Audio

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Boundary and Horizon: The Mississippi River in African-American History

Angie da Silva is a historian of black cultural life in the United States, going back to the Civil War. She collects stories, both through oral history and archival research. But she's not merely a writer. She brings these stories to life through historical reenactment, often as a slave character she's created named Lila.  She says that the stories she hears and tells are too often left out of our history books.

In this interview, she talks about her work and tells the story of Mary Meachum, a free black abolitionist who worked on the Mississippi in St. Louis.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

David Plotz on "Good Book"

David Plotz is the editor of Slate Magazine (slate.com) and the author of "Good Book."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Eric Schlosser on "Reefer Madness"

Eric Schlosser says our marijuana laws have a lot to do with class and race prejudice.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Cathy Davidson on How the Brain Science of Attention Will Change Our Lives

Cathy N. Davidson is the author of "Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn."  She tells Anne Strainchamps why "attention blindness" matters.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Calculus of Love - John and Julie Gottman

Psychologists John and Julie Gottman are famous for being able to predict with 94% accuracy whether a couple will break up, stay together unhappily, or stay together happily. In their Love Lab, they've identified hidden patterns of behavior that can strengthen or weaken relationships. If we'd known the secret to a good marriage was non-linear differential equations, we might have paid more attention in math class.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Dangerous Idea: Urban Exploration

Cultural geographer Bradley Garrett's Dangerous Idea? Rediscover overlooked sites in cities.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Daring to Offend

Talking about race is fraught these days, so it took guts for Paul Beatty to write his novel "The Sellout." It's a satire about a young black man who winds up on trial at the Supreme Court. And along the way, he enslaves an old friend and re-segregates the local high school.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Douglas Rushkoff on "Life Inc."

Douglas Rushkoff is a well-known media critic and maker of documentaries.

Pages

Subscribe to Audio