Jody Lewen is the executive director of the Prison University Project, a degree-granting program for the inmates at San Quentin State Prison in California. She's seen first hand the transformative power of knowledge and education and thinks the most important feature of higher education should be accessibility.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Richard Price has a hit with his novel "Lush Life." It's a crime story, but Price says his book has nothing to do with detective fiction or any other genre.
MiRi Park is the defending 2004 U.S. and World air guitar champion. She performs for us and tells Steve Paulson what made her the champ.
Karen Russell talks about her debut novel, "Swamplandia!," which focuses on a family-operated gator wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades.
Karen Russell's "Swamplandia!" page on Random House's website
Cosmologist Paul Davies talks with Steve Paulson about the anthropic principle and proposes that we live in a "participatory" universe - a premise he explores in his book, "Cosmic Jackpot: Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life."
Merritt Ierley talks with Anne Strainchamps about the domestic technology (central heating, indoor plumbing, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers) that makes American homes the most comfortable in the world.
John Nichols tells Jim Fleming that the new anti-terrorism laws are endangering civil liberties. He says Congress is depriving the country of the open policy discussion a democracy needs.
Author Kevin Henkes reads his favorite children's book, "Lucky Song".
Pages
