With the Carolina Panthers facing off against the Denver Broncos in Superbowl 50, football is on our minds this week. And for many of the millions of fans who tune in every Sunday to watch their favorite teams compete, football is little more than a weekly ritual. For English professor Mark Edmundson, the football field is a staging ground for some of life's most important lessons. In his book "Why Football Matters," Edmundson looks back to his own high school years playing the sport and reflects on how it taught him courage, resilience, determination, and other values he'd draw on as an adult.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
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.
Ted Chiang talks about his short-story collection, "Stories of Your Life and Others."
Sy Montgomery tells Steve Paulson about swimming with the pink dolphins of the Amazon. She says they inspire lots of folklore, and are really a species of toothed whale.
Shirley Cunningham is a former nun and the author of “Chasing God.” She tells Steve Paulson about her spiritual quest for feminine images of the Divine, including the Black Madonna.
Sandor Katz is the guru of the fermentation revival. He explores the roots of our culture in all things cultured.
Stephen Greenblatt tells the remarkable story of how the discovery of an ancient poem helped launch the Scientific Revolution. Also, an excerpt from Lucretius' poem "On the Nature of Things."
Celebrated jazz pianist Vijay Iyer has a Ph.D. in music cognition and the rare ability to describe the interplay between music and the brain. We talk with Vijay and listen to his music.
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