David Gessner discovered the American West as a young man, and the huge mountains and wide open spaces changed his life. He recently took a road trip through the West, following in the footsteps of two literary heroes, Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner. Gessner says their books help us see the West in all its complexity.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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There's a special mystique to the number pi -- songs have been written about it and there's a day named after it. Jordan Ellenberg explains why.
Fashion photographer David Jay recently sent us a book of his photos. The lighting was perfect. The settings intimate. The women, nearly naked, were gorgeous. As we looked at these beautiful images, something stood out – the mastectomy scars.
When it comes to food, everyone seems to have an opinion. Producer Rehman Tungekar set out to gather some thoughts on what makes a good meal during a recent visit to Chicago’s Windy City Ribfest.
Stephen Hall is the author of critically-acclaimed histories of contemporary science, including “Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension.”
As the daughter of a child psychologist, writer Jessica Lamb-Shapiro grew weary of the simple solutions offered by popular self-help books. So maybe it was only natural that she wanted to understand why people liked them so much. To find out, she read hundreds of books and articles, journeyed to conferences headed by self-improvement icons, and even conquered her fear of flying along the way.
Steve Paulson profiles savage literary critic Dale Peck. A collection of Peck’s reviews is called “Hatchet Jobs.”
Computer paswords are on on our minds this week. "The New York Times" reporter Ian Urbina talks about his feature story, "The Secret Life of Passwords."
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