A commentary on terrorism from poet Naomi Shihab Nye.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
“The Unraveling of Mercy Louis" tells the fascinating story of a community that’s nearly torn apart following the discovery of an abandoned baby in a dumpster. A witch hunt ensures and the girls at a local high school soon begin developing mysterious twitches and tics, which quickly intensify. Eventually, the girls in the town are acting as if they’re possessed, thrashing around on the floor or grunting like animals. As strange as it all sounds, Parssinen says the book was inspired by a real episode of mass hysteria in Le Roy, New York.
John Francis was motivated by a California oil spill to stop riding in cars, planes or trains. When he got tired of trying to explain his decision, he stopped talking - for 17 years.
Nicholas Rogers is a historian at York University in Canada and the author of “Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night.” He says that Halloween has both pagan and Christian roots and that the modern holiday once involved more treats than tricks.
Singer/songwriter Robert Ellis Orrall talks about his fictional indie rock band, Monkey Bowl.
Jon Scieskza tells Anne Strainchamps that boys like to read funny stuff, not the books their female teachers loved as girls.
Mike Daisey is the playwright and star of the off-Broadway 1-man-show called “21 Dog Years: Doing Time @ Amazon Dot Com.”
Sacks had a particular fascination with the ways our brains can play tricks on our vision. He also reveals his own lifelong struggle to recognize the faces of other people.
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