Is it any wonder boys don’t read? Too often they’re assigned the books their female teachers loved. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the man behind the GuysRead website says forget “Little House on the Prairie” and bring on Stinky Cheese Man! And we’ll hear what happened when the...Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
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
There’s no English translation for the Dutch word “Gezellig."
Are there things that can never be understood, expressed or experienced outside their home culture?
We’re wandering the unmarked maps of cultural translation!Read more
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
Imagine a country where Islam is the dominant religion but Christians, Jews and Muslims still live together peacefully – a place where philosophers from all three religions talk and debate openly. Well, there was once such a culture in the Middle Ages. For centuries, Al Andalus was the beacon of...Read more
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
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
From Soup to Nuts:
Part Three
Meat and Potatoes isn't just what's for dinner. Meat and Potatoes is a way of life. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, food that sticks to your ribs. We'll get into the science of the French fry and...Read more
The average American spends more time on Facebook than with their pets or exercising -- and that's not counting Twitter, Instagram, or Vine. We're more connected than ever these days, but at what cost?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
Today most of what we read is on a screen. So here's the question: Is there something different -- something better -- about reading a physical book? Or does it matter? We explore slow reading, e-reading, bibliotherapy and a novel that unfolds within another novel.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
Have you ever heard of Bibleman, the Caped Christian? This evangelical superhero quotes scripture while fighting villains. There's a Bibleman video series, as well as a live show, toys, and a computer game. Bibleman is just part of the seven-billion-dollar Christian pop culture industry. In...Read more
Vaclav Havel is President of the Czech Republic, but for many around the world, he's known as the poet in blue jeans, the dissident playwright who inspired a Velvet Revolution. On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, President Havel talks art and politics. And, we'll go back to when the...Read more
Barbara Moss needed a new face. Her mouth was so deformed she could pop a baby’s fist between her teeth and out again without opening her jaw. As a girl, she prayed for just a little bit of beauty. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, one woman discovers her true face. Also, why men...Read more
June 22nd, 1977. Two college women are camping. A man runs over their tent in a pickup truck. Then he attacks the women with an axe. Fifteen years later, one of the women returns to central Oregon to try to solve the crime. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Terri Jentz shares...Read more
It's not quite the Manhattan that we're familiar with. "The New York Times" is available in a "War-Free Edition" and there are rumors of an escaped tiger on the prowl in the Upper East Side. This is the setting of Jonathan Lethem's critically-acclaimed new novel, "Chronic City." On this To the...Read more
Anne D. LeClaire was walking along the beach on Nantucket Sound when she heard a voice. The voice said, "Sit in silence." LeClaire turned to look but there was no one there. Anne D. LeClaire talks about this experience seventeen years ago and how it inspired her to remain silent for two days...Read more
The Mississippi River is an American icon. It's a body of water that’s been shaped as much by cultural processes as by environmental ones. From the state lines it draws to its role in literature and the arts, it’s a river that flows deep in the American psyche.
This episode is about the...Read more
Would you recognize a genius if you met one? We’ll introduce you to four geniuses – or at least four people who just landed MacArthur “genius" awards: classical pianist Jeremy Denk, jazz musician Vijay Iyer, fiction writer Karen Russell and astrophysicist Sara Seager. Also, practical tips on...Read more
A year and a half ago Gary Wolkstein’s doctor told him he had cancer of the spine, that it was terminal, and that he had just a few months left to live. Today Gary’s in fine health. Not, it wasn’t a miracle cure, it was a mistake. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...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
What would you do if you found yourself in the presence of murderous evil? Would you sell out to survive, or would you resist and try to hang onto your values? For how long? Maybe you reject the whole concept of evil. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll meet some people who aren't...Read more
Before there was Wikipedia… Before there was Facebook and Twitter… there was Ward Cunningham. The computer programmer who invented the first wiki, back in 1995. Cunningham also did something even more radical – he didn’t patent his invention. He passed up billions of dollars of potential...Read more