If there’s one writer who’s identified with the Mississippi River, it’s Mark Twain. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri — on the river’s edge — and as a young man, he worked as a steamboat pilot. And then he wrote the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the novel that turned the Mississippi into myth. But it also created one of the most enduring controversies in American literary history: how to depict race relations in America's past. In this interview, Andrew Levy says that "Huckleberry Finn" is actually anti-racist — and when it was first published, the big controversy was about Twain’s depiction of wild children.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Nevada Barr has written 15 mystery novels featuring Park Ranger Anna Pigeon.
Maybe Mr. Rogers was right and every neighbor is a potential friend – someone worth inviting over, getting to know. On the other hand, maybe the weird guy next door will turn out to be Jeffrey Dahmer.
Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard discusses his six-volume autobiographical novel, "My Struggle."
You could also listen to an extended interview with Karl Ove Knausgaard.
Maurice Sendak talks about growing up as a Jewish child in WWII New York.
Jon Ronson was assigned by The Guardian newspaper to find out how easy it would be to build a dirty bomb. So he did.
Would you like to sharpen your memory? Science writer Joshua Foer tells you how to build an elaborate memory palace.
Lada Adamic is one of a host of data scientists working at facebook. Anne Strainchamps wanted to know what all those sociologists are up to.
Check out Facebook's social science website.
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