Celebrated jazz pianist Vijay Iyer has a Ph.D. in music cognition and the rare ability to describe the interplay between music and the brain. We talk with Vijay and listen to his music.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Before the Internet, a good memory wasn't just useful; it was prized as a sign of intelligence. And there were memory geniuses who developed mental tricks for storing information. Philosopher and novelist Simon Critchley delves into the fascinating history of the memory palace, which once promised almost God-like wisdom.
G. Willow Wilson just won the World Fantasy Award for her novel, “Alif the Unseen”. Also, Marvel Comics is launching a new Muslim girl super-hero and Willow will be the series’ writer.
Stephen Long is the founder of Northern Woodlands Magazine. He takes us for a walk in his Vermont woods and teaches us how to "read" a forest.
What compels someone to commit acts of terror? Anthropologist Scott Atran has spent a decade talking with jailed suicide bombers and jihadist leaders. He says they're motivated by core human values: brotherhood, loyalty and the dream of a better world.
What would you do to make sure someone you love gets a quality education? Students become walking brands in this story by Kelsi Evans.
The idea of a universal basic income is getting serious consideration these days from governments -- in Switzerland, Finland, even Kenya. Could it get traction in the U.S.? Absolutely, says journalist Rutger Bregman.
Reinhold Messner is arguably the world’s greatest living mountaineer. He’s climbed 14 of the world’s tallest peaks, and if that isn’t impressive enough, he was the first to climb Mt. Everest alone and without supplemental oxygen. He recounts some of these adventures in a new book called “Reinhold Messner: My Life at the Limit.” Steve Paulson caught up with him and asked how he got hooked on climbing.
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