Episode Archives

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It’s the most contested piece of real estate on Earth.  Jews know it as the Temple Mount.  Muslims call it Al-Aqsa.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the controversy over this sacred site in Jerusalem’s Old City.  Also, why the Temple Mount inspires apocalyptic visions for some...Read more

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Do African-Americans believe Jesse Jackson speaks for them? A resounding 72% between the ages of 18 and 45 say "No." In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the battle between the Civil Rights generation and the Hip-Hop generation. We'll speak to young blacks about who does speak for them...Read more

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Plugged into devices, fixated on screens, their world muted by headphones jammed in their ears, college students on campus in Ann Arbor can seem oblivious to risk. Poet Laura Kasischke marvels at their fearlessness in...Read more

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Spiderman had a pretty good summer last year, but J.K. Rowling wasn’t worried.  When the sixth Harry Potter book came out, children trampled the web-slinger in their rush to bookstores and libraries.  Which makes perfect sense to author and Arthurian scholar Jane Yolen.  She says it’s all about...Read more

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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

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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

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Look at the bright side.  Keep a positive attitude.  Pull yourself up by your own boot straps.  If you set your mind on it, you can do anything.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, a rosy view of optimism and wishful thinking.  And for you cynics?  A look at the positive power of...Read more

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It turns out that television may not be quite the "boob tube" and "the idiot box" that we thought it was. It seems that watching TV can actually make you smarter... by posing new cognitive challenges for your brain to solve. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll explore the...Read more

David Graeber speaks at Maagdenhuis occupation

David Graeber was an iconoclastic anthropologist and influential radical thinker, one who popularized the rallying cry "We are the 99%." He died on Sept. 2 in Venice, Italy at age 59. Read more

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Does Western aid to impoverished African countries really help? Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo says no: it just lines the pockets of corrupt leaders and creates a culture of dependency. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge we'll talk about the ethics of foreign aid, and hear why...Read more

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Michael Chabon's a pretty successful writer of literary fiction. As far as he's concerned, literary fiction is just another genre, with its own set of conventions. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we get into the fight over genre fiction. Agatha Christie's grandson says the...Read more

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There’s an old joke from the former Soviet Union.  Roughly translated it goes like this.  The communists were liars.  Everything they said about communism was untrue.  Unfortunately, everything they said about capitalism was true.  Next time on To the Best of Our Knowledge, considering...Read more

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It's been said that "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." But the rock critic Robert Palmer didn't have any trouble. Palmer wrote effortlessly about all kinds of music – rock and roll, blues, jazz and world music. The fact that Palmer was also a musician didn't hurt. In...Read more

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The Capitol Hilton.  The Eve of then-President Clinton’s Alfalfa Club Speech, one of four humorous speeches of the so-called Washington “silly season.”  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, the story of a White House joke-writer, a contentious egg-timer, and the night Bill Clinton...Read more

a man running

We run for all sorts of reasons -- to lose 10 pounds, to win an Olympic medal, or simply because it’s fun. Some even run as a spiritual practice. Today, why we run - and how far and how fast can humans go?Read more

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Classical musicians don't come with better pedigrees than violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. She's been wowing audiences since she was four, performs all over the world and has commissioned many new works. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, Meyers talks about why she chose to record popular...Read more

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In this hour of To The Best of Our Knowledge, Susan Sontag reflects on how photographs help us experience other people’s pain. And, as the country faces war, we’ll hear stories about our great patriotic songs, and find some comfort in the ancient Sufi poet, Rumi.Read more

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”My solid pigeon, that drape is a killer-diller, an E-flat Dillinger, a bit of a fly thing all on one page.”  Any idea what that means?  It’s hipster slang for “My, that’s a nice dress you’re wearing.”  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge the roots of hipster slang – old movies, pulp...Read more

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Mind and Brain

Neuroscientists have made remarkable discoveries about the brain, but so far, no one's come close to cracking the biggest mystery of all - the connection between the...Read more

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Electrons to Enlightenment

Part Five

 

In the real world where we take out the garbage, we sometimes brush up against wonder and awe. We all look for it in different places. Some of us find it in God, like the great mystic poet...Read more

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After 11 years of isolation in New England, Nathan Zuckerman returns to New York City. Now 71, Zuckerman discovers that a lot has changed. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Nathan Zuckerman's creator, the renowned novelist, Philip Roth. And we'll find out how both Roth...Read more

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Everyone in your Facebook feed is falling for fake news–sharing it even when there's no way it can be true. They keep falling for it. But not you, right? You’re smart, well-educated. You can tell the difference. Or can you?Read more

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Busloads of Senior Citizens roll onto the Reservation for high stakes bingo.  Lottery tickets show up on people’s shopping lists in 47 states.  Practically every office has a pool on the NFL or the Final Four or the outcome of the latest reality television series.  In this hour of To the Best of...Read more

DNA

Can science conquer death? It may seem like an absurd question, but some people think it's possible. In this hour of To The Best Of Our Knowledge, we'll meet Aubrey de Grey, a maverick English scientist who's identified seven major kinds of molecular and cellular damage. He thinks we can prevent...Read more

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