For all that's been written about Karl Marx, there's been no book about his marriage to Jenny Marx - until now. Biographer Mary Gabriel explains why Marx's family life had a profound influence on his thinking.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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How does a lifelong atheist make sense of a mind-blowing mystical experience? That was Barbara Ehrenreich’s struggle as she wrote about an other-worldly experience when she was 17. She spoke to Steve Paulson about it in a 2014 interview about her book, "Living with a Wild God."
There’s a theory that reading fiction helps us learn to understand other people — and in the process, become kinder, better, more empathetic ourselves. Joshua Landy says fiction can help us be kinder and more empathetic.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Rachel Carson, a pioneer of the environmental movement. Rob Nixon holds the Rachel Carson chair in English at the UW-Wisconsin. He says she was something of a reluctant activist.
Lauret Savoy believes too many nature writers focus on pristine wilderness and neglect the gritty reality of the places where people actually live - in cities, for instance, maybe even near toxic waste sites. And writing about these places means grappling with difficult questions about race and poverty.
Nicola Griffith set her award-winning historical novel, "Hild," in seventh-century Britain. It's based on the real life of the fierce young girl who eventually became one of the most powerful women of her day -- St. Hilda of Whitby.
Joey Skaggs is a master of the hoax. His elaborate pranks have been fooling media outlets since the 1960s.
Lorrie Moore — one of the best short story writers in the world — is a master of bringing a character to life in just a few words. She spoke to Steve about bringing characters to life in her collection called “Bark.”
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