Why are we in Afghanistan? To destroy the Al-Qaeda? To make sure the Taliban doesn't get back in power? Both? What is the economic impact of the war on the US economy? And, just what would victory in Afghanistan look like anyway? The Obama Administration's refocusing the US military. But after...Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Something's going on with America's dogs. For one thing, they're moving in with us. Forget the backyard dog house – last year, some 47 percent of dog owners reported that their canines slept on the bed with them. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Michael Schaffer. He's...Read more
Original Air Date:
April 12, 2009
On a remote high desert mountain top in Eastern Nevada they're building a clock. But not just any clock – a monument sized all mechanical clock that will run for ten thousand years. It's built as an icon to long-term thinking. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll face time. We'll...Read more
Original Air Date:
March 15, 2009
Depending on who you ask, the teenage years are either a wasteland of misery or the best years of your life. For most of us, it's somewhere in between. But what makes the teens such emotional dynamite? One scientist says the teen years exist to grow and organize our huge human brains. In this...Read more
Original Air Date:
March 08, 2009
Imagine the loneliest place you can think of. For Robert Kull, that place was an island off the coast of Patagonia. A place where the barometer dipped and the wind howled off the ocean. Kull spent a year there, exploring complete solitude and seeking the answers to spiritual questions that had...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 01, 2009
How did our economists miss it? We're in a full-on economic crisis. Where was the warning? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a look at the so-called dismal science. We'll talk with the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics on why the alarm bells never rang. And, why is it that...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 01, 2009
Put on your Blaze Orange and your waterproof boots, we're heading into the woods! Hunting is one of the oldest human activities, and despite markets full of food and TV nature specials about a world of oneness among species, hunting remains very popular. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 18, 2009
Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained brain scientist who suffered a crippling stroke. What's remarkable about her story is that she watched - in clinical detail - what was happening to her own mind and body while she was having the stroke. As her body shut down, she felt strangely euphoric....Read more
Original Air Date:
September 21, 2008
In Baltimore, Maryland, there's an octopus that likes to play with toys. In Vienna, Austria, there's a border collie with a vocabulary of 340 words - more than many toddlers. Southeast Asia is home to dozens of elephants who like to paint. Re-thinking animal intelligence--not only are they...Read more
Original Air Date:
July 13, 2008
Men are under siege. They might be the stronger sex, but as far as cultural clout goes, they get the short end of the stick. One writer says the feminist movement lost its way and ended up making men the enemy. Is it time to save the males? Also, we remember the madcap genius of one of America's...Read more
Original Air Date:
June 29, 2008
When the war in Iraq started, over 770 journalists went with Coalition troops. 5 years later there are fewer than 20. What happened? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the embed system. How can journalists accurately report on the very soldiers who protect them? Has the US military...Read more
Original Air Date:
June 15, 2008
Every mom deserves something special on Mother's Day. We can't fix you breakfast in bed or drop by with coffee and muffins – though here's hoping someone in your life does! - but we can serve up a radio show. What do women want to say to each other about what it's like to be a mom.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 11, 2008
Standing on 8 feet of ice in Antarctica you can actually feel the call of the Weddell seal below through your boots. The Carthusian monks say you can feel the vow of silence in your soul. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, touching the sound of a monk's silence and a seal's call. And...Read more
Original Air Date:
March 02, 2008
The celebrated writer Susan Sontag died a few years ago from a brutal form of blood cancer. She fought her illness to the end and didn't want anyone - including her son - to tell her she was dying. Now that son, David Rieff, has written a memoir of his mother's death. And he tackles a difficult...Read more
Original Air Date:
February 24, 2008
The beauty biz is booming. The image conscious consumer can choose between a full-service menu of make-over options: laser facial resurfacing, liposuction, eyelid enhancing, breast implants and even a nip and tuck – wherever. And reality TV makes the whole process downright seductive. But why...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 27, 2008
Music writer Carl Wilson doesn't like Celine Dion's music so why would he write a book about her 1999 hit album, "Let's Talk About Love"? Wilson shares his story of trying to get in touch with his inner Celine Dion fan. And what the experience taught him about musical taste. Also, we'll explore...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 27, 2008
Every good story comes to an end, but in some stories the End is just the beginning. It takes a special kind of writer to create a believable Apocalypse in the pages of a novel, and right now there are a lot of them. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Apocalyptic Fiction – new stories...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 20, 2008
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. It depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is. From Bold declarations to bald-faced lies. On To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the audacity of American politics. How did we get from Thomas Jefferson to William Jefferson...Read more
Original Air Date:
January 13, 2008
How far would you go for what you believe? If you're a practicing Jew or Christian, does it matter to you to do everything the Bible tells you to? If you follow a guru, how much of your life are you willing to change? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, the strange things that...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 30, 2007
We're into the holiday season. Or, as some might say, the seasonal affective disorder season. Or better yet, the depression season. So have another cocktail, another piece of cake. Take a few pills. It'll be January soon enough. But why are we trying to force happiness anyway? I mean, what's so...Read more
Original Air Date:
December 16, 2007
In biology it's widely accepted, but the study of the evolution of language was once banned by The French Linguistic Institute. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll let it develop, and take a look at the story of French as well. Also, composer Stephen Paulus finds music in and...Read more
Original Air Date:
November 11, 2007
Is there an irreconcilable conflict between Islam and the West — a “clash of civilizations”? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll hear prominent Western and Muslim intellectuals debate this idea.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 04, 2007
We're familiar with the idea of hearing voices...perhaps our "inner critic" or the voice of a parent or beloved family member. But what if you, or someone you loved, really heard voices? In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, Daniel B. Smith talks about the phenomenon of auditory...Read more
Original Air Date:
November 04, 2007
9/11 changed the American psyche. According to some reports, Americans wanted to eat comfort food, like macaroni and cheese, get married and have babies. They wanted leaders - male leaders - who were strong, who could rescue the female victims, like Jessica Lynch. Or did they? In this hour of To...Read more
Original Air Date:
October 28, 2007