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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Walk into the children's section of any bookstore and the magic wands and secret portals almost materialize in front of you. Wizards, witches, demons, time travel, dragons, orphans, orphaned dragons – doesn't anyone know how to write a non-magical book anymore?! In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

woman on a mountain

We’re all a little bit wild inside, but how often do we let it out? If you've been spending too much time indoors in front of a screen, maybe it's time for a dose of the real thing.  This week,stories of people who found strength, wonder and joy by heading into the wild.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

mosque ceiling

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What would a secular society really look like?  We take an unconventional look at religion, the fiction it inspires, and reflect on why William James' classic book on mysticism, "The Varieties of Religious Experience," still matters.Read more

an open door

Well we made it through the anticipated apocalypse. 

Now, to say, "Goodbye old year; hello, new."
 
To help us begin again, we’ve got a collection of stories about putting challenges behind us. About transformation. About coming through hard times into...Read more
To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What are the great country music singles?  Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” probably.  George Jones’ “slobbing tearjerker,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”  What about the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women”? and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay?  According to the book “Heartaches by the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

One of this year's big novels is Colson Whitehead's sweeping historical novel, "The Underground Railroad." It's an unflinching look at the experience of slavery, inspired by the classic slave narratives. And being a sci-fi geek, Whitehead also weaves in bits of fantasy, creating an alternative...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What’s the best way to get someone to talk?  NPR’s Terry Gross has done more interviewers than just about anyone else in public radio.  But she prefers to talk to them long distance, with no eye contact.   In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Terry Gross on the art of the interview.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

As America endures the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the hardships our grandparents and great grandparents lived through are suddenly relevant again. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, stories from the Great Depression – advice from the generation that survived...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It was the best of times for Pattie Boyd. Her modeling career was booming and the sixties were exploding on the London scene. One day she got a call - she'd been cast in a Beatles film. The rest is history. We'll meet the woman who inspired three of the most famous rock songs of all time,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

Doug Gordon heads off to host and produce "Beta" on WPR Next.

TTBOOK staffers share some of our favorite interviews and shows produced by our favorite Canadian. Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Classical musicians don't come with better pedigrees than violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. She's been wowing audiences since she was four, performs all over the world and has commissioned many new works. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Meyers talks about why she chose to record popular...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Betsy Lerner was a chubby kid.  Then an overweight teenager.  Then, a compulsive eater with a secret food life.  Binging and dieting consumed her life – until the day she tried to kill herself.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the story of Betsy Lerner’s struggle with weight.  And,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Henry David Thoreau died 150 years ago, and he’s still a great American icon.  But have you ever wondered exactly why?  Thoreau wasn’t exactly the model environmentalist he’s often made out to be.  And his account of living at Walden Pond is partly fictionalized; he spent nine years writing and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Canal Street flooded with so much water it looks like an actual canal.  People mourning the loss of their homes and loved ones.  The Gulf Coast will never be the same after the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has caused.  In this hour of the Peabody-Award-Winning program To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It sounds like a deal in the ads - submit your poems, have them set to music, and start a fascinating new career as a hit songwriter.  Of course your chance of success is slim to none and you have to pay for the privilege.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the strange subculture of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The idea of creative collaboration is a relatively new one.  For centuries, science and culture focused on the self self-expression, self-realization.  But two is the magic number.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll explore creative partnerships.  Joshua Wolf Shenk talks about...Read more

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