You know that the first settlers called Manhattan "New Amsterdam"? But the Dutch didn't just bring their sailing prowess and placenames with them. Russell Shorto thinks that liberal Dutch ideas about politics and society came too, and shaped the New World.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Can you fall in love with anyone? More than 20 years ago, psychologist Arthur Aron made two strangers fall in love in his laboratory. How? He asked them 36 questions. This year, Mandy Len Catron tried out the 36 questions with a guy she barely knew. Now they’re in love.
Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun have been photographing life in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for 30 years. They talk about the conditions in the prison - nicknamed Angola, for the plantation that was formerly on the site - and how they've changed over time. When they see the inmates working in the fields, they say, it looks a lot like slavery.
Stanford English professor Jay Fliegelman loves to collect books that have a history. He tells Jim Fleming why he loves the marginalia and battered pages of his books.
We made some particular choices about the music in hour four. Here's a note from Charles about the thinking that went into the score, and a Spotify playlist to explore.
Some of the country's leading neuro-biologists are collaborating with Buddhist monks in an effort to understand the effects of meditation on the mind and the brain.
Mark Headley talks about his book, "Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology."
So, what is gender anyhow? Philosopher Judith Butler has been unpacking our notions of "he," "she" and "we" for the past 20 years. She stopped in to help us take stock of the state of gender in the North America.
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