The mind and the body meet in the brain. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, two of the world’s top brain doctors claim that what you feel affects how you feel. Dr. Norman Rosenthal, the man who discovered Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), says there’s an Emotional...Read more
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Episode Archives
Muddy Waters grew up on a cotton plantation with an insatiable hunger to play music. He beat on kerosene cans before he finally got a guitar. Muddy Waters went on to become a legendary bluesman. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why some people grow up musical. Also, pianist...Read more
Captain William Kidd is considered to be one of the most notorious buccaneers ever to sail the Spanish Main. But apparently history got it wrong – Captain Kidd wasn’t a pirate, he was a sea captain who hunted down pirates. Talk about being misunderstood!. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Andrew Sullivan is not a Republican, but he calls himself a conservative. He does not believe in using religion to ground political ideals. But he himself is a person of faith. And he endorsed John Kerry, although Ronald Reagan is one of his heroes. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Right after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair magazine, declared “irony is dead.” Only a few months later Carter said, with a nudge and a wink, “I meant to say IRONING is dead - not irony.” This time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll look at the rise of...Read more
We’re exploring love by the numbers, this week. 36 questions, 40 first dates, and 43 equations – it’s all part of the new mathematical science of love.Read more
What would the Old Masters make of the exhibitions that get some elected officials so worked up? They might have liked them! In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, new art and old masters. Simon Schama paints Rembrandt as a prankster. We’ll uncover the political...Read more
East Meets West
Part Two
A look at America's romance with Eastern spirituality: how did dharma retreats and yoga vacations become part of the Western lifestyle? Buddhist teachers explain what Buddhism has to offer a consumer...Read more
Think you know about kung fu movies? That they’re campy, badly dubbed flicks from the 70s? Sometimes. But they’re also graceful, noble, heroic feats of movie making. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the tiger, the crane, legends of the Shaolin (SHOW-lin) Temple, and the...Read more
East Meets West
Part Four
Imagine growing up in Pakistan. Islam is a way of life. You get up every morning at 4:30 to pray. Then when you're 18, you move to the American Midwest, Iowa, to attend college. That's the story Kumail...Read more
Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, Jordan, Oman, Syria even Madison, Wisconsin, and the list grows day by day. People are filling the streets and demanding change. They want different things, but their protests have one thing in common: they have no leaders. They're organizing without...Read more
Sales clerks at Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, reportedly call the best-selling "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", "the girl who pays our paychecks". The award-winning Swedish crime thriller has sold so many copies, publishers are racing to find the next Scandinavian best-seller. We meet...Read more
This may be the century when Americans forget how to cook. We’re too busy and take-out’s too easy, and who needs to cook when you can buy dinner at the supermarket? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the profound implications of the decline and fall of chicken soup, meatloaf, and...Read more
The average American child grows up in a house with three TVs, three Radios, two VCRs, two CD players, a video game player and a computer. That's a lot of media. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge what happens when kids stop consuming media and start making it? We'll meet kids who...Read more
Apocalyptic thinking is everywhere, from predictions about Christian “end times” to the 2012 Mayan prophecy about the end of the world. So what’s going on? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk with renowned religious historian Elaine Pagels about the lasting impact of the...Read more
If chocolate be the food of love, eat on! In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why chocolate may be the next big health food. It's our Valentine’s Day special: two best-selling romance writers share tricks of the trade. And, listeners share their true stories of love at first sight...Read more
Sure you get to throw a great party and drink lots of champagne, but once the celebration’s over the grueling work of marriage begins. It’s hard to believe in the fairy tale any more with so many divorces. If Cinderella were around today, she might just shack up with Prince Charming and keep...Read more
Look at the bright side. Keep a positive attitude. Pull yourself up by your own boot straps. If you set your mind on it, you can do anything. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a rosy view of optimism and wishful thinking. And for you cynics? A look at the positive power of...Read more
Are Americans dumbing down instead of smartening up? Many surveys say yes. According to a 2006 National Geographic-Roper survey, nearly half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 don't think it's necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made. In...Read more
How far did your food travel to get to you today? 100 miles? A thousand? Or just down the street. No matter where today's meal came from, there's a story behind it. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, food stories. New York chef Dan Barber faces a moral crisis in the form of a...Read more
In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, choosing the life you want. Colette’s biographer talks about how the great French writer stayed saucy and sexually active into old age. Kay Redfield Jamison takes a look at the end of life - a view of the suicide epidemic. And...Read more
Ever get the feeling that nothing’s original these days, that every new song that comes out is just a rehash of another? This hour, we’re looking at the fine line between inspiration and imitation, and finding out what separates an original work from a bland copy.Read more
Electrons to Enlightenment
Part Four
Polls show that nearly half of all Americans believe the Biblical story of creation, while only a quarter accept evolution. The philosopher Daniel Dennett thinks we need to "break the spell" of...Read more
While the debate about how to fix America’s schools rages on, millions of parents have their own solution – opting out of the system. Homeschoolers in America usually make the choice for two reasons – to invest more religion in the curriculum or to embrace the vales of progressive education. ...Read more