You're thinking about hitting “delete” on all of it — Facebook, Twitter. But is that the answer, or should we resolve to stick around and make things better?Read more
Exploring the Deeper End of Ideas
Show Archives
- January 13, 2018
- December 22, 2018
Psychologists say telling a good life story can make you happier. But do we also create an inauthentic version of ourselves if we turn everything into a narrative?Read more
- April 28, 2018
- December 15, 2018
Trees talk to each other, and even form alliances with other trees or other species. Some are incredibly old — the root mass of aspens might live 100,000 years. In this hour, we explore the science and history of trees.Read more
- December 15, 2018
Yosemite is climbing’s mecca. It’s where Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell stunned the world with their dazzling climbs.Read more
- March 31, 2018
- December 08, 2018
As terrible as it sounds, most of us will go through something traumatic at some point in our lives. The experience can be deeply isolating and crushing, but it doesn't have to be. Read more
- December 08, 2018
Even the most welcome gift can spark guilt, resentment, obligation or vulnerability. This hour, unwrapping the tangled emotions behind giving — and getting.Read more
- December 01, 2018
We’ve been taught to ignore, stifle, or just get over anger for many years — but what if we embraced it?Read more
- February 10, 2018
- November 24, 2018
“The climate crisis is a crisis of culture and thus of imagination,” says writer Amitav Ghosh. So what changes in our conversation about global warming when we tap into the imaginative worlds of novelists and artists?Read more
- November 24, 2018
- July 06, 2019
What's the essence of religion? God? Scripture? Moral codes? Or is it really about something more unexplainable — primal spiritual experiences?Read more
- November 17, 2018
The virtues of transgressive, subversive, rule-breaking art, both as an aesthetic and as a way of life. Read more
- March 24, 2018
- November 17, 2018
Modern anti-depressants have saved a lot of minds. And lives. But what have they done to our bodies? And how do we navigate that trade-off between body and mind?Read more
- January 20, 2018
- November 10, 2018
Social media has brought us all closer together. Sometimes that's a good thing. But when it comes to online shaming, it's a bad thing. Read more
- November 10, 2018
- July 20, 2019
It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe the moral struggle and personal cost involved.Read more
- November 03, 2018
How do we put the fairness and the fun back in American elections? In this hour, we present a few simple ideas for how to remake the electoral process.Read more
- May 12, 2018
- November 03, 2018
All over the world, nation states are splintering. Separatism is on the rise. What causes nation states to erode? And what happens when they do?Read more
- October 27, 2018
Did you know that the U.S. military has a long history of working with psychics to try to discover enemy secrets? We examine this history and take a deep dive into the paranormal.Read more
- January 20, 2018
- October 27, 2018
How can someone be a monster — a brutal dictator, a mass murderer, a serial killer — and up close seem like a decent, caring person? What happens when you find yourself liking someone who’s done terrible things?Read more
- October 20, 2018
In this show, we explore storyworlds — the fictional universes that continue to enchant us. Like the ghostly supernatural realm in which Abe Lincoln’s dead son, Willie, finds himself and the surreal Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, the home of some damn fine coffee....Read more
- March 10, 2018
- October 20, 2018
- June 08, 2019
DNA tests are uncovering mixed bloodlines. For African Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? Does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice?Read more
- February 17, 2018
- October 13, 2018
Do you love your laptop? Feel affection for your phone? Some of us spend more time with our devices than our families. How deep do those attachments go?Read more
- October 13, 2018
- June 29, 2019
Covert spies painting nerve agents on doorknobs? It's not the only way to poison someone. We hear stories of radioactive paint, formaldehyde-spiked baby formula, and a beautiful garden full of plants that could kill you.Read more
- February 03, 2018
- October 06, 2018
The right-wing politics and bro culture of The Proud Boys is attracting young, white men nationwide. Founder Gavin McInnes believes “95% of American women” would be happier at home. Where does his vision of “being a man” fit in 2018?Read more
- October 06, 2018
Do you ever wish you could reinvent yourself? This hour, we hear from four noted artists who experienced pivotal turns in their own lives: artist Rashid Johnson, writer/photographer Teju Cole, singer Nikka Costa, and musician Michael Nesmith.Read more
- September 29, 2018
- May 11, 2019
Cities can be cacophonous and loud, a chaos of sonic discord. If, that is, you don't really focus your listening. People who’ve trained their ears to hear urban soundscapes in new ways hear something different.Read more
- February 24, 2018
- September 29, 2018
- May 18, 2019
For the first time since World War II, far-right and neo-fascist groups are winning converts and votes — all over Europe and also here at home. Why is it happening, and can it be stopped?Read more
- February 17, 2018
- September 22, 2018
- May 11, 2019
"Magical thinking" gets a bad rap these days. It suggests losing your grip on reality or being so gullible that you'll believe anything - from ghosts to miracles. But what if magic isn't pure fantasy? Maybe it's the gateway to wonder. Read more
- January 13, 2018
- September 22, 2018
- June 29, 2019
Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are.Read more
- September 15, 2018
- June 15, 2019
The first birth is when you arrive here, as a wet, wiggling newborn. But there may be other transitions in your life that feel just as difficult and profound. Some people actually call those passages re-birth. Read more
- September 15, 2018
When you’re hurt and the only way out of toxic bitterness and resentment is to let go, how do you summon the resolve to reach out to the person who hurt you most?Read more