Lorrie Moore has a new collection of short stories. She tells Steve Paulson that life is filled with absurdity; ghost stories are great fodder for fiction; and North America now owns the short story.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Kevin Young is a blues poet. His new collection is called “Jelly Roll: A Blues.” Young talks about what makes a blues poem and gives him a couple of examples.
Marvin Minsky tells Steve Paulson he believes machine intelligence is very like human intelligence and that one day people may choose to back themselves up into computers.
Michael Piechowski talks about the intensity with which gifted children experience their lives.
Have you had culture shock? Did it hit when you were travelling or when you were at home?
Writer Josh Swiller says, as a young man, he often felt outside his home culture.
He decided to leave the U.S. altogether and found a whole new world of challenging inter-cultural communication.
Rob Richie is executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy. He talks about how the system of instant run off voting works and why a lot of people, including John McCain and Howard Dean, think it’s a good idea.
Merritt Ierley talks with Anne Strainchamps about the domestic technology (central heating, indoor plumbing, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers) that makes American homes the most comfortable in the world.
Japanese comics, manga, and animation, anime, are among Japan's most popular cultural exports. Fred Schodt is the guy to talk to about Japan's contemporary graphic arts explosion. He talks about the "God of Manga," Osamu Tezuka, the creator of Astro Boy.
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