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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Sara Gruen tells Anne Strainchamps why she chose an elephant as a main character for her story of love, avarice and power.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco wrote a history of beauty. A few years later, he followed it up with a study of ugliness. Here’s what he found

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Stephen Thompson is an editor at The Onion newspaper, and editor of “The Onion A.V. Club: The Tenacity of the Cockroach.”

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Journalist Ted Conover tells Steve Paulson that wise guards accept that they rule with the consent of the prisoners, and recalls a few of his most dramatic encounters with inmates.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Cultural historian William Miller, author of “The Mystery of Courage,” tells Steve Paulson that the airline passengers who confronted the hijackers on September 11th displayed extraordinary courage.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What do you do when you’re an African-American filmmaker living in a country full of people who dress up in blackface at Christmastime?  You pick up a camera. Roger Ross Williams  talks about his new documentary,  "Blackface." It's about the traditional Dutch celebration of "Black Pete" -- a Santa's helper who dresses in blackface, an Afro wig, red lipstick and big hoop earrings.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Around the country Governors of both parties are balancing their state budgets by making public sector employees pay more. Why?

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Timothy Ferris is the author of nearly a dozen books of popular science, including “Seeing in the Dark: How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril.”

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