Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Politics has such a bad reputation it’s a wonder anyone would run for office.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear from a few people who are out to transform the way we do politics.  Also activist Si Kahn talks about the art of the political song.  And we’ll look back at one...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Apocalyptic thinking is everywhere, from predictions about Christian “end times” to the 2012 Mayan prophecy about the end of the world.  So what’s going on?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk with renowned religious historian Elaine Pagels about the lasting impact of the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

For centuries Western travelers have felt the pull of exotic places.  Tibet has always held a special fascination.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, is the Western romance with Tibet grounded in reality, or based on some notion of Shangri-La?  Also a look at Bruce...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

"Every time a bell rings, an Angel gets its wings." At this time of year you're likely to hear that line over and over again, as Jimmy Stewart plows through "It's a Wonderful Life." But he's not the only one who's seen an angel - in or out of the movies. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

If chocolate be the food of love, eat on!  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why chocolate may be the next big health food.  It's our Valentine’s Day special:  two best-selling romance writers share tricks of the trade.  And, listeners share their true stories of love at first sight...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There are many ways to live dangerously. Sure, you can take part in a death defying feat like skydiving, but living dangerously also sometimes involves taking intellectual risks, opening up, and being honest with yourself. To the Best of Our Knowledge recently travelled to Salt Lake City to...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, choosing the life you want.  Colette’s biographer talks about how the great French writer stayed saucy and sexually active into old age.  Kay Redfield Jamison takes a look at the end of life - a view of the suicide epidemic.  And...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Maybe it hits you the first time you get a mailing from AARP – all of a sudden, getting older isn't just about other people. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we spend time with some people who've chosen to face the rest of their lives in some unusual ways. Poker columnist James...Read more

projector

Cult film director John Waters has been described as the "Pope of filth" and the "King of Trash."  To put it mildly, his films have, well, transgressed the boundaries of good taste.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, pushing the limits in film with John Waters.  We'll...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What makes a scientific revolution?  Thomas Kuhn said it’s when a new paradigm blows the old scientific model out of the water.  Fifty years later, we examine Kuhn's legacy, and talk with iconoclastic scientist Rupert Sheldrake, who says science is mired in untested dogmas.  Also, stories of two...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It’s the only musical instrument that’s played without being touched – the theremin.  You’ve probably heard its eerie sound in movies like Hitchcock’s “Spellbound” or on the Beach Boys’ hit “Good Vibrations.”  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the intriguing life of the instrument’s...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Let boys be boys. It's a hard thing to do today with concern over violence in schools and the seeming violence of boys' play. But what if, thanks to our culture of fear, boys are slipping through the cracks? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we take a look at the inner world of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Roast pig may look delicious on the holiday table, but you might pass on the pork if you met Piglet.  That famous New Zealand pig swam in the ocean each day, loved the violin and, as the story goes, sang to the moon.  But she was more than an exceptional pet.  To one man she was an  ambassador...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Attention all readers of fiction! This is something you really want to hear. To the Best of Our Knowledge devotes itself to some of the great reads of the last year. Colum McCann talks about his National Book Award-winning novel, and we'll hear from fellow finalist Jayne Anne Phillips. We'll...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It’s Art & Craft week at TTBOOK, but we’re not gluing macaroni to cardboard. 

From the halls of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, to MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms; from a craft studio on the coast of Maine, to "outsider artists" at the Venice Biennale... w...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Has the news of government surveillance gotten you thinking that Big Brother is watching? What can we do to protect our information, online and in the real world? We examine privacy - what it means and how it's changing.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The most mysterious musical instrument in the world lives inside your body.  Your voice.  You can’t see it, can’t touch it, and yet – it expresses all of who you are. On this episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll explore they mysteries of the voice.  We’ll hear from soprano Renee...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ever wonder what it’s like behind on the scenes on TTBOOK?  Being in studio while the energy and imagination of Sherman Alexie bounces off the wall? Or watching E.O. Wilson, one of the world’s preeminent biologists unfold the beauty of his mind and the ideas that keep him in love with the world...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

"Let me say this as plainly as I can" President Obama said recently, "By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." Obama's plan will bring home some 150,000 troops. But what are they coming home to? Their divorce rate is triple the national average. Alcoholism, four times the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

As a boy in northwest Ohio during the 1930's, Donald Richie spent a lot of time watching movies about exciting new worlds.  So it seems only fitting that Donald Richie went on to live in a different world.  For the past 50 years he’s lived in Japan, and has established a reputation as one the of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Do you believe in magic?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk with some people who do.  Join us for a conversation with America’s favorite witch – Starhawk.  And uncover your own inner wizard!  What Merlin, Dumbledore and Gandalf have to teach us all about living a life...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

According to George Bernard Shaw, the seven deadly sins are food, clothing, firing, rent, taxes, respectability and children.  This time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll explore the more traditional Seven Deadly Sins.  Musician Joe Jackson will tell us how lust, gluttony and the other sins...Read more

Pages