourself.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

a cup filled with change

Nearly 20 million households in America are one paycheck away from losing their homes. For many of these families, keeping a roof over their head means having to choose between the rent or dinner that evening. This hour, we explore how housing insecurity drives poverty in America.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The differences among the world’s various religions are getting a lot more ink these days than the similarities.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge stories of common ground.  “The Life of Pi,” in which an Indian boy finds magic in three different faiths with the help of a Bengal Tiger...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Your mother always told you money can’t buy happiness.  Well, she was wrong.  And economists have calculated the price.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the high cost of happiness.  Also, why we cry: from crocodile tears to the three-hankie movie.  Writer Andrew Solomon’s struggles...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

A restaurant wasn't always a place to eat.  It used to be a thing to eat - a cup of medicinal broth to restore your health.  These days Americans eat almost half their meals out, so how did the modern restaurant evolve?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the rise of the restaurant. ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Scientists are discovering how plants secretly talk to each other.  How smart is your geranium, and what does a tree know?  Today, we're eavesdropping on the secret language of plants.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Every day you pick up the paper and there's another report about something you either should be eating or shouldn't. Omega 3-fatty acids, soy milk, broccoli - good. Trans fats, soda, fast food - bad. What if instead we just ate what made us happy? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

We are connected -- probably connected in ways neither of us has dreamed of. Forget six degrees of separation; on Facebook we have only 3.74. And that's just today.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

East Meets West

Part Four

 

Imagine growing up in Pakistan. Islam is a way of life. You get up every morning at 4:30 to pray. Then when you're 18, you move to the American Midwest, Iowa, to attend college. That's the story Kumail...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq

Part One

 

Iraq. April 6, 2004. This day marked the Marines' heaviest fighting since Vietnam and was the start of the Iraqi insurgency. By the end of the day more than 40 Marines and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ever get the feeling that nothing’s original these days, that every new song that comes out is just a rehash of another? This hour, we’re looking at the fine line between inspiration and imitation, and finding out what separates an original work from a bland copy.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When did "fat" become a four-letter word?  Leaders of the body acceptance movement say it's time to stop shaming fat people.  In this hour, curvy girls and plus-size women talk about the emotional and physical costs of America's toxic obsession with weight and body image. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine sipping tea with a militant Muslim and listening to how he set off a series of bombs in a crowded marketplace, trying to kill as many people as possible.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, an anthropologist describes her visit to a militant training camp in Pakistan. ...Read more

a man becomes a living cereal bowl

What do the opening notes of Beethoven’s “Symphony Number Five” and a rabbit named Oolong balancing a pancake on his head have in common?  They’re both examples of memes – units of culture that are imitated and, as a result, copied from one brain to another.  Are memes the driving...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When’s the last time you took a selfie? You know, a snapshot of yourself that you share online. From feminist selfies to funeral selfies to politicians’ selfies, there’s been hot debate about selfies lately. This week artists, critics and psychologists weigh in.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Say the name "Robert Krulwich" and hard-core public radio listeners start smiling. These days Robert does a lot of science journalism, even though he admits he's no expert. He believes everyone's interested, even though they think it's too hard for them. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

robot lady

China Mieville’s new novel, “Embassytown,” features sentient beings famous for their unique language and a woman who’s a living simile. Ursula K. LeGuin says that “Embassytown” is “a fully-achieved work of art.” We’ll meet China Mieville, as we explore the language of science fiction.  Also...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

For all the amazing discoveries that scientists have made, the cosmos is still full of mysteries - from dark matter to quantum entanglement. Will physicists ever explain the universe, or is it fundamentally unknowable? We explore the frontiers of physics and ponder what it means to live with...Read more

guitar

Prominent Evangelical leaders are divided on the subject of Donald Trump and some have gone so far as to say the soul of their movement is at stake. This week we talk about the perennial tension between faith and politics,and the evolution of the Religious Right -- the movement that shaped the...Read more

castle

Another season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" is beginning, and the History Channel's "Vikings" is racking up ratings. Why are we so interested in the Middle Ages?Read more

Pages