Where does obsessive collecting come from? And what does it mean? Lorraine Daston takes us back to 17th century Europe and the nobility’s Kunstkamera, or chambers of wonders. They were filled with nature’s freaks and anomalies. But these marvels, these monsters, gave birth to modern science.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Richard Goldstein, executive editor of the Village Voice, is appalled by the rampant chauvinism of popular culture.
Steve Paulson presents a profile of the late writer Noel Perrin, best known for his essays on rural life.
Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, like many returning Iraq War veterans, struggled alone with his PTSD. Eventually he got help and made a film called "Now, After."
Steve Paulson talks with a contemporary master of metafiction - writer Robert Coover. Coover's latest novel is "A Child Again."
In the gaming world, game designer Jason Rohrer is a god. Now, saying someone is a god in a certain field is a figure of speech. I mean, they’re not REALLY immortal beings. That is, unless you’re Jason Rohrer.
Many traditions from Confucianism to Judaism emerged as responses to the rampant violence of their time. Karen Armstrong says our own time has a lot in common with that age.
Leonard Steinhorn tells Jim Fleming that Boomer Bashing is the last acceptable prejudice in America, and that it's nothing new.
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