Doug Dorst talks about "S.," the novel-within-another-novel that he wrote based on a concept by producer and director J.J. Abrams.
Doug Dorst talks about "S.," the novel-within-another-novel that he wrote based on a concept by producer and director J.J. Abrams.
A great in American soul music, the Reverend Al Green has spent his life testifying on stage and in the pulpit to the power of grace, love and happiness.
Psychiatrist Allen Peterkin tells Steve Paulson that beards make people think of either Santa Claus or Satan, and that facial hair is making a comeback.
In the mid-1930's, Alan Turing made the revolutionary discovery that launched the digital age. He proved that information can be translated and communicated using nothing but a series of ones and zeroes. And that was just the first of Turing's intellectual achievements. Biographer Andrew Hodges explained Turing's genius to Jim Flemming in 2012.
Abram de Swaan is a Dutch sociologist who studies the politics of language. He tells Steve Paulson that English is the worldwide language of business and diplomacy, though many wish it weren’t.
Before there was iTunes, Spotify, or Pandora, there was the mixtape. Jason Bittner is nostalgic for those days, when sweethearts would spend days crafting the perfect playlist. He's the editor of a book and former website called "Cassette From My Ex". He shares some songs from his collection, and explains why the mixtape is such a powerful medium.
Alex Stone is a magician with a degree in physics. He performs a magic trick over the radio and explains how it works.
To hear one of Alex Stone's favorite bar tricks, listen here.
Novelist Amy Tan tells Anne Strainchamps about the murder that shaped her life as a writer and the role that fate has played in her family's history.