What if you knew that 30 days after you die, the earth would be destroyed? Would it change the way you live? Take philosopher Samuel Scheffler's thought experiment HERE.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
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.
Iris Chang is the author of “The Chinese in America: A Narrative History.” She talks with Steve Paulson about that history.
Jack Gottschalk tells Steve Paulson that piracy is alive and well on the high seas, from crews who hi-jack tankers and container ships to well-armed bandits who prey on boat people.
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.
In "Humans, Aliens and Autism" Ian Hacking analyzes the use of the alien metaphor as applied to people with autism.
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.
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