If there’s one writer who’s identified with the Mississippi River, it’s Mark Twain. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri — on the river’s edge — and as a young man, he worked as a steamboat pilot. And then he wrote the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the novel that turned the Mississippi into myth. But it also created one of the most enduring controversies in American literary history: how to depict race relations in America's past. In this interview, Andrew Levy says that "Huckleberry Finn" is actually anti-racist — and when it was first published, the big controversy was about Twain’s depiction of wild children.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Princeton historian Robert Darnton says that people in 18th century Paris spread the news by making up topical songs to familiar melodies, and that the police kept records on everybody.
For centuries, the oddities of nature - like two-headed cats and conjoined twins - fascinated people. Science historian Lorraine Daston says a history of wonders is to some degree a history of pre-modern science.
Rachel Brennan suffered severe brain trauma and has no short-term memory. Karen tells the story of her daughter’s long road to recovery in the memoir “Being with Rachel.”
Mystery novelist P.D. James talks with Anne Strainchamps about “Death in Holy Orders,” the latest Adam Dalgleish book.
Philip Ball tells Anne Strainchamps that artists had to be chemists for centuries and that often the paintings we see now look nothing like the originals.
Jonah Raskin is the author of “American Scream.” He talks about why Allen Ginsburg’s “Howl” became an anthem for a generation
Jason Spingarn-Koff is a film-maker whose new documentary is called "Life 2.0." It tells the stories of several people who immerse themselves in the "Second Life" computer game...
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