Between masks and vaccinations, COVID-19 has added even more to the ethical baggage we carry with us when we travel. As we get back out there into the world, we revisit a show from 2019 about the ethical dilemmas travel poses.Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Hope means believing there’s a future. But can hope co-exist with cataclysmic realities like climate change, or disruptive technological advances like artificial intelligence? Read more
Original Air Date:
May 04, 2019
This hour we talk with people who’ve turned that around and made hope real, whether it’s through political activism, faith, music, or reading a life-changing novel.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 27, 2019
Is hope something we’re innately born with, or something we can choose to have? We talk with people who tell us where they think hope lives in ourselves and our communities.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 20, 2019
Look around the political landscape and you see something we haven’t seen for decades — politicians proudly identifying as socialists. Has their moment arrived?Read more
Original Air Date:
April 06, 2019
They say "don't feed the trolls" — but why should sexist and racist trolls get to own the web? Was it built for them, or for all of us?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 23, 2019
Whether you know it or not, your closets are filled with personal information. Do you think about what are you saying with your clothes?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 16, 2019
Today, borders are a political flashpoint. But in a highly connected world, does the idea of a national border even make sense anymore?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 02, 2019
Sometimes, we take our body for granted. But even the everyday things it can do – keep our heart beating, fight off illness – are pretty extraordinary. Do you know what your body can do?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 23, 2019
Where does creativity come from? And what exactly is going on in your brain when the Muse descends?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 09, 2019
Low temperatures don't have to get you down — stay indoors and celebrate our collective triumphs over frigid conditions with this collection of conversations about embracing the cold.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 29, 2019
Every so often, a new literary movement coalesces. A new generation of writers finds a voice. This time they’re young, gifted, and Native American.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 26, 2019
You're thinking about hitting “delete” on all of it — Facebook, Twitter. But is that the answer, or should we resolve to stick around and make things better?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 22, 2018
Even the most welcome gift can spark guilt, resentment, obligation or vulnerability. This hour, unwrapping the tangled emotions behind giving — and getting.Read more
Original Air Date:
December 08, 2018
We’ve been taught to ignore, stifle, or just get over anger for many years — but what if we embraced it?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 01, 2018
What's the essence of religion? God? Scripture? Moral codes? Or is it really about something more unexplainable — primal spiritual experiences?Read more
Original Air Date:
November 24, 2018
It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe the moral struggle and personal cost involved.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 10, 2018
Covert spies painting nerve agents on doorknobs? It's not the only way to poison someone. We hear stories of radioactive paint, formaldehyde-spiked baby formula, and a beautiful garden full of plants that could kill you.Read more
Original Air Date:
October 13, 2018
Cities can be cacophonous and loud, a chaos of sonic discord. If, that is, you don't really focus your listening. People who’ve trained their ears to hear urban soundscapes in new ways hear something different.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 29, 2018
The first birth is when you arrive here, as a wet, wiggling newborn. But there may be other transitions in your life that feel just as difficult and profound. Some people actually call those passages rebirth. Read more
Original Air Date:
September 15, 2018
Fifteen years ago, David Foster Wallace died at a tragically young age. He was one of the most brilliant writers of his generation, but he now faces renewed criticism over his treatment of women, in his life and his books. Read more
Original Air Date:
September 08, 2018
It's not easy in America today to find work that matters, that’s meaningful, and that pays enough to live on. Which is the one thing we don’t talk about. What’s wrong with work — and how do we fix it?Read more
Original Air Date:
September 01, 2018
There are the female scientists you can name, and the ones forgotten by history. Like Mileva Marić-Einstein. She might just have been more brilliant than Albert was — but we'll never know. Read more
Original Air Date:
August 23, 2018
From our narrow vantage point on Earth, how can we see what's out there, beyond our skies?
Original Air Date:
August 18, 2018