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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Television is rife with shows about female spies, whether it's Nikita, Covert Affairs, the Americans, or Homeland. It really seems like spy girls are having a moment on TV, but how true to life are these popular depictions? We turned to former CIA operations officer Valerie Plame Wilson to find out.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

In her book, "Do Metaphors Dream of Literal Sleep?: A Science-Fictional Theory of Representation," Seo-Young Chu argues that science fiction is a kind of "high-intensity realism."  She spoke with Jim Fleming.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Journalist Ted Conover tells Steve Paulson that wise guards accept that they rule with the consent of the prisoners, and recalls a few of his most dramatic encounters with inmates.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Youngstown, Ohio is the center of the Rust Belt.  During steel's heyday, Youngstown was a city of nearly 200,000. Now, it’s under 70,000. The steel mills closed in the 1980’s, people left, and no one replaced them. Steve Paulson sat down with urban planner Justin Hollander talk about what to do next - what Hollander calls "smart decline."

 

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

What do you do when you’re an African-American filmmaker living in a country full of people who dress up in blackface at Christmastime?  You pick up a camera. Roger Ross Williams  talks about his new documentary,  "Blackface." It's about the traditional Dutch celebration of "Black Pete" -- a Santa's helper who dresses in blackface, an Afro wig, red lipstick and big hoop earrings.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Around the country Governors of both parties are balancing their state budgets by making public sector employees pay more. Why?

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

The contemporary art world was shocked in 2010 when the prestigious Turner prize went to a voice installation, the work of the Scottish artist Susan Philipsz.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Today, the Dutch philosopher Spinoza - father of the Enlightenment - is revered, but in the mid-17th century, he was branded a heretic by his Jewish congregation in Amsterdam.  Recently, philosopher Steve Nadler was asked if Spinoza should be exonerated. He explains why he said no.

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