Ed Boyden, a researcher at MIT, is at the forefront of a new science that aims to map and even heal the brain with light. It’s called optogenetics, and the journal Science has called it one of the great insights of the 21st century. It’s in its early days, but the goal is to one day be able to take a disease like depression, PTSD, or epilepsy and, using bursts of light, just turn it off -- the same way you’d fix a software glitch in a computer.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Nathaniel Lachenmeyer tells Jim Fleming about the history of our suspicion that 13 is an “unlucky” number.
We found a modern-day huckster. His name is Rev. Ivan Stang and he’s the co-founder of a cult called The Church of the SubGenius.
If you're worried about zombies every time you step outside, Max Brooks is your man.
Nicole-Anne Boyer is a strategic foresight specialist who helps clients come up with realistic projections of the future. She tells Steve Paulson that violent conflicts have actually dramatically decreased since the end of the Cold War...
August is Ghost Month in Taiwan—a time to commemorate the dead: burn incense, visit shrines, honor ancestors, and avoid large purchases. It's also the setting for Ed Lin's newest mystery. Lin is a 3-time winner of the Asian-American Literary Award.
Jonathan Lethem's new novel is "Chronic City." The book has been described as a cross between the famous borough-centric New Yorker cartoon and the darkest episode of "Seinfeld."
Parker Palmer tells Jim Fleming why the soul still matters in an age of science.
Pages
