Jazz pianist and cognitive scientist Vijay Iyer just won a MacArthur "genius" award. He's also landed a job at Harvard teaching music. He tells Anne Strainchamps how he incorporates science into his music.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Neuroscientists say that about a quarter of our mental energy is dedicated to maintaining our narrative identities. Julian Keenan says there's got to be an evolutionary benefit for all that "self".
Travel writer William Dalrymple has lived in India since 1989, witnessing the economic boom and the cultural changes that followed.
Ron Chernow's recently published "George Washington: a life" logs in at 900 pages, one of the most acclaimed historical biographies of the past year.
Filmmakers Jon Betz and Taggart Siegel talk about their documentary "Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?"
How do foods become trendy seemingly overnight? Journalist David Sax tracked the origins of a variety of food fads for his book, "The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy For Cupcakes But Fed Up With Fondue."
What other sensory phenomena are out there, waiting to be discovered? A growing online community is watching and making videos to trigger a particular set of tingling sensations, and the calm euphoria that often follows them. Here's part of the story of ASMR. Who knows, maybe you have it too?
Hear Stephanie talk about having ASMR or listen in on Ilse's conversation about her experience with ASMR, and the book she's working on.
Steven Johnson is the author of several books including "Mind Wide Open" and "The Invention of Air." His new one is "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation."
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