Persi Diaconis was a stage magician before he discovered probability theory and became one of the world's leading mathematicians. He tells us about some very powerful formulas derived from card shuffles and magic tricks.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
British comedian Ross Noble hosts a show for the BBC. The premise is to go to remote places in the world and try to do stand-up.
As the daughter of a child psychologist, writer Jessica Lamb-Shapiro grew weary of the simple solutions offered by popular self-help books. So maybe it was only natural that she wanted to understand why people liked them so much. To find out, she read hundreds of books and articles, journeyed to conferences headed by self-improvement icons, and even conquered her fear of flying along the way.
The saddest music of all to many people is Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.”
Novelist Tom Perrotta talks with Anne Strainchamps about life in the suburbs, where everything is nice, and nobody wants a pedophile to move into the neighborhood.
Music writer Peter Guralnick tells us how the legendary Sam Phillips created rock and roll as a musical protest.
Historian Simon Schama tells Steve Paulson that Rembrandt thought art should tell the truth and that he was an enormously innovative painter.
Vivek Maddala composes new scores for silent movies. He tells Steve Paulson how music can tell a story.
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