"Gifts make slaves like whips make dogs" is an anthropologist's tale of inter-cultural difference in gift exchanges.
David Graeber takes us on a tour of gift giving, and gift economies. He also takes a swing at the question of whether it's possible to give a truly selfless gift.
TTBOOK producer Doug Gordon investigates one of surf rock’s zaniest modern acts, Los Straitjackets to find out what’s happening with their surf rock sound.
Poet, essayist and naturalist Diane Ackerman tells Anne Strainchamps that she shares her garden with the local deer and raises hundreds of roses organically.
Elaine Pagels says Judas was the favorite disciple, and the only one Jesus trusted to carry out his final command: to hand him over to the Romans.
James Dawes interviewed a collection of convicted war criminals from the Second Sino-Japanese War. Today, they are "sweet old men" searching for forgiveness. Do they deserve it?
Dan Shapiro tells the story of his long fight with Hodgkin’s Disease which prompted his mother to cultivate marijuana to help him cope with the nausea of chemotherapy.
Sci-fi writer Eileen Gunn bookmarks Nisi Shawl's "Filter House."
Charles Limb is a surgeon and musician who researches the way creativity works in the brain. He puts jazz musicians inside an fMRI to find out what the brain does during musical improvisation.
Watch Charles Limb's TED Talk here
