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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

In this hour, we find ourselves surrounded by sound.  The sounds of nature, cosmic horror, capitalism, and experimental electronics.

If you want to give our theme remix a whirl, you can download files here and ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What's your favorite podcast? Are you thinking about launching one of your own? Smart phones and digital distribution have made it easier to get into the radio game. After the breakout success of Serial, it seems like everyone’s talking...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage.  A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.”   -- Lorrie Moore

                             Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

From Facebook to Twitter to Wikipedia, World of Warcraft to YouTube, the life of the community has moved on line. And taken on a life of its own. The power of we, and the move toward collective identity and global think.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

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Belly up to the bar as To the Best of Our Knowledge spends an hour with drinkers and drunks.  Meet the man who invented the Cosmopolitan.  He says it’s a really simple drink.  All you need is fresh lime juice.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There are people in the world who love books – and there are people who would kill for books.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the pleasures and perils of book collecting.  We’ll go on the road with veteran book buyers Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone.  And, we’ll meet...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

No matter what quiet corner of America you inhabit, you’ve heard about NASCAR. You may not understand it. You may not get it. But while you weren’t paying attention, those cars, driving in circles for hours, became our national pastime. In this hour of  To The Best Of Our Knowledge, car racing....Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

How do you win friends and influence people if you're an immigrant from Leningrad who's bullied at school?   You write your way to friendship.  That's what Gary Shteyngart did. We meet him in this hour as we explore creative writing.  Also, the connection between alcohol and creativity.  And how...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What do Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise and Madonna have in common?  Not much, except the kind of blazing fame that turns relatively normal people into obsessive fans who would walk ten miles through a blizzard just to stand in celebrity garbage.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Author, Author

Part Two

 

It's been called divine and it's been called disgusting. it's arguably one of the most important books of all time. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" as we ask the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Dreams can be a pleasant diversion from the daily grind or something with the potential to transform, entertain, and even heal. On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the power of dreams and the science of sleep.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

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

A protest at Standing Rock

More than 100 Native Americans nations have come to Standing Rock in solidarity to protest for water rights. This hour we ask a deceptively simple question: Who owns water?

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a man at the end of the world

How many ways can you imagine the end of the world?   To celebrate the end of 2012, we've gathered some of our favorite apocalyptic fiction.  Doomsday scenarios from award-winning novelists and short story writers, featuring  zombie invasions, mutant plagues, fire and...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

East Meets West

Part Five

 

Tariq Ramadan is a controversial philosopher who believes Muslims can thrive in secular, Western society. Ayaan Hirsi Ali disagrees. She's an equally controversial figure who's living under a death threat...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The physics world has a darling - it's called string theory. The idea that the universe is composed of infinitesimal vibrating strings. String theory has been the subject of bestselling books, popular TV series and countless articles. But is it a dead end street? In this hour of on To the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Photographers capture heartache and agony. What does it mean for them? And what does it mean for us, those viewing the photos? Do these images create empathy? Compassion? Or something else?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

Every person on earth is unique and special, but some people – maybe one in a hundred – are autistic. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we get to know a few autistic people with Asperger's Syndrome. We'll hear what it's like to try to live in the world when you have visionary...Read more

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