Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
John Matthews talks with Anne Strainchamps about the sacred pre-Christian origins of many of our secular Christmas traditions.
So, there’s a serious proposal on the table. Should we genetically engineer disease-carrying species of mosquitoes out of existence? The technology exists and some pretty prominent scientists think we should.
Let’s check in with Sonia Shah. She’s a science journalist who writes about pandemics and pathogens and the social history of disease. She wrote one of the best histories of malaria – a book called “The Fever”, and she has a pretty different perspective on the kill or be killed debate.
Liz Mermin tells Anne Strainchamps that her film, "The Beauty Academy of Kabul", chronicles the efforts of some Afghan women to maintain a little independence and earn a little money.
John Strausbaugh says blackface (and whiteface) have long histories in this country and helped Americans learn to live with each other.
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.
Richard Davidson is a neuro-psychologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama. He tells Steve Paulson about observing contemplatives with a brain scanner.
We hear a clip from the 2007 film "When Nietzsche Wept" which introduces the concept of "eternal recurrence."
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