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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Physicist Brian Greene sees an elegant universe – one where even baking a batch of cookies can yield surprising lessons about the fabric of the universe, or watching an egg splatter suggests a model for the Big Bang theory.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, thoughts from one of the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Cosmologist Janna Levin feels cramped.  Thirty billion light years just isn’t enough space for her.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we consider the Universe Beyond Einstein.  Janna Levin tackles the shape and size of space.  Also, we’ll try to catch a gravity wave, marvel at the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Vivek Maddala knows how to tell a good story. He can put a lump in your throat or make you laugh out loud. His themes are timeless and universal. Maddala composes music for silent films. In this hour of To The Best Of Knowledge, how to construct a narrative. From writing silent film music to...Read more

an old bible

Who doesn’t love a good book? We all know a great novel can change the way we see the world, but what about the way we treat each other? This week, we explore the benefits of reading fiction, and find out if it makes us more moral.

And if you're wondering if movies can make us more...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

burning book

What's the hot new thing in fiction? Fire! Today, novelists Jesse Ball and Joe Hill talk about their incendiary new fiction. And we meet a pyromaniac-turned-firefighter who can really light up a page. Join us for an hour of flammable fiction.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

We’re exploring love by the  numbers, this week.  36 questions, 40 first dates, and 43 equations – it’s all part of the new mathematical science of love.Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What would the Old Masters make of the exhibitions that get some elected officials so worked up?  They might have liked them!  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, new art and old masters.  Simon Schama paints Rembrandt as a prankster.  We’ll uncover the political...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What kinds of personal information have you posted online recently?  Your credit card number?   Your mother’s maiden name?   A photo of yourself drinking a beer?   Whatever it is, these details could ruin your career, your marriage, or even your entire future.  In this hour of To the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In this hour, we find ourselves surrounded by sound.  The sounds of nature, cosmic horror, capitalism, and experimental electronics.

If you want to give our theme remix a whirl, you can download files here and ...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Survival.

The oldest living things on the planet and a list of everything you’ll need to know after the apocalypse.

But there’s one thing no one can survive. And that’s death. Or maybe not...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Space, the final frontier. But is science fiction the final frontier when it comes to being a literature of ideas? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll wax philosophical about science fiction with two of the genre's greatest writers -- George R.R. Martin and Ursula K. Le Guin....Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Tenzin Palmo isn’t your ordinary Englishwoman.  For twelve years she boiled snow for drinking water, lived without heat and electricity, and spent 12 hours a day propped up in a wooden box.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a Buddhist nun recalls her years of meditation in a lonely...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Christopher Hogwood was not your ordinary household pet. For one thing, he weighed 700 pounds. And he loved to drink beer. Christopher was a very large pig with a heart of gold. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of how Christopher Hogwood became the best-loved pig in...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Are we running out of water? Science writer Fred Pearce thinks so. He's traveled the world to investigate the current state of crucial water sources. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge Pearce talks about the defining crisis of the twenty-first century. Also, we'll explore the social...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

It's called the Turing Test, an annual event in which the most advanced computer programs try to fool a panel of judges into mistaking them for real people.    And real people compete to try to win the coveted "Most Human Human Award."  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Contemporary nomads are primitive, tribal people who chase the seasons to fresh water and greener pastures.  They’re not middle aged American women who’ve published scores of children’s books, or not usually.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we’ll meet Rita Golden Gelman,...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Albert Einstein died more than half a century ago, but there's still a raging debate over what he thought about religion. He once said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, what exactly did Einstein conclude about...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Good house-keeping used to go hand-in-hand with good citizenship. And remember the phrase, "cleanliness is next to godliness"? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, thoughts on the art of keeping house. We'll talk about the science of dust, meet the Queen of Clutter, and hear novelist...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

American leaders say the fight against Osama bin Laden is not a religious war, but are they right?  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the deep divide between fundamentalists and the secular world.  Also, a look at true believers in America - from the Holy Rollers of...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Couples know the frightening statistic: 50 percent of today’s marriages will fail.  And the real victims are the children.  As they grow up they are more likely to be aggressive or depressed, end up in mental health hospitals, or get divorced themselves.  In this hour of To the...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

George Orwell wrote "1984" in response to two of the reigning ideologies of his day - fascism and communism. Does his dystopian story of Big Brother and Doublethink still matter today? In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk with actor Tim Robbins, who recently staged a...Read more

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In the early 1950's two-year-old Jacqueline Henley in New Orleans became darker.  After the neighbors complained, her aunt turned her over to New Orleans authorities.  A black couple wanted to adopt Jacqueline but -- she had the word “white” stamped on her birth certificate.   Next time on To...Read more

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