The common wisdom is that we’re getting more violent all the time. Witness the genocides and world wars of the last century. But cognitive psychologist Steven Pinker says we have it all wrong. And in his 800 page book “The Better Angels of Ourselves” he makes the case for how violence has declined.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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White Americans of European descent will make up less than half the population by 2042, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In other words, white people will soon become a demographic minority. Philosopher Linda Martin Alcoff says that shift represents a sea change in how we'll think about American identity. She’s the author of the new book “The Future of Whiteness.” Alcoff told Steve Paulson that before we contemplate the future, we need to grapple with what it means to be white today.
In John Hunter's 4th grade classroom, kids don't just do arithmetic and spelling. They save the world. John's epic "World Peace Game" is the subject of a book and documentary.
Susannah Cahalan talks about her book, "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness."
Restaurants serve food and feelings in this story by Nathan Witkin.
For our 2008 hour on plagiarism and intellectual propriety, we remixed our interview on sampling and remixes with DJ Spooky.
Wendy Doniger says sexual positions are just a small part of the Kamasutra, and that the British taught the Indians to be ashamed of this book, and their bodies.
From The Sopranos and Friday Night Lights to The Wire and Breaking Bad, we're living through a TV revolution. TV critic Alan Sepinwall gives the backstory of this explosion of great shows.
To read Alan Sepinwall's blog, click here.
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