Plenty of men are obsessed with body image, too. Eric Chaline traces the cult of the male body beautiful back to ancient Greece, in "The Temple of Perfection" -- his new history of the gym.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Polar science becomes art in the hands of novelist Lucy Jane Bledsoe ("Big Bang Symphony") and musician Paul Miller (aka DJ Spooky). Here are some of their impressions of the continent they can't forget.
Standup, prat falls, punch lines. Performing comedy's one thing, writing it's another.
Ian Frazier has been writing comedy for the New Yorker for decades. Catch him talking about the rewards of writing humor, and telling jokes in Russian.
Tom Chatfield believes video games could revolutionize education.
Sallie Ann Glassman is a voodoo priestess. She talks about why vodou (or voodoo) is such a misunderstood religion and what spirit possession feels like.
Tyler Boudreau is a twelve year veteran on the Marine Corps. He resigned his commission over reservations about the legitimacy of the Iraq War.
Did you know plants see, smell and communicate with neighboring plants? And have both long and short term memory? Plant geneticist Daniel Chamovitz describes the complex world of plant life.
Did you know that 7 Up was originally called Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda? Good thing they changed the name. That's one of the fascinating facts from Tristan Donovan's book, "Fizz: How Soda Shook Up the World." Donovan takes us on a guided tour of the secret history of fizzy water.
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