According to historian Thomas Laqueur, neither sanitation nor the soul fully explain the rang of rituals we've developed for caring for dead bodies. For him, there is a deeper anthropological truth at work: caring for the dead marks the human transition from nature into culture.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her most noted novel is called “Half of a Yellow Sun.”
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.
Brad Warner is a Japanese monster movie marketer, a blogger, a Zen Buddhist Master and plays bass in a punk band. His book is "Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate."
Bill Bryson talks with Jim Fleming about the personal stories of some of the people who made great scientific discoveries.
A philosopher and musician enjoys playing his clarinet with animals, especially whales.
David Gessner is a nature writer who's sick of nature and most nature writing.
Psychologist Steven Pinker's Dangerous Idea? We may be living in the most peaceful time of our species’ existence.
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