When we’re talking about data, we’re really talking about code—the languages that structure every aspect of our digital lives. But can code itself be interesting? Or even beautiful? Vikram Chandra grew up in India and always wanted to be a novelist, but when he came to the United States, he discovered computers—going from a weekend tinkerer to a consultant who paid his way through grad school. He spoke with Steve Paulson on what makes good writing, and what makes good code.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Imagine being a 15-year old boy on vacation in Pakistan, kidnapped and transported to Guantanamo Bay. Anna Perera's debut young adult novel focuses on the darker aspects of the war on terror.
For nearly a decade, political scientist Kathy Cramer has been travelling throughout rural Wisconsin, talking with groups of people at small cafes, gas stations, and other popular local gathering spots. Through her conversations with ordinary Wisconsinites, she's discovered a growing resentment between the state's rural and academic communities. She tells Steve Paulson that the dream of the Wisconsin Idea isn't connecting with many of the state's rural residents.
Alan Turing wasn't just a brain. He was also an accomplished athlete -- a runner, who nearly made it to the Olympics. British writer Alan Garner knew Alan Turing as his friend and running partner.
Do banks really have to rule the world? Not if we use alternative currencies. Bernard Lietaer and Jacqui Dunne say thousands of these different exchange systems already exist to meet people's real needs.
Find out what brain imaging technology can tell us about the experiences of Franciscan nuns and Pentecostalists at prayer.
Landscape architect Anne Whiston Spirn talks about Frederick Law Olmsted’s revolutionary plan to use the processes of nature to clean up human damage to the environment.
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