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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Derek Bickerton has spent more than 30 years researching Creole languages on four continents for his book, "Bastard Tongues: A Trailblazing Linguist Finds Clues to Our Common Humanity in the World's Lowliest Languages."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Charles Yu is the author of a critically acclaimed new novel, "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Eric Kandel has spent a lifetime studying the science of memory and picked up a Nobel Prize while he was at it.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Christine Yano tells Steve Paulson about Japanese “enka” music – songs that are intended to make listeners and performers cry.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Mary Pauline Lowry has been obsessed with fire since she was a child. And she's pursued this obsession throughout her life -- by working as a member of a hotshot crew fighting wildland fires and writing a novel called "Wildfire" based on her experience.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

An Iraq War veteran struggles with PTSD and addiction. What's it really like coming home from war?

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

On a foggy summer night, eleven people depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet bound for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the plane plunges into the ocean and only two people survive. This is how the new novel, "Before the Fall," opens. It's one of the best suspense novels of the year. The author is Noah Hawley, who's made a name for himself as the executive producer and writer of the award-winning TV series, "Fargo." And yes, "Fargo" is inspired by the Coen Brothers' film of the same name.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Rehman here. This story quite literally hit close to home for me. I grew up just about an hour away from the suburb it takes place in, and until working on this story, I never would have imagined that building a mosque could be so controversial, especially in a place as cosmopolitan as Chicago. Standing under its massive dome, I was struck by the odd realization that a building could simultaneously be a haven and source of community for some, and symbol of fear and hatred for others. Though the story took place more than a decade ago, it seems we’re still wrestling with many of the same questions around religious inclusion and American identity.

 

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