Anne Strainchamps sat down with the great Turkish writer Elif Shafak. Her latest novel, “The Architect’s Apprentice,” is an epic tale set in the height of the Ottoman Empire. It has bloodshed. It was palace intrigue. It has romance. And, yes, it has architecture.
Shafak’s tale centers around a 16th century mosque architect named Mimar Sinan. Though a character in her novel, Sinan was also a real person – considered to be the greatest architect in the Islamic World.
Will Friedwald, author of “Stardust Melodies,” tells Steve Paulson about Billy Strayhorn’s Song “Lush Life.”
A great deal of our thinking is shaped by our unconscious minds, such as routine tasks we do automatically.
Neuroscientists say that about a quarter of our mental energy is dedicated to maintaining our narrative identities. Julian Keenan says there's got to be an evolutionary benefit for all that "self".
To the Best of Our Knowledge is produced at Wisconsin Public Radio, and if there’s one thing we know here in America’s dairyland, it’s cows. So as long as we’re talking about lies that last… have you ever tried to tip a cow?
Interesting in that cow tipping equation? Click here.
Rumspringa is the Amish custom of allowing sixteen year olds a period of total freedom to experience the temptations of the world before they choose the strictures of a traditional Amish life
The process of data sonification is exactly what it sounds like: the translation of data points into various sounds, each with unique characteristics that can change over time. So instead of turning your spreadsheets into charts and graphs, they can now be turned into a kind of music. Matt Kenney demonstrates how it's done.
Philosopher Rebecca Goldstein says philosophy is still evolving, and continues to shape our values. She talks about her long fascination with the granddaddy of all philosophers, Plato.
