Historian Sean Wilentz tells Jim Fleming the birth of Dylan’s music is deeply bound up in the politics of the time.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Psychologist and philosopher Thomas Moore talks with Anne Strainchamps about the connections between springtime and death, and how flowers reflect this.
Susan Corso is the author of “God’s Dictionary: Divine Definitions for Everyday Enlightenment.” She tells Jim Fleming about spiritual etymology and how she interprets the root meanings of words to come up with her definitions.
The Oxford English Dictionary was created in 1857, and was expected to be finished within ten years. The first edition was finally completed 71 years later.
For Robert Farris Thompson, the most beautiful, intimate and passionate of dances is Argentine tango.
Scientists are on the cusp of developing new technologies that could radically change how we’re born and how we die. But just because we can do it, should we? For lots of people, it’s just plain wrong for humans to play God.
But Oxford University bioethicist Julian Savulescu has a different view. He says we have a moral obligation to use new technology to create the best possible children.
The recent "Blurred Lines" copyright decision has again raised questions about the limits of copyright law, and the disinction between inspiration and imitation. UCLA law professor Kal Raustiala believes the verdict sets a risky precedent for artists and misunderstands the way the creative process works.
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