Jim Crace's novel "The Pesthouse" takes place in America after an un-named eco-disaster has decimated the population and destroyed much of our hi-tech civilization.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Reality TV manipulates the lives of its participants but we watch it anyway. Why are we so hooked?
Jonnie Hughes talks about about his book, "On the Origin of Tepees: The Evolution of Ideas (and Ourselves)."
Jennifer Egan tells Steve Paulson all about her polyphonic narrative "A Visit from the Goon Squad."
Episcopal priest Matthew Fox tells Steve Paulson why the belief in Original Sin is destructive and leads to a culture of pessimism.
Moustafa Bayoumi talks with Jim Fleming about how 9/11 caused him to feel like an outsider in his own country.
Psychiatrist Ned Kalin and psychologist Richard Davidson have found that cheerful people tend to have more left-brain activity while people with active right brains tend to be sad and pessimistic.
Historian John D’Emilio is the author of “Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin.” D’Emilio says that Rustin was crucial to the civil rights movement but has been forgotten because he was gay
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