Nicholas Basbanes tells Steve Paulson that people destroy books to annihilate the culture of their enemies and remembers some of the heroes who fought to save books from the Nazis and in Bosnia.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Karen Armstrong is one of the world's best-known writers on religion, but her own spiritual path hasn't been easy. She tells us why she joined a convent and then left - and how she later came to appreciate religious texts.
Jay Parini is a poet, novelist and teacher. He's also the author of "Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America." He tells Jim Fleming that his is not a list of "great books" but rather books that significantly changed the literary climate of American culture.
John Matthews talks with Anne Strainchamps about the sacred pre-Christian origins of many of our secular Christmas traditions.
David Harrison travels to some of the most remote places in the world, documenting endangered languages. He tells us about the language warriors: the last speakers of ancestral languages. Many of them are trying to preserve and revive their native tongues.
Lucy Jago tells Steve Paulson about the life and work of the Norwegian scientist who figured out what really causes the Northern Lights.
Poet and writer Kenneth Goldsmith talks about his "Uncreative Writing" course in which students are penalized for showing any originality and creativity. Goldsmith is the author of "Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the Digital Age."
Jane Goodall revolutionized the study of primates and forced people to reconsider what it means to be human. She tells Steve Paulson about her decades of work with chimpanzees.
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