What separates your mind from an animal's? It's a question we've all asked, but renowned primatologist Frans de Waal says there's no point trying to rank who's smarter or dumber in the animal world. In fact, he believes there's no clear dividing line between humans and the rest of the animal world.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Chad Harbach is a cofounder and coeditor of the literary magazine N+1. A few years ago, he penned a widely circulated essay looking at the rise of creative writing MFA programs in the US. He believes they're creating a distinctly new literary culture, with its own set of motivations and goals.
James Kakalios tells Jim Fleming that without quantum physics, we wouldn't have ipods or CD players or laptops.
Siberia is enormous, but Ian Frazier has crossed it all, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, in a barely functioning van.
James WIlliam Gibson talks about ways in which people are seeking to reconnect with the natural world and to protect it, rather than simply exploit it as a resource.
Chuck Lakin is a home funeral educator. As a woodworker, he's designed wooden coffins, including some that can be used as furniture until they're needed. Here, he shares some of his favorite resources with information about funeral and burial options.
James Gleick's "The Information" is a sweeping history of information, going back to the invention of writing and the African tradition of talking drums. He tells Steve Paulson that the invention of information technologies has changed the very nature of consciousness.
Cary Sudler returns to his ancestral home to apologize to the black members of his family for the injustice of slavery
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