Episode Archives

Filter episodes by the year they originally aired.
The spiral of the edges of belief

Jeff Kripal is a highly original, even maverick, historian of religion. In this conversation — part of a collaboration with the LA Review of Books — Kripal takes Steve to where all the weird stuff we can’t explain lives ... or hides.Read more

Original Air Date:

July 26, 2018

Cacao beans

What if the guiding principle we used in cooking, eating and growing food was love? From an Iranian-American kitchen to the chocolate forests of Ecuador, we explore new ways to express deep flavors and personal identity through food and cooking.Read more

Original Air Date:

June 30, 2018

ate that cake

It creeps into everything: guilt that we're not good enough, fit enough, smart enough. As we peruse Instagram, all we see is the perfection of others reflecting our own failures back at us. Why do we spend so much time feeling guilty? Should we?Read more

Original Air Date:

June 21, 2018

Blue bubble, red bubble

We live, work and play in Red and Blue tribal bubbles, filling our social media feeds with news sources that affirm our place in that order, rather than challenging it. What is that isolation doing to us? What can we do to escape it?Read more

Original Air Date:

June 16, 2018

So very tired by work

Across professions, half of Americans surveyed say they’re exhausted from work. More and more of us feel scrambled, tired and drained. Are we facing daily lives more prone to burnout? And what can we do about it?Read more

Original Air Date:

June 09, 2018

The women who rule (this hour)

Where do you go to find models of powerful women? The ancient world was full of them, real and mythic, but today we barely know their names. Why? This week we rediscover the women of ancient myths and legends.Read more

Original Air Date:

June 09, 2018

Charles Monroe-Kane in Center of the World

Amidst economic devastation, producer Charles Monroe-Kane asks what it takes to survive in the Rust Belt.Read more

Original Air Date:

June 02, 2018

Why do we have schools? To build a workforce? To create democratic citizens? Read more

Original Air Date:

May 26, 2018

Final curtain

If life is a play, what happens during the last act? What’s it like to live knowing you have a limited amount of time left?Read more

Original Air Date:

May 19, 2018

A splintering world.

All over the world, nation states are splintering. Separatism is on the rise. What causes nation states to erode? And what happens when they do?Read more

Original Air Date:

May 12, 2018

Live from the Turner Hall ballroom.

Milwaukee is a city on water, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, split by the historic Milwaukee River. How did it shape the city's history, politics, culture, and people? We find out in this live broadcast from Turner Hall in Milwaukee.Read more

Original Air Date:

May 05, 2018

A tree in Sequoia National Forest

Trees talk to each other, and even form alliances with other trees or other species. Some are incredibly old — the root mass of aspens might live 100,000 years. In this hour, we explore the science and history of trees.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 28, 2018

Octopus

Can we ever get inside the mind of an animal? Can we really know how an octopus or a parrot thinks? Also, the fascinating story of Charles Foster's attempt to act like a badger, when he lived in a hole in the ground and ate worms.Read more

Original Air Date:

April 07, 2018

Modern anti-depressants have saved a lot of minds. And lives. But what have they done to our bodies? And how do we navigate that trade-off between body and mind?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 24, 2018

Teens march in Madison on March 14, 2018

A chorus of hope is coming from an unexpected group — teenagers. They have superpowers — innocence, idealism, and Instagram — and they aren't waiting for permission to use them to shape the world.Read more

Original Air Date:

March 17, 2018

DNA tests are uncovering mixed bloodlines. For Black Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? Does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice?Read more

Original Air Date:

March 10, 2018

Facing hatred head-on

For the first time since World War II, far-right and neo-fascist groups are winning converts and votes — all over Europe and also here at home. Why is it happening, and can it be stopped?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 24, 2018

A little more magic in the world.

"Magical thinking" gets a bad rap these days. It suggests losing your grip on reality or being so gullible that you'll believe anything - from ghosts to miracles. But what if magic isn't pure fantasy? Maybe it's the gateway to wonder.  Read more

Original Air Date:

February 17, 2018

Eric, president of the Wisconsin chapter of the Proud Boys, shows off his tattoo, which is part of initiation into the group. Another ritual involves getting punched by other members while reciting breakfast cereal names. Photo taken Oct. 4, 2017.

The right-wing politics and bro culture of The Proud Boys is attracting young, white men nationwide. Founder Gavin McInnes believes “95% of American women” would be happier at home. Where does his vision of “being a man” fit in 2018?Read more

Original Air Date:

February 03, 2018

Contemplating manhood

In this collection of interviews, we ask what happens when men don't have cultural permission to talk about their inner lives.Read more

Original Air Date:

February 02, 2018

Wolf in Yellowstone

While their domesticated cousins sleep on our beds, Congress debates wild wolves’ survival. This hour, we’ll explore our complicated relationship with our canine cousins, and the feelings they evoke – fear, hatred, and also love.  Read more

Original Air Date:

January 27, 2018

Saddam Hussein

How can someone be a monster — a brutal dictator, a mass murderer, a serial killer — and up close seem like a decent, caring person? What happens when you find yourself liking someone who’s done terrible things?Read more

Original Air Date:

January 20, 2018

Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are.Read more

Original Air Date:

January 13, 2018

Abstaining from alchohol in January?

Ah, January. Season of diets and fasts and cleanses, of "Drynuary" and "Veganuary." Why does being virtuous always seem to mean giving up pleasure?Read more

Original Air Date:

January 06, 2018

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