Would you recognize a genius if you met one? We’ll introduce you to four geniuses – or at least four people who just landed MacArthur “genius" awards: classical pianist Jeremy Denk, jazz musician Vijay Iyer, fiction writer Karen Russell and astrophysicist Sara Seager. Also, practical tips on...Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
A year and a half ago Gary Wolkstein’s doctor told him he had cancer of the spine, that it was terminal, and that he had just a few months left to live. Today Gary’s in fine health. Not, it wasn’t a miracle cure, it was a mistake. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
Calling Lynne Cox a swimmer is like calling Mohammed Ali a tough guy. At age fourteen, she swam to Catalina Island from mainland California. At eighteen she swam between the islands of New Zealand. Years later, with miles of hard swims behind her, she turned her eye to the unthinkable - the...Read more
David Rothenburg is a philosopher and a jazz clarinetist, who also loves birds. So one day he sat down in the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and started playing music. Lo and behold, a white-crested laughing thrush started singing with him, riffing on the tunes he played. Since then Rothenburg...Read more
What would a secular society really look like? We take an unconventional look at religion, the fiction it inspires, and reflect on why William James' classic book on mysticism, "The Varieties of Religious Experience," still matters.Read more
Poet Nick Lantz has a darkly satirical take on American culture. Lately, he’s been thinking about political spin and how politicians speak. In this interview—the third in our series ...Read more
What are the great country music singles? Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” probably. George Jones’ “slobbing tearjerker,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” What about the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women”? and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay? According to the book “Heartaches by the...Read more
Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt was one of nine U.S. presidents who had hooks for hands? Well, that's just one of countless facts included in John Hodgman's new almanac. But, as it turns out, all of these facts are fake. In this hour of the Peabody Award-winning To the Best of Our Knowledge,...Read more
Well we made it through the anticipated apocalypse.
Now, to say, "Goodbye old year; hello, new."
To help us begin again, we’ve got a collection of stories about putting challenges behind us. About transformation. About coming through hard times into...Read more
As Cuba and the U.S. restore diplomatic relations, what's in store for Americans who want to visit Cuba? And for Cubans wanting more prosperity? Steve Paulson recently traveled to Cuba and brought back new stories about our island neighbor. From diplomacy to culture, we tackle jazz,...Read more
One of this year's big novels is Colson Whitehead's sweeping historical novel, "The Underground Railroad." It's an unflinching look at the experience of slavery, inspired by the classic slave narratives. And being a sci-fi geek, Whitehead also weaves in bits of fantasy, creating an alternative...Read more
Leon Fleisher was once one of the world’s great pianists. Then a rare neurological disease left two fingers of his right hand clenched into his palm, and he could play only with his left hand for 37 years. At 76, Fleisher’s miraculously regained the use of his bad hand and he’s playing...Read more
Alex Rider, Nancy Drew, The Cat in the Hat, and Harold and the Purple Crayon – for millions of children of all ages, they're some of the most imaginative and mysterious stories around. But as it turns out, the authors sometimes have their own, personal mysteries to share. In this hour of To the...Read more
With hundreds of millions of people moving into cities, we're wondering what shapes urban cultures. In this hour, Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk talks about how Istanbul shaped his writing. One historian argues that early liberal philosophies from Amsterdam shaped the United States. And we check in...Read more
Fifty Years ago James Watson and Francis Crick made history when they cracked the code for DNA. Watson was only 24 years old, and by no means the smartest scientist around. So why do some scientists make great discoveries? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, James Watson talks about...Read more
Nerds are an easy target for humor in movies and on TV... with their thick black glasses, hopelessly out-of-fashion clothes, and over-enunciated diction. But there's a dark side to nerds. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll find out how the nerd stereotype is harming our children...Read more
Everyone in your Facebook feed is falling for fake news–sharing it even when there's no way it can be true. They keep falling for it. But not you, right? You’re smart, well-educated. You can tell the difference. Or can you?Read more
In this age of globalization, why would anyone want borders, an army, currency? Isn’t that kind of … old school? Read more
You might think that men’s anxiety over baldness is a relatively recent development in the history of civilization. But it’s not. The ancient Romans invented the comb-over and paint-on hair, which has since become spray-on hair. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’...Read more
Buried scrolls, clay tablets, priceless artifacts and expensive forgeries – this week, we bring you stories from the strange and amazing world of biblical archeology.Read more
Bohemians used to hate anything that reeked of money. It destroyed the soul. Now, many self-styled bohemians are reveling in slate shower stalls, Range Rovers, and lava-rock grills. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the triumphs of the “Bobo” – the Bourgeois...Read more
American children grow up playing Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. As adults, they line up for the latest anime movies and hang out in karaoke bars. In other words -- Japanese culture is serious business. So serious that Japan's Prime Minister appointed a "Cool Japan" minister to oversee...Read more
Suppose there's a pill that would dramatically boost your creativity. Would you take it? Psychologist Jim Fadiman says that pill exists. It's the powerful hallucinogen LSD. Fadiman describes a remarkable experiment showing how psychedelics enhanced the creativity of senior scientists. Read more
What if our lives were like DVDs? What if we had alternative endings to look forward to, instead of death? We explore our lust for immortality. And we look at the many alternative endings that Ernest Hemingway wrote for his classic novel, "A Farewell to Arms."