As the daughter of a child psychologist, writer Jessica Lamb-Shapiro grew weary of the simple solutions offered by popular self-help books. So maybe it was only natural that she wanted to understand why people liked them so much. To find out, she read hundreds of books and articles, journeyed to conferences headed by self-improvement icons, and even conquered her fear of flying along the way.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Vivek Maddala composes new scores for silent movies. He tells Steve Paulson how music can tell a story.
Journalist and poet Ruben Martinez tells Steve Paulson that there are powerful economic incentives for Mexicans to cross the U.S. border to find work.
Historian Simon Schama tells Steve Paulson that Rembrandt thought art should tell the truth and that he was an enormously innovative painter.
In Sara Gruen's new novel "Ape House," a family of bonobo apes are captured to be the main attraction in a reality TV show.
Steven Johnson tells Anne Strainchamps how television storytelling has become more sophisticated with mutiple plots lines extending over several episodes.
Susan Jacoby gives several frightening examples of the way American culture is dumbing itself down, and how poorly educated many American college graduates are.
Novelist Michelle Wildgen shares a conversation about food, art, and the creative imagination with chef and food activist Alice Waters, founder of the legendary Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse.
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