Novelist Olivia Laing's Dangerous Idea? Loneliness is a gift.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Houston's Rothko Chapel is a shrine to the transformative power of art. Abstract artist Mark Rothko created 14 enormous paintings for this sacred space. Pianist Sarah Rothenberg tells us the history behind the music on her CD "Rothko Chapel," and writer Terry Tempest Williams describes her reverence for the Rothko Chapel.
Writer and journalist Christopher Hitchens tells Steve Paulson that Orwell got it right about imperialism, fascism and communism.
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.
Novelist Colin McAdam conjures a fictional world of a childless couple who adopt a rambunctious chimp. We hear excerpts of his novel "A Beautiful Truth."
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.
If you’ve ever seen a movie trailer you’ve heard the voice of Don LaFontaine. “The King of the Movie Trailer Voice-Overs” talks to Steve Paulson.
Getting words, quotes, even lines of verse inked under the skin is more common that you think. There’s even a name for it: Literary Tattoos
Pages
