“The bearded lady/tried a jar/she’s now/a famous movie star/Burma-shave.” Jingles like that could be found on signs across America’s highways between the 1930's and the 1950's. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story behind the legendary Burman-Shave advertising campaign. Also...Read more
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Episode Archives
Television used to be formulaic. Today, it’s the best gig around. We examine the explosion of high quality TV, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men, and talk with the creator of HBO’s True Detective.Read more
For millions of people, a mosque is a safe haven, a place to worship. But others fear that mosques are a breeding ground for terrorists — especially since September 11, 2001. It's the same building, but has become a marker for so much controversy.
This hour, we wanted to approach the...Read more
You stub your toe, hit your head on an open cupboard, slam your fingers in a car door, slice your hand on the sharp lip of can, or lick an envelope the wrong way. Your toes throbs, your head aches, your fingers pound, your hand hurts, your lip smarts.
Pain is your body’s way of letting...Read more
George Burns lived a good long life, hanging on to one hundred. These days scientists say that’s no big deal. According to them, some of us may be tottering around the golf course when we’re 150. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the quest for immortality – how long can science...Read more
Winston Churchill once said “In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, journalist Jake Tapper discusses the ethics of telling lies during wartime. We’ll also take a concise look at the...Read more
There's still debate about climate change, but one thing's for sure – these days nothing's sure about the weather. Northerners can golf in December, spring shows up early, and mosquitoes are movin' on up. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, wacky weather and what you can do to help....Read more
Two people, a house, a pitchfork, and a barn. It's hard to find a better-known American painting than Grant Wood's masterpiece "American Gothic." But just who are those grim people, and why do they have such a hold on the American psyche? Here's the history of an American classic. Also, a...Read more
America is in trouble. The decline of the dollar, climate change and the ugly math of Social Security and national debt are just a handful of the challenges facing the next generation. And who's to blame for the current mess? Baby Boomers - according to a growing movement, pitting one generation...Read more
Scientists have proven what pet owners already knew - cuddling with your dog or cat is good for you – and for your pet. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, keeping animals well, and how they return the favor. From gorilla conservation and eco-tourism to the dilemmas posed...Read more
Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt was one of nine U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands? Well, that's just one of countless facts included in John Hodgman's new almanac. But, as it turns out, all of these facts are fake. In this hour of the Peabody Award-winning To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
Back in 1967, Noam Chomsky wrote a famous essay called "The Responsibility of Intellectuals." Chomsky was furious about what he called "the deceit and distortion surrounding the American invasion of Vietnam." And he urged intellectuals "to speak the truth and expose lies." So what is the...Read more
The Capitol Hilton. The Eve of then-President Clinton’s Alfalfa Club Speech, one of four humorous speeches of the so-called Washington “silly season.” In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of a White House joke-writer, a contentious egg-timer, and the night Bill Clinton...Read more
Who are you? White or black, Muslim or Christian, working class or wealthy? Most of us rotate through many different cultural identities, at work and at home. And sometimes, reconciling them is hard.Read more
What goes on inside the mind of a painter, or a musician, or a poet? What sparks creativity? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, new neuroscience takes us inside the creative mind. We’ll talk about brain imaging studies of jazz musicians, and cosmologist Brian Swimme explores the...Read more
For years poet and novelist Alice Walker told her friends she’d probably never write again. But the events of September 11 changed all that. And the poetry flowed. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Alice Walker on the role of the poet in a time of war. Also, Iraqi poetry today. ...Read more
"Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." -- George SandRead more
Thirty years ago, the Iranian Revolution rocked the Middle East and upended the country's cozy relationship with America. We'll take stock of Iran three decades later as we examine the country and it's culture through music, film and politics. Also Salman Rushdie reflects back on "The Satanic...Read more
Do you have a tattoo? One in five American adults do. It seems there are tattoo parlors everywhere. What’s most popular? Quotes from great works of literature. "So it goes."Read more
Sinatra swings it, Miles Davis jazzes it up, and Billy Holiday croons it from the heart. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the biography of a great American love song. In our second annual Valentine’s Day Show the Rogers and Hart hit “My Funny Valentine.” And our listeners share true...Read more
Some critics call V.S. Naipaul the world’s greatest living writer. But his harsh views on Islam and the Third World have sparked enormous controversy. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Naipaul talks about his life as a writer. Also, poetry for the ages: we’ll hear Yeats, Auden and...Read more
Mel Brooks’ play “The Producers” is Broadway’s biggest hit in years, but it’s not for everyone – not at a hundred bucks a ticket. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, does theater still matter? We’ll talk with playwright Wendy Wasserstein and critic Frank Rich. Also, Samuel Beckett’s...Read more
You watch two trench-coated boys walk into their high school and shoot everyone in sight. Then a demon drags them off to be tortured in Hell. No, it’s not the latest video game. It’s Hell House, a Halloween haunted house put on by a church in Texas. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
Andre Agassi says he always hated tennis, even though it's what made him rich and famous. But maybe that's not surprising, considering how his father used to browbeat him into hitting 2500 balls a day when he was seven years old, and later sent him off to a tennis academy, which Agassi calls a "...Read more