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To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Making Democracy Fun

Correction: This interview refers to a survey finding that only 22% of Americans trust government at all levels. The actual survey was limited to trust in the federal government, and found that 22% of Americans trusted the government in Washington "almost always or most of the time".

We all know it's important to be involved in local government, but can political participation also be fun? Josh Lerner thinks so. He believes local governments could boost the fun factor in the political process by borrowing a few ideas from game design.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

On Our Minds: James McBride

James McBride won the National Book Award for "The Good Lord Bird," his novel about the abolitionist John Brown.  He explains why he doesn't like most fictional portraits of slavery and how he tried to tell a different story.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Philip Pullman on "His Dark Materials"

Pullman speaks with Steve Paulson about the fictional world he's created.

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PEN World Voices Festival Chairman on Charlie Hebdo Controversy

The French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, was presented with a Freedom on Expression award from the PEN American Center this week.  Six high-profile writers boycotted the awards ceremony at PEN's big annual gala.  Hundreds more protested, while others gave the magazine's editors a standing ovation.  The chariman of the PEN World Voices Festival is Colm Toibin, the celebrated Irish novelist.  Toibin shares his thoughs on the controversy.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Karen Armstrong on "The Spiral Staircase"

Karen Armstrong talks with Anne Strainchamps about her tangled path back to God after leaving the convent.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Jaron Lanier with a Critique of Hive Mind

Jaron Lanier popularized "virtual reality" in the 80s; he thinks Web 2.0 technology is erasing our sense of our own identity.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Mario Vargas Llosa on the dictator Trujillo

Mario Vargas Llosa is one of the godfathers of Latin American fiction. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010.  He also once ran for president of his native country, Peru.  Politics and literature are the driving forces in his life.

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Rachel Naomi Remen on "Kitchen Table Wisdom"

Rachel Naomi Remen tells Steve Paulson it’s important to treat the whole person, not just the disease and says she has no idea what happens at the end of life.

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