Terry Tempest Williams reads from her book, "Red," and talks about the desert with Steve Paulson.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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In this EXTENDED interview, Steve Paulson talks about his stacks of books, hunger for knowledge. He also explores the difference between data, information, knowledge and... wisdom!
American Wendy Doniger holds two doctorates in Sanskrit and Indian studies from Harvard and Oxford. She’s the author of numerous books on Hinduism and has translated several Sanskrit texts. She’s widely considered one of the most important scholars on Indian religion in the world. So it might surprise you that there is one country in the world she can’t visit: India.
Doniger’s books have been targeted by Hindu Nationalists and by India’s ruling right-wing BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). Her latest, “The Hindus: An Alternative History,” was the subject of a major lawsuit in India, and its publisher, Penguin Books India, not only pulled the book from circulation but destroyed all remaining copies. Since then, Doniger has received many death threats inside of India and no longer feels safe visiting there. But as she told Steve Paulson, her writing about Hinduism hasn’t changed in over 40 years. What has changed is India.
What happens when war becomes just another video game? Lido Giovacchini tells a story of futuristic combat.
MIT Professor Sherry Turkle is fascinated by our interactions with machines. She's just released the third book in a trilogy of books on the subject.
Colson Whitehead’s novel The Underground Railroad just won the 2016 National Book Award.
Steve Paulson spoke with him about this powerful, sweeping epic.
What would a world without national borders look like? There's a good chance it'd look very similar to the one we have today. Parag Khanna is a global strategist who believes borders are becoming irrelevant in an increasingly connected world. More than national boundaries, he believes what matters are the connections between cities.
Science journalist Harriet Brown says the medical establishment has demonized fat and misrepresented the science behind dieting and weight loss. She unpacks the four most toxic medical myths about weight and health.
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