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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

A few years ago, poet Christian Wiman picked up his pen after a three-year hiatus, when he fell in love and was diagnosed with cancer. Listen in as he reads a poem from "Every Riven Thing," the book of poems that followed. You can also hear our interview with him about the collection.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Storyteller Carolyn McVickar Edwards has a lovely little collection called "In the Light on the Moon."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

I dunno, but it seems kind of extreme, not to mention risky, to bio-engineer a mass mosquito die-off.  So Steve Paulson tracked down the world’s greatest living entomologist to see what he has to say.  E. O Wilson is sometimes called “the ant man” – that’s the insect he studied most – but he’s best known as the evolutionary biologist and a champion of biodiversity.  He’s 86 years old now, and has just finished what is probably his last book – called “Half Earth”.  It’s a passionate plea to save humanity by dedicating half the planet to nature.  You’d assume that Wilson would be happy to let mosquitos live in that half… but that’s not what he told Steve.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

David Leavitt is the author of a novel called "The Indian Clerk" which tells the story of Srinivasa Ramanujan, the uneducated Indian who amazed Cambridge University with his mathematical discoveries.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Benjamin Nugent is the author of "American Nerd: The Story of My People." He tells Jim Fleming there are two main categories of nerds and something about their history and the different nerdy subcultures.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Copenhagen, Johannesburg, Kyoto, Rio... it can be hard to keep track of all the international summits where global leaders have tried to tackle climate change. Do international climate negotiations do any good? Author and lobbyist Felix Dodds thinks so. Here's why...

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Chelsea Cain wrote “Confessions of A Teen Sleuth: A Parody.” As she tells Anne, her book sets the record straight.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

National Book Award winner Andrea Barrett writes some of the most beautiful fiction we know about scientists.  The stories in her new collection, "Archangel" explore the history of knowledge through five linked characters.  After reading it, we're awfully glad she gave up biology to write fiction.

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