Simon Winchester talks about the enormous volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia in 1883. The tidal waves killed almost forty thousand people, and the resulting social chaos gave rise to the first incidents of Muslim clerics fomenting violent uprisings against Westerners.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
What helps you remember people you’ve lost? Take a look at what other listeners have shared, and share a photo of your own via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #TTBOOKonDeath.
What compels someone to commit acts of terror? Anthropologist Scott Atran has spent a decade talking with jailed suicide bombers and jihadist leaders. He says they're motivated by core human values: brotherhood, loyalty and the dream of a better world.
The idea of a universal basic income is getting serious consideration these days from governments -- in Switzerland, Finland, even Kenya. Could it get traction in the U.S.? Absolutely, says journalist Rutger Bregman.
Film critic Roger Ebert on the glories of black and white films
Walter Hamady is the proprietor of the Perishable Press Limited, and among the most celebrated American printers of fine, limited edition books.
Eric Carson is a geomorphologist — which, as he describes it, is basically a "double major" in geology and geography. Some time ago he and a few colleagues started asking a question about a geologic shelf where the Mississippi meets the Wisconsin River. The results could have meant nothing, or they could have meant a major new revelation about the Mississippi's historical path to the ocean.
S.T. Joshi says Lovecraft was always interested in pure science and has many imitators among contemporary writers.
Pages
