Film-maker Walter Williams created the “Mr. Bill” character for “Saturday Night Live.” He was born and raised in New Orleans and has thought a lot about the natural history of his hometown.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Steve Almond tells Steve Paulson some of his favorite candy bars are the regional specialities, and remembers the pop rocks craze.
Visionary computer scientist Jaron Lanier explores the rise of the tech industry in his book "Who Owns the Future?" In it, he explains why the next information economy is hurting the middle class.
Ted Steinberg tells Jim Fleming that Americans love perfect mono-cultures and are willing to over-water and freely use chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to achieve them.
Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi explores one of the Cold War's most controversial figures in her book "The Worlds of Herman Kahn: The Intuitive science of Thermonuclear War."
Polar science becomes art in the hands of novelist Lucy Jane Bledsoe ("Big Bang Symphony") and musician Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky). Here are some of their impressions of the continent they can't forget.
Ryan Nerz talks with Steve Paulson about competitive eating as a bona fide sport modeled on the world wrestling federation.
Standup, prat falls, punch lines. Performing comedy's one thing, writing it's another.
Ian Frazier has been writing comedy for the New Yorker for decades. Catch him talking about the rewards of writing humor, and telling jokes in Russian.
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