Daniel Tammet has memorized the number pi into the tens of thousands of digits. He's learned new languages in a few weeks. He describes the gift - and the burden - of being an autistic savant.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Anne here. My conversation with Turkish writer Elif Şafak back in April still sticks with me as the year comes to a close. In many parts of the world, 2016 was the year of the populist leader—especially in Turkey, where Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a crackdown on free speech and all forms of opposition. 120 journalists have been jailed, more than 2,000 academics have been dismissed from universities, and more than 100,000 public workers have been fired. How did Turkey—once a model of new democratic nations—become such a different place? Not only did Şafak see this coming, she warned that the West should not consider itself immune.
David Ferris is the director of the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project. He tells Anne Strainchamps the project began as a conceptual art project that provided gainful employment to the animals put out of work by the collapse of Thailand's timber industry.
Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard recommends a chilling read: "The Flame Alphabet" by Ben Marcus.
Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler is president of the Fauna Communications Research Institute. She shares samples with Jim Fleming of some of the amazing animal sounds her group has recorded.
Producer Cynthia Woodland introduces us to "The Bid Whist Ladies" - a small group of African American women in Madison, Wisconsin who've been meeting once a week to play cards for over 25 years.
Celia Brooks Brown is an American who lives in the U.K. and is making a reputation as a high-brow vegetarian chef. Her books include “Party Food for Vegetarians.”
Evelin Sullivan, author of “The Concise Book of Lying,” talks with Steve Paulson about lies of necessity, little white lies, and what sort of deception really makes people angry.
Pages
