Most of us are hungry for light. We crave sunny days and clear skies, we like big windows and well-lit rooms. But some people have a more complicated relationship with light. John Merfeld, a physics student at Tufts University, has a genetic condition called albinism that renders his body unable to properly absorb light. It's made him acutely aware of its unique power, beauty, and danger.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Harvard University historian John Stauffer talks with Steve Paulson about whether or not Lincoln was a racist.
How come many of the latest pop songs sound as if they could have been released decades ago? Music journalist Simon Reynolds tells Steve Paulson that our obsession with our immediate past could get in the way of future creativity.
Steve Paulson speaks with several scientists, religious scholars and atheists about Albert Einstein's religious beliefs.
Sapphire performs several of her poems and tells Judith Strasser why she enjoys working in some very old poetic forms such as the villanelle.
Tom Hayden, one of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society and later a State Assemblyman and Senator in California, talks with Steve Paulson.
David Gessner discovered the American West as a young man, and the huge mountains and wide open spaces changed his life. He recently took a road trip through the West, following in the footsteps of two literary heroes, Edward Abbey and Wallace Stegner. Gessner says their books help us see the West in all its complexity.
Scott Simon, host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, and his wife have adopted two baby girls from China. Simon tells Anne Strainchamps why he and his wife are such fans of adoption.
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