Pre-Modern hunter and gatherer cultures believed that dying was a kind of trial which didn't begin until you left your physical body and entered the supernatural world, according to sociologist Allan Kellehear. In these cultures, death is not the destruction of the body, but the annihilation of the personality and its transformation into something new.
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Karen Armstrong is the author of nearly 20 books on religion. She tells Steve Paulson that traditions from Confucianism to Judaism emerged as responses to the rampant violence of their time. And she says our own time has a lot in common with that age.
Historian and president of Harvard University, Drew Gilpin Faust tells Steve Paulson that Civil War deaths consumed the entire nation with grief and transformed America in many ways.
What makes Cuban music so distinctive? Radio host Jonathan Overby describes its history, which blends African rhythms with Spanish elegance.
The 13th century Sufi mystic is one of America’s bestselling poets, thanks largely to the translations of Coleman Barks. A Muslim born in Afghanistan, he celebrated the underlying unity of all religions
Elizabeth Gilbert's early mid-life crisis (including a messy divorce) brought her to India to follow in the footsteps of generations of spiritual seekers from the West.
Doug Peacock's Dangerous Idea? We need to save the planet before it's too late.
Danny Wallace decided to say “yes” to everything for a year. He tells Steve Paulson why, and what happened...
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