Tom Shippey, author of “Tolkien: Author of the Century,” talks with Steve Paulson about the great fantasy writer’s life, the origins of hobbits, and Tolkien’s motivation for writing fantasy.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Operatic bass Samuel Ramey tells Anne Strainchamps about his various devil roles and why he likes singing them.
What would you do to make sure someone you love gets a quality education? Students become walking brands in this story by Kelsi Evans.
Biologist Steven Austad is so confident human beings will soon live to be 150 years old that he’s bet on it with a colleague: Jay Olshansky, who says we’re already living way past our expiration date!
But how do to help people slow down and get to know their communities? Not just the people, the coffee shops and subway map.
How to get residents thinking about the natural systems and urban infrastructure that supports city life?
Artist Mary Miss has some ideas...
Lani Leary has worked with thousands of dying people and their families. She’s been at the bedside of more than 500 people at the moment of death. Her dedication to working with the dying and bereaved goes back to the painful experience of her own mother’s death when she was a child, when her family told her nothing about how her mother died.
Susan Friedman tells Anne Strainchamps about her friendship, initiated and maintained via e-mail over the internet, with a young woman scholar in Iraq.
Icelandic novelist Sjon blends folk stories, surrealism and ancient myth. He also writes songs for his fellow Icelander, Bjork. In this EXTENDED interview, Sjon talks with Steve about fables, fairy tales and literature.
Pages
