Carlos Eire has written a memoir about the Cuba he remembers. Castro came to power when Carlos was eight. Eire tells Jim Fleming about his childhood in Cuba and after he was air-lifted to the U.S. His memoir is called “Waiting for Snow in Havana.”
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Dean Hamer tells Steve Paulson about the gene that regulates brain activity that we perceive as an affinity for spiritual matters.
Anthony Shadid won two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the war in Iraq. He knows the violence of war. As he told Steve Paulson, he also knows, that when the war ends, unintended consequences follow.
Christian Wiman is a poet and editor of Poetry Magazine. His latest book of poems, Every Riven Thing, is a celebration of life and an exploration of mortality.
Charles Siebert provides a version of an essay he wrote for the New York Times Magazine about the ironies of the human longing to keep wild creatures close to us.
Novelist Michel Faber recommends one of his favorite books: "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater," by Kurt Vonnegut.
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.
Long before the discovery of water on Mars or Matt Damon's star turn in The Martian, Robert Zubrin has been advocating for a human mission to mars. His book, The Case for Mars, made a splash when it was first published in 1996, and has continued to be influential in both scientific and science fiction circles. Zubrin calls Mars "the Rosetta Stone" for understanding life in the universe. But he's not just interested in science. He also thinks the sheer challenge would bring positive and uplifting change to all of humankind.
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