Stephen Mitchell has composed a new translation of “Gilgamesh,” the epic poem of ancient Mesopotamia.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Stephen Prothero thinks it's imperative that Americans have a working knowledge of religious traditions at home and abroad to understand other peoples and our own politicians.
The Pacific Gyre is a region in the middle of the Pacific Ocean around which all the major currents swirl. As a result, debris that floats into the gyre gets stuck there.
Everyone thinks The Arabian Nights is a collection of stories and folktales from the Middle East. In fact, some of the most famous were written by Europeans, who fell in love with the tradition and wanted more.
Media critic Susan Douglas tells Steve Paulson that the American new media is doing less foreign news since 9/11, concentrating on health issues and “news you can use.”
Tariq Ali about Al-Andalus, the largely forgotten Muslim society on the peninsula that's now Spain and Portugal where Christians, Jews and Muslims once lived together in relative harmony.
Jules Pretty spent a year circumnavigating England's southeastern coast on foot. He discovered tidal paths, secret roads, and beaches covered in tiny fragments of 18th century human bones.
In her book, "Do Metaphors Dream of Literal Sleep?: A Science-Fictional Theory of Representation," Seo-Young Chu argues that science fiction is a kind of "high-intensity realism." She spoke with Jim Fleming.
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