The power of big data—why so many corporations and government agencies and political pollsters and baseball teams are after it—is that it can reveal things we might otherwise not see. But statistics alone can't do that. We need to transform those statistics into stories. One artist doing that is Brian Foo, aka the Data Driven DJ. He takes large data sets and turns them into music. His first song, "Two Trains," amplifies a dire but often ignored truth about our country: income inequality.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Dr. Olivier Ameisen was a cardiologist until his alcoholism left his life in tatters. He found relief with the a drug that eliminates his cravings for alcohol.
Doug here. I thought there was good back-and-forth between Chuck and myself in this conversation. I like how the interview went “meta” at the end, with Chuck speculating that if I’m right about his book being hailed as the “Moby Dick" of non-fiction in 300 years time. This interview belongs in a time capsule. At the very least, a “Best of” show. I also really enjoyed the fact that we heard the musical stylings of John Philip Sousa, Chuck Berry, KISS and Veruca Salt. Of course, if Chuck’s book taught me anything (and it actually taught me many things), I could be wrong.
David Leavitt is the author of a novel called "The Indian Clerk" which tells the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the uneducated Indian who amazed Cambridge University with his mathematical discoveries.
Chuck Klosterman talks about "Through a Glass, Blindly," the essay about voyeurism in his book, "Eating the Dinosaur."
Novelist Gary Shteyngart recommends one of his favorite reads: "Jernigan" by David Gates.
What happens in your brain when you dance? Frank Browning talks with scientists and choreographers in France and the U.S. about the "dancing brain."
And what of those of us who have died, and come back to life?
Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander had a near death experience in 2008.
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