Writer and activist Yasmin Nair's Dangerous Idea? Writers should always
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Lauret Savoy believes too many nature writers focus on pristine wilderness and neglect the gritty reality of the places where people actually live - in cities, for instance, maybe even near toxic waste sites - which forces us to grapple with questions about race and poverty.
Margaret Atwood says it's a mistake to think about debt as simply a matter of money. Debt is embedded in our psyche and rife in our literary and religious history.
We meet Pete Daly, an engineer with recurrent melanoma who talks about living with cancer.
Jill Price can remember every day of her life since the age of 14. She's one of only half a dozen people diagnosed with "hyperthymesia" - a fancy word for nearly total recall.
Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard discusses his six-volume autobiographical novel, "My Struggle."
You could also listen to an extended interview with Karl Ove Knausgaard.
Every spring in Japan, people crowd under blooming cherry trees. They're signs of spring, and remembrances of life's transience.
Master gardener Sadafumi Uchiyama says the blossoms are the quintessential representation of the Japanese principle of mono no aware... beauty in the intertwining of life and death.
Mark Pendergrast tells Jim Fleming that mirrors were important in many ancient human cultures and recounts his experiences in a mirror maze.
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