Journalist Ian Johnson is the author of “Wild Grass: Three Portraits of Change in Modern China.” He talks with Anne Strainchamps about one of them.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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"If you ask NPR audiences, 'Do you care about fashion..?' Ninety-five percent of them said 'No.' But if you ask them, 'Do you care about culture?' Ninety-five say 'Yes.'" Jacki Lyden is perhaps best known for her reporting from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But in a new project, she's turned her attention to fashion. Here's why.
Conventional wisdom holds that the founding fathers were a group of esteemed gentlemen who peacefully united under a common cause. Historian Paul Aron tells a different story. In his book "Founding Feuds," Aron follows the bitter rivalries and intense conflicts in the early days of the republic. He says our nation's founders could be just as vicious and scathing as politicians today.
So-called "outsider art" has been hot for a while now. What the art crowd calls it has changed, from l'art brut to self-taught art to vernacular art.
Whatever you call it, the work of some these artists will join the cream of the contemporary art crop at the Venice Biennale this summer.
One of the largest collections of vernacular art is right here in Wisconsin. Producer Sara Nics talks with the woman who helped create the collection: Ruth Kohler.
Remember Stewart Band? Back in the 60s he launched the Whole Earth Catalog and then became an environmental icon. And now? He says we need nuclear power and geoengineering to reduce carbon emissions.
Ian Baker describes his eight separate trips to find the hidden waterfall at the end of the Tsangpo Gorge. It's the legendary gateway to Shangri-La.
Journalist and documentary film-maker Jack Newfield considers boxing his guilty pleasure. He tells Steve Paulson that given fairly matched opponents, boxing reveals courage and character.
James Yee was the Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo Bay prison until he was falsely accused of treason and imprisoned without trial.
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