Ishmael Beah was 12 when the army of Sierra Leone gave him an AK-47 and a lot of drugs and turned him into a killing machine. Beah's been rehabilitated and lives in the USA.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
James McManus writes for Harpers. With an advance from the magazine, he entered the world series of poker.
Recent medical breakthroughs mean we can sometimes halt and even reverse death. This has led science into a domain traditionally relegated to theology and philosophy. Steve Paulson hosts a panel discussion on the difficult questions that come up during medical crises.
Jade Simmons is a classical pianist who's equally happy to play music by Samuel Barber or hip hop master DBR.
Leigh Ann Henion was a young mother when she felt her world closing in. So she did something unconventional: she set off on a "wonder pilgrimage" to see some of the world's most astonishing natural phenomena. She tells us about juggling motherhood with swimming in bioluminescent oceans, standing at the edge of active volcanoes, and witnessing vast animal migrations.
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.
James Kellaris is especially interested in finding out what makes some songs get stuck in listeners’ heads. He talks about this universal annoyance with Jim Fleming.
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.
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