Persi Diaconis was a stage magician before he discovered probability theory and became one of the world's leading mathematicians. He tells us about some very powerful formulas derived from card shuffles and magic tricks.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
As the daughter of a child psychologist, writer Jessica Lamb-Shapiro grew weary of the simple solutions offered by popular self-help books. So maybe it was only natural that she wanted to understand why people liked them so much. To find out, she read hundreds of books and articles, journeyed to conferences headed by self-improvement icons, and even conquered her fear of flying along the way.
Steve Paulson profiles savage literary critic Dale Peck. A collection of Peck’s reviews is called “Hatchet Jobs.”
Historian Simon Schama tells Steve Paulson that Rembrandt thought art should tell the truth and that he was an enormously innovative painter.
Susan Blackmore is a British psychologist who's written books on consciousness, memes and Zen Buddhism. She says her daily practice of meditation has revealed truths that have eluded the scientific study of consciousness.
You can also listen to the EXTENDED interview, and read the extended transcript.
Brendan Koerner talks about his book, "The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking."
The former mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, take us on a walking tour of the neighborhood of one of his big heroes, the late urban thinker, Jane Jacobs.
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