Episode Archives

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Barbara Ehrenreich

A collection of all of Barbara Ehrenreich's interviews on "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" over the years. Read more

TTBOOK

Kashmir has been called the most beautiful place on earth.  Today, it’s the melting point for a bitter dispute between India and Pakistan.  It’s a situation that’s been called more dangerous than the Cuban missile crisis.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an Indian writer mourns the...Read more

An independent woman.

For the first time in American history, young women are choosing independence over marriage.  Single women today outnumber married women and have more political power than ever before.  It's what Susan B. Anthony, Margaret Sanger and other feminist icons predicted.  This hour, how...Read more

DNA

Can science conquer death? It may seem like an absurd question, but some people think it's possible. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Aubrey de Grey, a maverick English scientist who's identified seven major kinds of molecular and cellular damage. He thinks we can prevent...Read more

bees

Bees are responsible for forty percent of the food we put in our mouths.  It sounds astonishing, but without bees, we could find ourselves facing food shortages and a collapse of the green and flowered world.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,  a peek inside the world...Read more

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Next time you catch an old episode of the Flying Nun, you may want to pay attention.  Because today’s convents are closing.  The average nun is seventy years old, and even devout sisters often have to bite their tongues when they talk about the pope.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

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It's been called all kinds of things: God, Brahman, Nirvana, All, Dao. But renowned religion writer Karen Armstrong says we've often lost sight of what this ultimate reality means, so it's not surprising it can seem so unbelievable. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Karen Armstrong...Read more

hunter with dogs

Put on your Blaze Orange and your waterproof boots, we're heading into the woods! Hunting is one of the oldest human activities, and despite markets full of food and TV nature specials about a world of oneness among species, hunting remains very popular. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

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Turning thirty used to be embarrassing, an occasion for angst and misery.  Today young adults are embracing thirty as cause for celebration.  They’re renting yachts, giving speeches and spending thousands of dollars to celebrate the big three-oh.  In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

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If you believe those at the top of society deserve their success, doesn’t that mean you think those at the bottom deserve their failure?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk about status anxiety.  Also, we’ll find out why American poverty matters to everyone.Read more

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As Western economies struggle, some Eastern economies are booming.  India and China now threaten to surpass the West as economic – and political – superpowers.   But it’s not just politics that’s changing in South Asia.  Across the region, centuries-old religious traditions are also entering a...Read more

farm fields

The Back to the Land spirit of the 60s lives on today, in the proliferation of farmer's markets, and the increased interest in sustainability and growing our own food.  From the fight to end food waste in America to the art of living small, we'll find out what the Back to the Land spirit...Read more

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Whether black from a bottomless cup or as a Frappuccino mocha skim latte, it’s our culture’s elixir, coffee.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, java, joe, or a cup of mud.  Most of us drink it everyday, but few of us know the effects it has on the world’s economy, or even...Read more

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Racial sensitivity and political tolerance are clearly good, but is it possible to take them too far? This hour, a look at how we talk about touchy subjects -- whether political correctness is about safety or censorship.Read more

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Cameron Sinclair has something to say to architects out there: design like you give a damn. The founder of Architects for Humanity says the houses and office buildings we build today will literally shape the world our children inherit. So give a damn. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

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It doesn’t get much more American than a waitress in a diner taking your order.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the diner.  For some, like painter Edward Hopper, the diner is a muse.  For others it’s just a greasy spoon.  But have we romanticized the endless cups of coffee and the...Read more

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Eighty per cent of Americans say they believe in heaven. But when they're asked to describe it, many are at a loss for words. Do they think that there's another universe in the sky or do they believe that heaven is something more abstract and metaphorical? We'll explore our enduring fascination...Read more

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Film on radio? Why not? This hour, join us LIVE from the historic Orpheum Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, for a special “Wisconsin Film Festival edition” of To The Best of Our Knowledge for film on radio. We’ll talk Dogme with “Italian for Beginners” director, Lone Scherfig. Also, the anti-...Read more

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Steve Kissing seemed like a perfect child. He was an "A" student. He excelled as an athlete. He was even an altar boy. But Steve had a secret, a secret so dark he couldn't tell anyone. Steve was possessed by the devil. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, meeting the devil. From a boy...Read more

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On a scale of one to ten, how happy would you say you are right now?  If someone could teach you how to be even happier, would you be interested?  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, how to boost your happiness IQ.  Also, eating for pleasure, with chef and food writer Deborah Madison. ...Read more

Towering radio

We remember the magical moments of chemistry in certain interviews; the brilliant sound design that emerged from particular studio sessions; the stories that took us places and those that changed us.Read more

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We know the story of our 16th president – born in a log cabin, taught himself to read, led us through the bloodiest war ever fought on our soil, wrote the Gettsyburg address and freed the slaves. What don't we know? We celebrate Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday with a look at the man as well...Read more

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Somewhere along the way, did we ruin poetry? Have the heartfelt angst of young lovers and the epic elegies of heroes become elitist and academic? But poetry is back, and we have new technology to thank.Read more

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It sounds like a deal in the ads - submit your poems, have them set to music, and start a fascinating new career as a hit songwriter.  Of course your chance of success is slim to none and you have to pay for the privilege.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the strange subculture of...Read more

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