Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
Stars

Do scientists see the world in a different way? Not really. Just be curious.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 16, 2017

tech love

In his new poem, Fady Joudah explores questions about exile, suffering and the language of nation states.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 13, 2017

vinyl is back

Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s something more. But analog is back in style.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 09, 2017

Writing poems

In this hour, we see how poetry can show us new ways to think about place and personal identity.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 02, 2017

Vietnamese refugees

Quan Barry is writing a new poem each week in response to current events.Read more

Original Air Date:

March 30, 2017

Protester

Wherever you turn, it seems like someone’s angry — on Facebook and cable news, in street marches and congressional town halls. It would seem that we’ve entered a new era of increased hostility. But how did we, as a nation, get here?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 26, 2017

Women in STEM

Emily Temple-Wood has been an avid Wikipedia editor since she was pretty young.  And early on, she noticed that Wikipedia has a serious gender bias problem, so she began recruiting more women editors to write more Wikipedia articles about notable women.  And in return she got… rape and...Read more

Original Air Date:

March 23, 2017

Glitch lady

Why do women have to put up with this? And how do they fight back?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 19, 2017

jet engine

We talk to two experts who think about the role empathy can play in tackling big problems.Read more

Original Air Date:

March 16, 2017

The Majestic Theater in Madison

What can science reveal about lust, romance, and compassion?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 26, 2017

People on an island

Forty years ago Richard Dawkins wrote the landmark book “The Selfish Gene,” where he argued that the gene is what drives evolution. But what if he got it all wrong?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 24, 2017

RR cafe sign

In this show, we explore storyworlds — the fictional universes that continue to enchant us.  Like the ghostly supernatural realm in which Abe Lincoln’s dead son, Willie, finds himself and the surreal Pacific Northwest town of Twin Peaks, the home of some damn fine coffee.Read more

Original Air Date:

February 19, 2017

Apple on the tree of knowledge

A garden, a tree, an apple and a serpent. The story of Adam and Eve is as old as sin. But it’s a lot more than a Bible story.Read more

Original Air Date:

February 05, 2017

How do you cope with unpleasant people? We consider the adage “hell is other people.”Read more

Original Air Date:

January 22, 2017

running is pointless

Every generation has one or two critics with an unparalleled ability to capture the cultural moment they’re living in. Now, that critic may be Mark Greif. He’s one of the founders of the literary magazine n+1, who’s just come out with a new essay collection, “Against Everything.” In this...Read more

Original Air Date:

January 19, 2017

Machines

Computer scientists are closing in on the next frontier in artificial intelligence — machines that can create. Make art. Write stories. Compose music. The dream is to open the door to a whole new kind of creativity. Read more

Original Air Date:

January 15, 2017

Chicago skyline

Charles Monroe-Kane talks to David Nagler about adapting Carl Sandburg's poems to music. Read more

Original Air Date:

January 12, 2017

A huddle

Be strong, be tough, don’t cry – boys are bombarded with messages about being a man and the “male code” their whole lives. It's second nature, and also toxic. Read more

Original Air Date:

January 08, 2017

TTBOOK

It's December and time again for the annual media ritual — the best of list. We're sharing the best of the best of To the Best of Our Knowledge. 2016, the year in interviews.Read more

Original Air Date:

December 18, 2016

Shirley Jackson

On the centennial of Shirley Jackson's birth, we explore the great literary work that she left for us — the stories and novels that continue to resonate in our culture.Read more

Original Air Date:

December 11, 2016

Freeman Dyson

You get the sense that Freeman Dyson has seen everything. He's a legendary physicist who's had a front row seat on scientific breakthroughs for the past century. Read more

Original Air Date:

December 08, 2016

home

We’re living through a period of mass human migration, with people on the move all over the planet. What does it take to take an unfamiliar place and make it yours?Read more

Original Air Date:

December 04, 2016

Playing jazz

There's a new kind of music packing nightclubs with young fans. It's jazz — but not the sound of your grandparents' supper club. Infused with hip hop and other popular musical forms, jazz is being remade.Read more

Original Air Date:

November 27, 2016

CC BY-SA 2.0

Hip hop created a sound that changed music, art, fashion, and politics. What's next? Diplomacy? Journalism? Education? Philosophy?Read more

Original Air Date:

November 20, 2016

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