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 are moral and ethical issues that come up around war photography. Writer David Shields charged the New York Times with glamorizing war in photographs. Shields analyzed 100’s of pictures published on the front page of the Times and last year he wrote a book accusing the paper of making war beautiful. Charles Monroe-Kane sat down to talk with him.
Ron Shaich, the founder of Panera Bread Company, has come up with a new business model: cafes where customers pay what they want or can afford.
Steve Paulson profiles savage literary critic Dale Peck. A collection of Peck’s reviews is called “Hatchet Jobs.”
Novelist Tom Perrotta talks with Anne Strainchamps about life in the suburbs, where everything is nice, and nobody wants a pedophile to move into the neighborhood.
Journalist William Claassen calls himself a nomadic pilgrim. He spent many years traveling to cloistered communities from various religious traditions around the world.
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.
Susan Blackmore is a British psychologist who's written books on consciousness, memes and Zen Buddhism. She says her daily practice of meditation has revealed truths that have eluded the scientific study of consciousness.
You can also listen to the EXTENDED interview, and read the extended transcript.
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