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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Barbara Moss needed a new face.  Her mouth was so deformed she could pop a baby’s fist between her teeth and out again without opening her jaw.  As a girl, she prayed for just a little bit of beauty.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, one woman discovers her true face.  Also, why men...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wallace Stegner put it this way. “National Parks are the best idea we ever had.”  This weekend, the National Park Service celebrates its birthday by making the parks free for a day. We're celebrating with an hour on the history and politics of national parks.  And we'll meet some folks whose...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Does Western aid to impoverished African countries really help? Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo says no: it just lines the pockets of corrupt leaders and creates a culture of dependency. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the ethics of foreign aid, and hear why...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In India he’s known as the giggling guru.  In America Dr. Maden Kataria is famous in certain circles as the man who founded Laughter Yoga.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the man who’s changing the world with chuckles, chortles and belly laughs.  And, why more and more people...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Michael Chabon's a pretty successful writer of literary fiction. As far as he's concerned, literary fiction is just another genre, with its own set of conventions. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we get into the fight over genre fiction. Agatha Christie's grandson says the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

For decades, men have written about their first sexual experiences, but there’s almost no literature like that for women.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, memoirist Mary Karr reflects on her first kiss and other rites of passage for girls.  Also, Jonathan Kozol describes...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

 After one of the ugliest and most divisive presidential races in history -- can America heal? Weeks of vitriolic campaign rhetoric have taken a toll on friends and families. A majority of voters are disgusted with politics and don’t believe the next president will be able to unite the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Maybe you watched Elizabeth Taylor strut around Ancient Rome so you think you know who Cleopatra was.  Well, the real Cleopatra was far more remarkable - a brilliant woman who spoke nine languages and ruled over the world's most cosmopolitan culture... and yes, also cavorted with both Julius...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The Meaning of Life

Part Two

 

Karen Armstrong was a Catholic nun who stopped believing. In this hour of the Peabody Award-winning program To the Best of Our Knowledge, Armstrong shares her story of how she found her way back to God...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What would you do if you found yourself in the presence of murderous evil? Would you sell out to survive, or would you resist and try to hang onto your values? For how long? Maybe you reject the whole concept of evil. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll meet some people who aren't...Read more

a mosquito takes over the world

As the Zika virus continues to make headlines, consensus is slowly growing among scientists that it’s showdown time for the mosquito.  Time to marshal the technology to wipe them off the face of the earth.  Which seems pretty extreme.  Doesn’t it?

So, should we bio-...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Before there was Wikipedia… Before there was Facebook and Twitter… there was Ward Cunningham.  The computer programmer who invented the first wiki, back in 1995.  Cunningham also did something even more radical – he didn’t patent his invention.  He passed up billions of dollars of potential...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Once upon a time people believed the world was populated with terrible monsters and fabulous mythical beasts. They thought if they just searched long enough and hard enough, they'd find them. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the mythical beasts of folktale and legend and the modern...Read more

an abstract glass shape

Physicist Lawrence Krauss says science can finally explain the age-old mystery: How can something come out of nothing?  Or, to be more specific, how can the Big Bang pop out of empty space?  Krauss also set off an intellectual brawl by saying theologians and philosphers have nothing...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Paul Ewald is a cancer researcher. He says we're entering a golden era in cancer treatment based on one emerging idea: most cancers are caused by viruses. It's good news, according to Ewald, who says we'll be able to treat cancer preventively, with vaccines. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The public sees a politician one way.  A political cartoonist sees something else entirely.  What makes a good political cartoon?  We’ll get some answers from Steve Brodner, one of the most savage illustrators at work in the United States.  It’s The New Toons in this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Who's calling your shots? Who's in charge of your thinking, your perceptions? Maybe it's simple. Your mind is the boss, then your brain runs your body. Everything's fine. Until it's not and you find yourself confronting depression or autism or a head injury that leaves you with brain damage....Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Uncovering the real story in Iraq is getting harder.  Western journalists have become targets, just like American soldiers.  And reporters now take elaborate precautions to avoid being killed or kidnaped.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the hazards of war reporting...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a visit with former Israeli commando Uri Avnery, who went on to become an outspoken critic of Israeli policy. He's seen his office bombed. He's been beaten and once barely survived an assassination attempt. Today Avnery is calling for a separate...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Where’s James Bond when you need him?  You have to wonder about the spy business after the dubious information that was used to justify America’s war against Iraq.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an argument for revealing all the secrets to the public.  And, a look back at Anthony...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Remember the good old days? No? Well that's either because you haven't lived them yet, or you need to check the note you left on the bedside table. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we're looking at age and memory with a Nobel Prize winner searching through the mechanics of the brain...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Have you ever wondered why Homer’s “Iliad” is still so popular?  Bestselling writer Thomas Cahill says it’s because it’s a real boy’s story.  On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, our enduring fascination with the Ancient Greeks.  Also, an archaeologist who’s excavating the real Troy. ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ever want to chuck everything and just live your dream? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we meet several people who are doing just that. One of them's a hot young actor, starring in a smash Broadway musical. Another is a middle-aged husband and father who published a small magazine...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Is religion dangerous? Sam Harris blames the violent verses in the Koran and the Bible for inciting religious conflict around the world. Renowned religious historian Karen Armstrong says the core message of the major religions is the Golden Rule. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more

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