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.
Ruth Ozeki's novel, "A Tale for the Time Being," is just out in paperback. Anne Strainchamps talks to Ozeki about her book, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Matthew Carter designed Verdana, the internet font; Helvetica, the most ubiquitous font family in the world; and Bell Centennial, the phone book font.
Rick Steves is the author of 30 European guidebooks, and host of public radio and television travel shows.
Historian Maria Rosa Menocal tells Anne Strainchamps about the Golden Age for European Jews when the Moors established an Islamic state in Spain.
Sir Ian McKellen is heard first, reading from the novel "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver. It's part of her "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness" series, set 6000 years ago.
Jon Ronson talks about the renaissance of public shaming that's happening online.
Joe Regenstein teaches food science at Cornell. He tells Steve Paulson about the rigorous inspections involved in getting a food accepted as kosher.
