Episode Archives

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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

They’re the bad boys of the numerical system.  You never know when one is going to crop up, or why.  Mathematicians have agonized over their mysteries for years, some predicting a mystical order where only chaos appears.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the world of prime numbers...Read more

I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the University reaches every family of the state. UW President Charles Van Hise in 1905

If you live in Wisconsin, chances are you've heard of the Wisconsin Idea. It's the century-old dream of sharing the best of higher education with the entire state -- bringing the values of the liberal arts, scientific knowledge and search for truth to everyone. It's a cherished tradition,...Read more

a muse

How does creative work get done? When the answer finally comes to a question that's dogged you for weeks or years, where is it coming from?

 

In this special hour, Nathan Englander - acclaimed novelist, short story writer, playwright - is our guest...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The geography of organized religion in America is changing. Today, more and more Americans identify themselves as spiritual, rather than aligning themselves with a particular religion. They're cobbling together faith and spirituality from sources all over the world, picking and choosing the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When somebody asks Josh Ritter what kind of music he plays, sometimes he ends up lying. After all, Ritter's music is hard to describe - a little bit rock n' roll by way of Bruce Springsteen with a twist of Bob Dylan. Anyway you describe it, Josh Ritter has arrived. We'll get inside the music...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

East Meets West

Part Three

 

The ancient trading routes through Persia, India and China were once the crossroads between East and West. Is the blogosphere the new Silk Road? Hear heartrending e-mails between an American professor and...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

A poster at Starbucks asks customers to focus on the world water crisis. A congregation asks the faithful to go on a carbon diet. The local grocery now charges for a plastic bag. We've got green cars, green clothing, green investments, and even green weddings. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

If you find Shakespeare a bit intimidating, you might want to check out the Reduced Shakespeare Company.  Its actors do a version of “Hamlet” forward and backwards – all in two minutes.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, Shakespeare as you’ve never heard him before.  Also, the great...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

American citizens worry about suicide bombers on airplanes, but intelligence analysts say the real threat today is in cyberspace. Cyber attacks on American companies and military installations are on the rise. Could terrorist hackers take down America's power grid? Or financial networks. In...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

When Meg Gaines was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her doctor told her to go home and think about the quality, not the quantity, of her days.  Instead she grabbed him by the bow-tie and said “I don’t think you understand.  I intend to live.”  Today Meg Gaines is helping other cancer patients...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Supersized slabs of juicy ribs cooked over a wood fire until the meat slides right off the bone. Food doesn't get more American than barbecue. It's part of our roots. And it's tangled up in our racial history. In this hour, we celebrate barbecue and explore its secret history.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The downhill skiers in Sochi know cold weather, but for real cold -- try diving into freezing water above the Arctic Circle!  In this hour, some sports too cold even for the Winter Olympics.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Imagine a scenario where universes bubble up out of black holes.  Space itself can boil, and humankind may have to fight for survival by building gigantic atom-smashers the length of several star systems.  That future may be closer than you think.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wiring the BrainScientists are launching one of the most audacious projects ever conceived:  a detailed map of the human brain, neuron by neron, synapse by synapse.  For some scientists...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Can you imagine spending a week at an airport?  By choice?  Alain de Botton did exactly that.  He tells us about it, as we explore airports and air travel.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Trick or Treat!  These days, that means handing out candy, but once upon a time Halloween revelers often played nasty tricks.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the real history of Halloween.  Also, why stories about monsters, ghouls and the supernatural keep popping...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There's something about the desert. Its uncompromising climate makes it a place of thirst and death. But it's also site of myths and vision quests. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge we'll explore the passion and power of the desert. We'll celebrate the desert's poets. And commemorate...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ira Glass has helped reinvent storytelling on the radio.  But he says it took him years to learn how to tell a good radio tale.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Ira Glass ont the art of telling stories.  We’ll also visit The Moth – the mecca of storytelling in New York City.  And...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

We know the story of our 16th president – born in a log cabin, taught himself to read, led us through the bloodiest war ever fought on our soil, wrote the Gettsyburg address and freed the slaves. What don't we know? We celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday with a look at the man as well...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Who says it's only humans who make art? Have you ever seen an elephant paint? Move over Jackson Pollock - elephant masterpieces are heading to the auction block! And when it comes to music well, Renee Fleming's got a nice voice, but have you have heard a whale sing? It's unbelievable. In this...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Here’s the bad news.  You can get the thing you most want - a BMW, the winning lottery ticket, and you still won’t be any happier.  The good news?  You can survive the most devastating catastrophes and you’ll be back on your feet in less time than you think.  Next time on To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Adventure writer Ann Jones recalls crossing Africa from Tangier to Cape Town in search of one special tribe.  They’re guided by the “feminine” principles of compromise, tolerance and peace.  Also, Tony Horwitz sets sail in the wake of Captain Cooke.  We’ll hear about a Frenchman who never went...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

After World War Two, existentialism was all the rage in the U.S.A.  College students rebelled by smoking European cigarettes and wearing black clothes and berets.  Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus felt that Americans were too self-confident and superficial to accept this dark, brooding...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Patty Loveless is a coal miner’s daughter.  And a country singer, just like her distant cousin Loretta Lynn.  When Patty Loveless’ father contracted black lung disease the family had to move to Louisville, Kentucky – so Patty’s dad could receive medical attention.  In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

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