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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The parallels between the recent financial meltdown and that of 1929 are striking. In both cases a financial bubble burst and led to a run on the banks. Both times the Federal Reserve made huge mistakes. So how close did we come to another Great Depression? In this hour of To the Best of Our...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Philosophers get a bad rap - they're written off as too academic, too detached from daily life. But we're seeing a philosophy revival, from philosophy cafes to philosophers as therapists.  From the Stoics to Spinoza, an argument for why philosophy still matters.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Last week we lost one of the great scholars of religion. Huston Smith died at the age of 97. Smith's book “The World’s Religions” sold more than three million copies and is perhaps the most important book ever written on comparative religion. He also had a colorful personal history. In the early...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ten years after the War on Terror began, militant Islamic teenagers are still blowing themselves up in crowded streets.  What makes someone willing to become a human bomb?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, how religious radicalization works and new techniques for...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ten years ago, South African singer and activist Vusi Mahalesela had the thrill of his life.  He sang at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the music and politics of South Africa - ten years after the end of apartheid.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Ever want to chuck everything and just live your dream? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we meet several people who are doing just that. One of them's a hot young actor, starring in a smash Broadway musical. Another is a middle-aged husband and father who published a small magazine...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What would you die for? And what are you willing to kill for? Democracy?On this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the meaning of democracy. We’ll hear from writers Alice Walker, Sherman Alexie, Isabel Alende and Margaret Atwood.  Also, tomorrow’s citizens.  Are schools giving children...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, James Bradley remembers his father the war hero, who helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima.  Martin Amis comes to terms with his famous father – the writer Kingsley Amis.  And the story of a military father who was an officer but no gentleman...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Rehearsing Shakespeare’s tragedy, MacBeth, one young actor found himself in the mood for mirth.  Like a specter rising from the mists, something began to take shape: a new MacBeth for the ages - with fewer daggers and more donuts.  In this hour of the Peabody-Awarding winning program To the Best...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Double-crossin’ dames.  Grifters on the make in sleazy dive bars.  Dead men that are heavier than broken hearts.  Some think his novels are just pulp fiction, but to others Raymond Chandler is one of the greatest American writers of the 20th Century.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Politics has such a bad reputation it’s a wonder anyone would run for office.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear from a few people who are out to transform the way we do politics.  Also activist Si Kahn talks about the art of the political song.  And we’ll look back at one...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Emerging insights from the new science of astrobiology paints a picture of a universe seeded with potential life. While astronomers discover new exoplanets every other week or so, biologists are finding unexpected life in some of the most inhospitable environments on earth. Together, their work...Read more

a dancer in red lighting

Want to improve your mood? Just dance. This hour we’re talking with people who’ve found an easy way to keep themselves happy, to build friendships, and make art. We’re checking in with neuroscientists too, to hear just what happens in our brains when we’re dancing. Also, how dancing...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Apocalyptic thinking is everywhere, from predictions about Christian “end times” to the 2012 Mayan prophecy about the end of the world.  So what’s going on?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll talk with renowned religious historian Elaine Pagels about the lasting impact of the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Belly up to the bar as To the Best of Our Knowledge spends an hour with drinkers and drunks.  Meet the man who invented the Cosmopolitan.  He says it’s a really simple drink.  All you need is fresh lime juice.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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

book

Is Jennifer Egan's book, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," a novel or is it a series of entangled stories? It's a fair question because this polyphonic narrative covers a lot of territory – from satire to tragedy told from a wide range of characters' points of view. And one chapter...Read more

projector

Cult film director John Waters has been described as the "Pope of filth" and the "King of Trash."  To put it mildly, his films have, well, transgressed the boundaries of good taste.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, pushing the limits in film with John Waters.  We'll...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Our world is increasingly unthinkable.  It’s a world of tectonic shifts, strange weather and oil-drenched seascapes.  So maybe it makes sense to look to the horror genre to help us think about our unthinkable world. Next time on TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, we’ll explore the...Read more

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