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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Anne Strainchamps sat down with the great Turkish writer Elif Shafak. Her latest novel, “The Architect’s Apprentice,” is an epic tale set in the height of the Ottoman Empire. It has bloodshed. It was palace intrigue. It has romance. And, yes, it has architecture.

Shafak’s tale centers around a 16th century mosque architect named Mimar Sinan. Though a character in her novel, Sinan was also a real person – considered to be the greatest architect in the Islamic World.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

How do we mind our mortality without being overwhelmed with morbid thoughts?

Stoically, says philosopher William Irvine. But he says Stoicism doesn't require us to be unemotional about death and loss. Irvine says the Stoics used thoughts about mortality to make our lives more joyful.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Kashmir, India was an earthly paradise until recently, combining great physical beauty with a tolerant lifestyle.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Tom Lutz wrote "Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America." He tells Steve Paulson it was his way of dealing with his teen-age son, who never left the couch.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Psychologist Alison Gopnik is changing the way we think about babies.  Her lab at UC-Berkeley has found evidence of empathy and scientific thinking in children as young as 14 months.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Walter Simson is CEO of Infigen - a biotech company that uses nuclear transfer to create cloned pigs and cows.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Jazz pianist and cognitive scientist Vijay Iyer just won a MacArthur "genius" award.  He's also landed a job at Harvard teaching music.  He tells Anne Strainchamps how he incorporates science into his music.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Would televised football be the same without the announcer? They give us background, commentary and insight.Listen as Allen St. John talks about the Fox game coverage strategy that has made the broadcast iconic, and recalls some of the greatest televised moments of Superbowls past.

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