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A crystal ball

There's no shortage of forecasts about the future these days. But did you know that ordinary people can out-predict the pros? 

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Shattered by her father's sudden death, writer Helen Macdonald began dreaming of wild hawks.  In an effort to move beyond her grief, she bought and trained a wild goshawk -- one of the world's fiercest birds of prey.   But between the bird and her grief, she became, in her words "more hawk than human."

walrus

Knowing how animals survive winter is good, but how do animals sound in winter? For that we turn to Douglas Quin, an award-winning sound designer and composer whose album "Fathom" contains underwater field recordings from the polar regions of the earth.

Polar bear

Depending on where you live, winter can be tough to get through.  It’s cold, it gets dark early, the weather’s messy.  Naturalist Bernd Heinrich shares some amazing stories about the ingenious ways animals survive winter.

Bar time.

For a true case study of an awkward situation, just head to the nearest pick-up bar. Here's what not to say when introducing yourself to a potential mate, in the words of actor and writer Jesse Eisenberg.

flight board

When blogger Jenny Lawson tweeted about an awkward exchange with a cashier at an airport, she couldn't have imagined the flood of responses she'd get from fans recounting their own mortifying moments.

“Mortified SF” by rick is licensed under CC BY 2.0

For years, the Mortified stage show and podcast has brought people together from all walks of life to share their most painfully awkward teenage moments. Participants open up their diaries and recount their most embarrassing stories.

“awkward phase 5” by J E Theriot is licensed under CC BY 2.0

What is it about awkwardness that we can't seem to get enough of? Philosopher Adam Kotsko says our fascination with awkwardness is more than about entertainment — it defines our modern era.

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