Have you ever read the Declaration of Independence? You'll find it's a surprisingly radical manifesto even today, as we struggle with income inequality and racial justice. Political philosopher Danielle Allen says reading the Declaration has actually changed the lives of her students.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Colum McCann's novel "Let the Great World Spin" takes place on the day of tight-rope artist Philipe Petit's trip across the World Trade Centers.
Mark Kurlansky tells Steve Paulson that salt made food a tradable commodity and that it inspired revolutions from India to France. Because people have to have salt, governments want to control and tax it.
One of the most amazing things about National Parks is what you can hear. Or as acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton would put it, NOT hear. He's is the founder of the organization One Square Inch of Silence. The once square inch is an actual place located in the Hoh Rain Forest at Olympic National Park. The exact location is marked by a small red-colored stone placed on top of a moss-covered log. And after you hear (or don't hear) this piece you will want to go. So, here's a map.
Princeton historian Robert Darnton says that people in 18th century Paris spread the news by making up topical songs to familiar melodies, and that the police kept records on everybody.
Anthropologist Katherine Frank tells Steve Paulson who goes to strip clubs and what they’re looking for.
Richard Manning is the author of many books including “Food’s Frontier: The Next Green Revolution.” Among the scientists profiled in that book is Robert Goodman, a plant pathologist at the University of Wisconsin.
Karen Joy Fowler won the PEN/Faulkner Award for best fiction for her novel "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves." Based on a true story, it’s the remarkable tale of two girls raised as sisters, until one is removed from the family. The twist is that one sister is a chimpanzee.
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