Today, the Dutch philosopher Spinoza - father of the Enlightenment - is revered, but in the mid-17th century, he was branded a heretic by his Jewish congregation in Amsterdam. Recently, philosopher Steve Nadler was asked if Spinoza should be exonerated. He explains why he said no.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Ron Corn Jr. is one of about 20 fluent speakers of the Menominee language. He has devoted his life to saving his language from extinction through the community-based Menominee Language Institute.
Rob Knight is one of the rising stars in the new science of the microbiome. He tells us what he and his colleagues are up to at his Boulder, Colorado lab.
The relationship between poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is discussed by Steve Paulson and Adam Sisman.
You've heard the saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Journalist David Rieff thinks that's rubbish, and he says if you want peace, it's sometimes better to forget historical crimes than try to get justice.
Summer festivals are a huge part of the American music scene -- and of the music marketplace. Why do millions of people risk sunburn and dehydration when they could hear the same music better with earbuds? Music critic Maura Johnston unpacks the economics and the atavistic lure of the summer music festival.
When the last of the infamous Chicago Public Housing buildings were demolished Audrey Petty asked herself a few questions, “Where did everybody go?” And, “what are their memories?”
Olivia Laing talks about her book, "The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking."
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