Eric Liu is on a campaign to restore America's civic joy. To make voting fun again, with late-night dance parties for Miami voters, participatory election street theater in Akron,Ohio; and a giant election scavenger hunt in Philadelphia. He says there's no such thing as not voting: choosing not...Read more
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Episode Archives
It started as a joke. Danny Wallace put a small ad in a London newspaper. It simply said “Join me” and invited people to send a passport-sized photo. The only problem was, no one knew what they were joining. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of Danny Wallace’s “Join Me”...Read more
Of all the days in the life of Nelson Mandela - the days in jail, awaiting sentence and his election in 94 - one day stood out as the most nerve-wracking. The day of the Rugby World Cup in 1995 - South Africa versus New Zealand. But it was much more than a sports match. It was the chance to...Read more
Have you ever heard of Bibleman, the Caped Christian? This evangelical superhero quotes scripture while fighting villains. There's a Bibleman video series, as well as a live show, toys, and a computer game. Bibleman is just part of the seven-billion-dollar Christian pop culture industry. In...Read more
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
June 22nd, 1977. Two college women are camping. A man runs over their tent in a pickup truck. Then he attacks the women with an axe. Fifteen years later, one of the women returns to central Oregon to try to solve the crime. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Terri Jentz shares...Read more
While the debate about how to fix America’s schools rages on, millions of parents have their own solution – opting out of the system. Homeschoolers in America usually make the choice for two reasons – to invest more religion in the curriculum or to embrace the vales of progressive education. ...Read more
Selling out: we talk with two people who’ve vowed never to sell out: Ralph Nader, and Congressman Joe Walsh. Walsh says the Tea Party must be the party of no compromise. Also, someone often accused of selling out: Shepard Fairey; he went from making street art to designing an iconic Obama poster...Read more
With the help of a smartphone app, you can now order dinner, hire a driver, or even schedule a housecleaner. Whatever it is you need, there's probably an app for that. But does all this convenience come at a cost? This hour, the rise of the on-demand economy, and how it's changing the nature of...Read more
Two years ago a professor in Wisconsin checked her mail and found a most unusual letter...from an Iraqi graduate student asking for scholarly advice. Since then professor Susan Friedman has exchanged hundreds of e-mails with academics in Iraq. And she's heard harrowing accounts of academic...Read more
“Gifts make slaves, like whips make dogs” is a saying from Greenland’s Inuit culture.
How do you feel when someone gives you a gift? Grateful? Uncomfortable? Indebted?
Our guests weigh in on how major philanthropy could change the world, and the donors themselves. And one woman's...Read more
Neuroscientists have made remarkable discoveries about the brain, but so far, no one's come close to cracking the biggest mystery of all - the connection between the...Read more
Kashmir has been called the most beautiful place on earth. Today, it’s the melting point for a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan. It’s a situation that’s been called more dangerous than the Cuban missile crisis. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an Indian writer mourns the...Read more
For decades, men have written about their first sexual experiences, but there’s almost no literature like that for women. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, memoirist Mary Karr reflects on her first kiss and other rites of passage for girls. Also, Jonathan Kozol describes...Read more
Once upon a time people believed the world was populated with terrible monsters and fabulous mythical beasts. They thought if they just searched long enough and hard enough, they'd find them. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the mythical beasts of folktale and legend and the modern...Read more
The public sees a politician one way. A political cartoonist sees something else entirely. What makes a good political cartoon? We’ll get some answers from Steve Brodner, one of the most savage illustrators at work in the United States. It’s The New Toons in this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
The Bible and the Quran are some of our most sacred and revered texts. They're also full of violent passages. Is religion the source of violence and intolerance around the world? We look at how sacred texts inspire both violence and liberation.Read more
The cultural revolution changed everything for Hao Jian Tian. When he was ten years old, Tian studied piano. Reluctantly. So when his piano teacher was hauled off to jail, it was a day of celebration. No more piano lessons. No more practicing. But years later, music caught up with Hao...Read more
We're keepin it surreal this hour with a hallucinatory vortex chock full of innovative fiction. Like Salvador Dali said -- "Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision." Join us as we expand your vision and melt your mind....Read more