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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In the early 1950's two-year-old Jacqueline Henley in New Orleans became darker.  After the neighbors complained, her aunt turned her over to New Orleans authorities.  A black couple wanted to adopt Jacqueline but -- she had the word “white” stamped on her birth certificate.   Next time on To...Read more

tarot cards

Wouldn't it be great if we could predict the future? We could invest wisely, prepare for social change, and have next season's fashionable footwear.

But in our accelerated world, it seems increasingly difficult to figure out what the next big thing will be. In this hour, are trends a...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

We’re all seeking something.  What about you? What are you looking for?Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In India he’s known as the giggling guru.  In America Dr. Maden Kataria is famous in certain circles as the man who founded Laughter Yoga.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the man who’s changing the world with chuckles, chortles and belly laughs.  And, why more and more people...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Memory and ForgettingDo you think your memory is a record of what actually happened?  Chances are, it's not.  New scientific findings show that with every act of remembering, our brains...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There’s an old joke from the former Soviet Union.  Roughly translated it goes like this.  The communists were liars.  Everything they said about communism was untrue.  Unfortunately, everything they said about capitalism was true.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, considering...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wallace Stegner put it this way. “National Parks are the best idea we ever had.”  This weekend, the National Park Service celebrates its birthday by making the parks free for a day. We're celebrating with an hour on the history and politics of national parks.  And we'll meet some folks whose...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It's been said that "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." But the rock critic Robert Palmer didn't have any trouble. Palmer wrote effortlessly about all kinds of music – rock and roll, blues, jazz and world music. The fact that Palmer was also a musician didn't hurt. In...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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

After 11 years of isolation in New England, Nathan Zuckerman returns to New York City. Now 71, Zuckerman discovers that a lot has changed. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Nathan Zuckerman's creator, the renowned novelist, Philip Roth. And we'll find out how both Roth...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars to try to improve themselves. They buy books and CDs, go to seminars...some even walk over hot coals in their bare feet. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll try to find out if the self-help movement is really helping us.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

David Rothenburg is a philosopher and a jazz clarinetist, who also loves birds.  So one day he sat down in the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and started playing music.  Lo and behold, a white-crested laughing thrush started singing with him, riffing on the tunes he played.  Since then Rothenburg...Read more

DNA

Can science conquer death? It may seem like an absurd question, but some people think it's possible. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Aubrey de Grey, a maverick English scientist who's identified seven major kinds of molecular and cellular damage. He thinks we can prevent...Read more

An independent woman.

For the first time in American history, young women are choosing independence over marriage.  Single women today outnumber married women and have more political power than ever before.  It's what Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger and other feminist icons predicted.  This hour, how...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Poet Nick Lantz has a darkly satirical take on American culture. Lately, he’s been thinking about political spin and how politicians speak. In this interview—the third in our series ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Next time you catch an old episode of the Flying Nun, you may want to pay attention.  Because today’s convents are closing.  The average nun is seventy years old, and even devout sisters often have to bite their tongues when they talk about the pope.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It seems everyone has something to say about motherhood.  A lot of people have advice.  Others just have... issues.   In this hour of To The Best of Our Knowledge -- the tricky topic of motherhood.   Linda Gray Sexton remembers her mother, the troubled poet Anne...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Malcolm Gladwell knows how to succeed in show business without really trying -- write a story for The New Yorker about a psychiatrist who studies serial killers. Then a playwright will take some of the words from your article and use them in a Broadway play. Next time on To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Here’s the truth: the wild romance will probably end. Wedding vows, intimacy, heartache… they can have a long shelf-life. But those butterflies in your stomach? Wild libidinal longings? They tend to quiet over time.

So what happens after the romance ends? From passionate marriage, to ...Read more

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