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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Historian Rebecca Spang tells Judith Strasser that "restaurant" originally meant a cup of broth and explains how it evolved into the culinary paradise we know today.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Max Boot tells Jim Fleming that the United States is the most powerful state that’s ever existed, and that sometimes it’s a good and necessary thing to take unilateral action against tyrants.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Steve Paulson spoke with Kurt Vonnegut just after his 83rd birthday, and Vonnegut recalled his experiences during the fire-bombing of Dresden.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The sonic sepia of a rare 78RPM lets us eavesdrop on Cantor Isaiah Meisels, singing prayers for theJewish High Holy Days in 1907.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

With tensions flaring up in the Middle East this week, we're thinking about the city of Jerusalem and the role it plays in inspiring religious fervor and conflict. Boston Globe Columnist James Carroll writes about it in his book, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Richard Holmes is fascinated by what he calls "The Age of Wonder." The subtitle of his book is "how the romantic generation discovered the beauty and the terror of science," and he tells Steve Paulson about how Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" came directly out of the scientific climate of the time.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

For Jeannette Walls, one of the things she struggled with most was keeping her past a secret from just about everyone.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Classical pianist Leon Fleisher tells Jim Fleming about the neurological disorder that crippled his right hand for over thirty years and what it meant for his musicianship.

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