With the Carolina Panthers facing off against the Denver Broncos in Superbowl 50, football is on our minds this week. And for many of the millions of fans who tune in every Sunday to watch their favorite teams compete, football is little more than a weekly ritual. For English professor Mark Edmundson, the football field is a staging ground for some of life's most important lessons. In his book "Why Football Matters," Edmundson looks back to his own high school years playing the sport and reflects on how it taught him courage, resilience, determination, and other values he'd draw on as an adult.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Writer Terry Tempest Williams recommends the novel "Tracks" by Louise Erdrich. Erdrich, one of the great writers of the Native American Renaissance, is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians.
Sally Denton and Roger Morris tell Steve Paulson that people go to “Sin City” to have a good time, but the city is the international capital of money laundering.
Want kids to love learning? Get rid of the emphasis on grades and test scores. That's according to Alfie Kohn, one of America's most passionate advocates for progressive education. Kohn is the author of numerous articles and books, including "Feel Bad Education."
Whose America is it? Writer Thomas King has strong feelings about that. He says Native Americans have been many things to white people. Slaves, stereotypes, savages. And always inconvenient.
What insights could the past offer into the current Ebola crisis in West Africa? Gregg Mitman believes a long history of Western biomedical research in the region is fueling suspicion of health professionals. He spoke with TTBOOK about a Harvard medical expedition in Liberia dating back to the early 20th century. Click here to read highlights from the interview and hear the audio of the conversation. You can also listen to our conversation with him.
Yale Strom talks with Steve Paulson about the klezmer revival, particularly in Poland, and what it means when this culture is re-created by non-Jews.
City planner and urban historian Tom Martinson tells Steve Paulson why the suburbs are a great place to live.
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