Our planet is facing a mass extinction crisis. By the end of the century, we could lose up to half of all living species. But people are working hard to save endangered species and habitats, and a few scientists are even trying to bring lost species - like passenger pigeons and woolly mammoths...Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Walk long enough and far enough, and you will never be the same. This week, stories of people who transformed their lives by picking up their feet, blazing trails, enduring blisters and frostbite and bad trail food. Read more
Original Air Date:
December 21, 2014
We take a closer look at negative stereotypes about African American men, how those biases affect our justice system, and what we might be able to do about it.Read more
Original Air Date:
December 21, 2014
Does death gives life meaning? You might think so, looking at the prominence of death and the afterlife in so many religions. In this hour, we explore the philosophical and religious dimensions of mortality and the afterlife.Read more
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December 07, 2014
How do we mark death and celebrate lost lives around the globe?Read more
Original Air Date:
November 30, 2014
In this hour, we explore the medical, spiritual and psychological questions about the moment of death.Read more
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November 23, 2014
We live much longer than we used to, thanks to medical advances, but what are the emotional and financial costs of extending life? Read more
Original Air Date:
November 16, 2014
We talk with experts about how to begin difficult conversations about making death a greater part of life, and how they can transform both the dying and the surviving.Read more
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November 09, 2014
Why do Americans suck at math? And why do so many claim to hate it?Read more
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August 10, 2014
Was Marx right after all in his critique of capitalism? Our ongoing economic struggles have spawned a new generation of Marxist activists and intellectuals, and renewed interest in Karl Marx's own life. Read more
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June 01, 2014
Today we explore some new paradigms for thinking about our environmental future. And, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of death of the great environmentalist, Rachel Carson.Read more
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May 04, 2014
Everyone loves a good joke, right? Well, at least when it's not at your expense. We explore hoaxes throughout history, get in the mind of a prolific prankster, and hear from writer Walter Kirn about getting duped by a dangerous con man.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 30, 2014
Where do you find crazy ideas and some of the world's smartest people? In theoretical physics - the world of parallel universes, super strings and black holes. We go on a whirlwind tour of the universe - from the multiverse to an imaginary walk on Mars.Read more
Original Air Date:
March 09, 2014
To be American can mean many things. It can mean a young black teen in a hoodie, or a illegal immigrant who’s been living here for 20 years. How do we reconcile the many different American experiences?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 02, 2014
Not every story about Afghanistan involves guns and soldiers. We see the country through art, poetry and games - from the ancient sport of Buzkashi to Afghanistan's famous hand-woven carpets. Also, Charles Yu on living safely in a science fictional universe.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 23, 2014
The bedtime stories of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin are enchanting stories. They’re also much more: violent, sexually explicit, political, and feminist.Read more
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February 02, 2014
It's the "silver tsunami" — the massive numbers of people now entering their senior years. And for all those now retiring? They’re trying to figure out what to do with the rest of their lives.Read more
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January 26, 2014
Everybody makes choices. Some of them matter for an hour, others for the rest of your life. For thousands of young people forty years ago, the choice was to go to war in Vietnam or accept the consequences of refusing.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 19, 2014
How often do we credit children with deep thoughts? With profound or subtle thinking? In this hour, we introduce some youngsters who've accomplished remarkable things: written books, gone viral on the internet, and helped heal a community. And we talk with psychologists...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 15, 2013
After 13 years of war, the US will leave Afghanistan next year. There will be many conversations about the country’s political and military future. But we’re taking a different look at Afghanistan - through the lens of Afghan fiction: films, poetry and folk tales, and...Read more
Original Air Date:
June 23, 2013
America invaded Iraq on March 20, 2003. Ten years on, questions linger. What was our mission? Were we prepared? Did we succeed? What’s the state of post-war Iraq? We answers these questions from the perspective of American “boots on the ground.”Read more
Original Air Date:
March 24, 2013
Everybody used to learn handwriting in school. And whether or not our handwriting was beautiful, we knew cursive and studied penmanship. Today, clasroom instruction hours are shrinking and who needs penmanship when we have keyboards and autocorrect? This hour, are we witnessing...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 10, 2013
The a**hole certainly isn't on any endangered species lists. Quite the opposite, in fact. We're seeing a population explosion. So we have to ask — Are we living in the "Age of the A**hole"?Read more
Original Air Date:
January 27, 2013
Is this Philip K. Dick's world and are we just living in it? It sure seems like it these days. This hour, we explore his life and work. Read more
Original Air Date:
January 20, 2013