Alan Dale says laughing at slapstick is - at its heart - an expression of our sympathy with TV and film characters who get hurt. He says it's also relief that, for once, it's not us in pain.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
The style of type used by the Obama campaign is called Gotham and was designed by the team of Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones.
Anne Strainchamps talks with Kevin Brockmeier about his novel which concerns the dead who have not yet passed from living memory.
Cognitive researcher Douglas Hofstadter explains how gendered words and phrases — like using "guys" to refer to mixed company — can oftentimes reinforce sexist attitudes.
Joe Kelly runs a national organization called Dads and Daughters. He gives Steve Paulson some advice for fathers whose daughters are hitting puberty.
Julia Glass tells Steve Paulson that writing the book was her way of dealing with unendurable emotional trauma.
Jim Fleming talks with Mark Winegardner about his new book, “The Godfather Returns,” and what it was like to step into Mario Puzo’s shoes.
What made Lincoln a great president? Was he a closet racist? We hear short interviews with Lincoln historians Doris Kearns Goodwin, Orville Vernon Burton and John Stauffer.
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