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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Scott Westerfeld writes wildly popular post-apocalyptic and dystopian science fiction for teenagers.  He's the author of the "Peeps" series about parasite-positive vampires,  as well as "Uglies" and "Pretties," who live in a world where plastic surgery is compulsory.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Thomas Kuhn's "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" was the rare book that changed how we think.  On its 50th anniversary, historian of science Tom Broman talks about Kuhn's legacy and we hear excerpts from Kuhn's book.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

William Least Heat-Moon created a sensation with his book "Blue Highways." He's back now with "Roads to Quoz," about traveling along America's back roads. Moon talks with Anne Strainchamps about the trips that inspired the new book.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

There's an entire sector of the economy run by people who are working diligently to get inside your head and harvest your attention? Does that creep you out?  They're called the Attention Merchants. And their business model consists of attracting your attention and then reselling it for profit. They're ad-based TV channels, clickbait producers and the big social media producers. Law professor Tim Wu is the author of "The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads." 

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Celebrated writer, director and actor Simon Pegg talks to Steve Paulson about his love of "Star Wars" and how it fired up his imagination and his career. 

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She is dedicated to re-foresting Africa and talks with Steve Paulson about some of her Greenbelt Movement projects. Her memoir is called "Unbowed."

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Steve Paulson prepared this report on Saint Francis of Assisi and his continuing influence in the modern world.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

James Gleick is a science writer with a particular interest in the cultural impact of technology. He's written a number of best-selling books, including "The Information," "Faster," and "Chaos." And Gleick's just come out with a mind-bending book called "Time Travel: A History."

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