Elizabeth Little is a writer and editor who collects languages. She tells Jim Fleming about the perils of learning tonal languages.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
I dunno, but it seems kind of extreme, not to mention risky, to bio-engineer a mass mosquito die-off. So Steve Paulson tracked down the world’s greatest living entomologist to see what he has to say. E. O Wilson is sometimes called “the ant man” – that’s the insect he studied most – but he’s best known as the evolutionary biologist and a champion of biodiversity. He’s 86 years old now, and has just finished what is probably his last book – called “Half Earth”. It’s a passionate plea to save humanity by dedicating half the planet to nature. You’d assume that Wilson would be happy to let mosquitos live in that half… but that’s not what he told Steve.
Brian Turtle tells Steve Paulson how he came up with the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" and plays a few rounds with Steve.
David Orr says modern poetry shouldn't intimidate us. He's the author of "Beautiful and Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry."
Eugene Mirman is an indie comic and the author of an outlandish self-help send-up called "The Will to Whatevs." He tells Jim Fleming that school was horrible for him and gave rise to his nerd humor.
A few years ago, poet Christian Wiman picked up his pen after a three-year hiatus, when he fell in love and was diagnosed with cancer. Listen in as he reads a poem from "Every Riven Thing," the book of poems that followed. You can also hear our interview with him about the collection.
Debra Ginsberg tells Jim Fleming what can turn a shift into a nightmare; why so many wait staff are performers; and that people tip better when they're spending someone else's money.
What if Crack Babies were a myth?
To see the NYTimes video on Crack Babies click here.
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