“Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments...” “Because I could not stop for death…”
First lines. Classic poems. But poetry’s no anachronism. It’s pulsing and swelling and beating new rhythms.
From online verse to the new US Poet Laureate, from poetry...Read more
Remember the movie “Field of Dreams,” about Shoeless Joe Jackson with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones? Well, the Field of Dreams is a real place, not a Hollywood studio lot. It’s a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa and it’s become something of a religious site for many baseball fans. In this...Read more
Tribute albums, reunion tours and mash-ups. If pop culture’s all about the new, why is there so much wallowing in our immediate past? Simon Reynolds joins us to talk about his book, “Retromania.” Is this retromania a death knell for our own originality?Read more
20 years ago a group of musicians gathered in Trinity Church in Toronto and did something extraordinary. In one night, using only one microphone and with no budget, they recorded a masterpiece. The band is the Cowboy Junkies. And the album, "The Trinity Session." The Cowboy Junkies look back on...Read more
From Soup to Nuts
Part Four
They say variety is the spice of life. But let's be honest, spices are really the spice of life. Pepper, oregano, vanilla. . . parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, things get...Read more
Andrew Sullivan is not a Republican, but he calls himself a conservative. He does not believe in using religion to ground political ideals. But he himself is a person of faith. And he endorsed John Kerry, although Ronald Reagan is one of his heroes. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Right after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair magazine, declared “irony is dead.” Only a few months later Carter said, with a nudge and a wink, “I meant to say IRONING is dead - not irony.” This time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll look at the rise of...Read more
East Meets West
Part Two
A look at America's romance with Eastern spirituality: how did dharma retreats and yoga vacations become part of the Western lifestyle? Buddhist teachers explain what Buddhism has to offer a consumer...Read more
Think you know about kung fu movies? That they’re campy, badly dubbed flicks from the 70s? Sometimes. But they’re also graceful, noble, heroic feats of movie making. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the tiger, the crane, legends of the Shaolin (SHOW-lin) Temple, and the...Read more
Muddy Waters grew up on a cotton plantation with an insatiable hunger to play music. He beat on kerosene cans before he finally got a guitar. Muddy Waters went on to become a legendary bluesman. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why some people grow up musical. Also, pianist...Read more
When it comes to religious practice, we don't always end up where we started. For some people, the journey away from their childhood religion is filled with serious, personal strife. For others, spiritual loss can be less dramatic or even – dramatically funny. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Somewhere along the way, did we ruin poetry? Have the heartfelt angst of young lovers and the epic elegies of heroes become elitist and academic? But poetry is back, and we have new technology to thank.Read more
Captain William Kidd is considered to be one of the most notorious buccaneers ever to sail the Spanish Main. But apparently history got it wrong – Captain Kidd wasn’t a pirate, he was a sea captain who hunted down pirates. Talk about being misunderstood!. In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more
Dave Soldier has an unusual hobby. He teaches elephants to play music instruments...in an elephant orchestra. Ben Kilham does something else that’s unique. He raises orphan bear cubs and then releases them into the wild. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, some remarkable stories...Read more
How much time do you spend thinking about the future? Oh sure, you’ve probably got plans for the weekend, maybe you’re looking for a new job or thinking about how your kids are doing in school.
But how much time to do we spend – as a nation, a global community – thinking about...Read more
What do Hip-Hop and traditional Delta Blues have in common? Down in the bijous and hollers of Mississippi - a lot more than you think. Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, the new revolution in Roots Music. Also, the debate over what’s authentic country music. And, we’ll talk to Nora ...Read more
Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq
Part Five
At least 120 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the war began. They're targets for insurgents. But what are journalists to the US military? A necessary evil? Or...Read more
If chocolate be the food of love, eat on! In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, why chocolate may be the next big health food. It's our Valentine’s Day special: two best-selling romance writers share tricks of the trade. And, listeners share their true stories of love at first sight...Read more
What’s your billion dollar idea? You know, the one that’s going to change the world? America’s the land of invention, right? And it’s that can-do spirit that makes this country great. But America’s no longer the global innovation giant it once was.
Where have you gone, Thomas Edison?Read more
Are Americans dumbing down instead of smartening up? Many surveys say yes. According to a 2006 National Geographic-Roper survey, nearly half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 don't think it's necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made. In...Read more
How far did your food travel to get to you today? 100 miles? A thousand? Or just down the street. No matter where today's meal came from, there's a story behind it. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, food stories. New York chef Dan Barber faces a moral crisis in the form of a...Read more
“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” -- Lorrie Moore
This may be the century when Americans forget how to cook. We’re too busy and take-out’s too easy, and who needs to cook when you can buy dinner at the supermarket? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the profound implications of the decline and fall of chicken soup, meatloaf, and...Read more
What goes into making new music? And how does hearing new music change the way we listen? From the Avant Garde composers of the 1920s, through Japanese noise music, to punk progenitor Richard Hell, we’re looking at how music - and how we hear it - changes. Read more