Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
Woman in profile

Colonization in Africa was much more than a land grab. It was a project to replace — and even erase — local cultures. How can that be undone?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 20, 2021

many romances

Do the old dreams of true love and happiness ever after fit our new lives and new identities?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 13, 2021

Vaccines on the march

We’re in the midst of the largest vaccine rollout of our lives. A turning point, we hope. But it’s complicated — medically, logistically, philosophically.Read more

Original Air Date:

January 16, 2021

Plant as person

If plants are intelligent beings, how should we relate to them? Do they have a place in our moral universe? Should they have rights?Read more

Original Air Date:

December 19, 2020

Zoom holidays

What are you doing for the holidays this year? We know we need to keep it small, keep it safe. But maybe we can be creative, too.Read more

Original Air Date:

November 28, 2020

empty football stadium

What do you do when the headlines are freaking you out and the news is making you tense? A lot of people find sports takes their mind off things. It’s like this one worry-free, politics-free zone. Until it isn’t.Read more

Original Air Date:

November 07, 2020

Overstimulated and over everything.

The pandemic, the protests, the arguments on social media — everything is exhausting. But maybe it doesn’t have to be?Read more

Original Air Date:

October 24, 2020

inverted stars over the white house

Americans are getting ready to vote. But this election is different from other years. What's really on the ballot?Read more

Original Air Date:

October 17, 2020

A brain alive with energy

New experiences rewire the brain. So after all we’ve been through, are we different? We consider the "COVID brain" in both neuroscience and the arts.Read more

Original Air Date:

October 10, 2020

a pyramid among gold

We explore the ancient, obscure, occult science and art of alchemy — it turns out to be a lot more relevant to our lives than you’d believe.Read more

Original Air Date:

September 19, 2020

A bunch of stuff

We surround ourselves with possessions, but at what point do they start to possess us?Read more

Original Air Date:

September 05, 2020

greens

A new generation of Black farmers are working to reclaim land, hoping to grow justice along with vegetables and plants.Read more

Original Air Date:

August 22, 2020

Math, biology and the other follies of man trying to explain the universe.

When things don't go the way they're supposed to — viruses, star systems, presidents, even fish — why do we so quickly seek order to explain the chaos?Read more

Original Air Date:

August 08, 2020

A parade of elephants in the Ngorongoro Crater

Millions of animals migrate every year to a destination they've never seen. How do they do it — and what can we learn from them?Read more

Original Air Date:

July 25, 2020

Jazz legends go all the way back to African music.

Jazz wasn't just born in America. There's an alternative history — a story of colonial empires, grassroots revolutions and the global migration of sound.Read more

Original Air Date:

July 04, 2020

Cell door

We take a hard look at how racism infects not only the police, but the entire criminal justice system.Read more

Original Air Date:

June 20, 2020

lady among viruses

How can we, individually and collectively, find meaning in the experience of the coronavirus pandemic?Read more

Original Air Date:

May 23, 2020

Live from Mark's (in-game) yard.

Not everyone has a big yard to stretch out in while sheltering in place. But maybe all you need is a virtual space to call your own.Read more

Original Air Date:

May 16, 2020

A nature path near Lake Wingra in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wherever you live — city or country, East coast, West coast, or in between — we share common, contemplative experiences on our walks outside.Read more

Original Air Date:

May 09, 2020

empty stage

In times of crisis, we need music. We look at how far people will go — even under quarantine, during a pandemic — to find ways to make music together.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 25, 2020

skin

Skin is the living tissue that simultaneously protects us from the world, and lets us feel it. In this episode, the politics, biology, and inner life of your skin.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 18, 2020

tree among warnings

Why do people turn to poetry during troubled times? We saw it after 9/11 and we're seeing it now. When the world seems broken, poetry is often the one kind of language that helps.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 04, 2020

Stethoscope

This week's show comes to you from our kitchens and homes. We’re thinking about the heroic doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.Read more

Original Air Date:

March 28, 2020

Traveling the world by book

From Africa to England, to a kamikaze cockpit, and to realms of fantasy. Books aren’t just books. They’re passports.Read more

Original Air Date:

March 14, 2020

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