Suprabha Beckjord runs as a spiritual practice. She's a follower of Sri Chinmoy, who believed athletics could enhance spiritual enlightenment. So he set up various weightlifting, swimming, and distance running events. His most famous - and most grueling - is the annual Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. The race, which exceeds the distance from Boston to Los Angeles, takes place around a half- mile loop in Queens, New York. Suprabha Beckjord ran those 3100 miles for 13 years in a row. Her fastest race was 49 days and 14 hours, an average or more than 63 miles a day. Rehman Tungekar talks with her.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Will Friedwald, author of “Stardust Melodies,” tells Steve Paulson about Billy Strayhorn’s Song “Lush Life.”
Jazz pianist and cognitive scientist Vijay Iyer just won a MacArthur "genius" award. He's also landed a job at Harvard teaching music. He tells Anne Strainchamps how he incorporates science into his music.
Journalist Steve Volk believes the paranormal can be studied scientifically and explains why it's also a great subject for journalists. Also, a montage of movie clips about the paranormal.
Sara Lorimer tells Jim Fleming about the Chinese woman who ran an empire of six fleets and eighty thousand pirates, and the Irish pirate who gave birth during a battle.
Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Susan Faludi writes about the effects of 9/11 on society, and especially on women.
Neuroscientists say that about a quarter of our mental energy is dedicated to maintaining our narrative identities. Julian Keenan says there's got to be an evolutionary benefit for all that "self".
Filmmakers Jon Betz and Taggart Siegel talk about their documentary "Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?"
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