Etienne Van Heerdon tells Steve Paulson that many of his fellow writers are obsessed with his country’s history and that they could always say things in fiction that they could never get away with in journalism.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Daphne Merkin responds to Hilary Clinton as a cultural symbol and public personality.
"Independent People" by Halldór Laxness reviewed by author David Mitchell ("Cloud Atlas")
Brad Warner is a Japanese monster movie marketer, a blogger, a Zen Buddhist Master and plays bass in a punk band. His book is "Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate."
Musician and philosopher David Rothenberg plays duets with birds all over the world. He’s searching for an answer to the question “Why Birds Sing.”
David Gessner wants to change the way people write about nature. Instead of the traditional stories about wild animals in pristine landscapes, he calls for a style of nature writing that's messy, even raucous.
Psychiatrist Charles Grob is studying how psilocybin — the psychoactive component of magic mushrooms - can reduce death anxiety for end-stage cancer patients. His results, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, show that giving psilocybin to terminally ill people may help patients anxiety and depression about the end of end of life.
Frank Kermode tells Steve Paulson that Shakespeare revolutionized the English language and worked within a culture that got most of its information from listening.
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