Brendan Halpin tells Steve Paulson about his early days as a teacher and why he stuck it out for several years.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
"Gifts make slaves like whips make dogs" is an anthropologist's tale of inter-cultural difference in gift exchanges.
David Graeber takes us on a tour of gift giving, and gift economies. He also takes a swing at the question of whether it's possible to give a truly selfless gift.
Eric Lichtblau is one of the New York Times journalists who won a Pulitzer Prize for the story about the NSA's warrantless wire-tapping program.
Douglas Coupland says only twenty percent of people are hard-wired to “get” irony and the rest take everything at face value.
And what about our social future? Family life has seen a lot of change in the past 50 years. What might the future hold?
Professor of history and family studies, Stephanie Coontz weighs in on the forces shaping American families.
You can also check out her recent New York Times articles about the true history of American families and working mothers.
Chuck Klosterman tells Steve Paulson why Phoenix Suns basketball player Steve Nash is associated with Marxism, and how he picks subjects to write about.
Can you fall in love with anyone? More than 20 years ago, psychologist Arthur Aron made two strangers fall in love in his laboratory by asking them 36 questions. Writer Mandy Len Catron tried out the 36 questions with a guy she barely knew. Now they’re in love.
Writer Asra Nomani traveled alone in India and Pakistan on what became a personal, spiritual journey.
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