“I learned virtually nothing about mortality when I was in medical school,” Dr. Atul Gawande says. “I was terrible at knowing how to have a successful conversation with people facing terminal illness.” Gawande, author of the bestselling “Being Mortal,” is now trying to get people talking about better ways to live out the final chapter.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Eric Kandel has spent a lifetime studying the science of memory and picked up a Nobel Prize while he was at it.
Chris Thomas King played blues legend Tommy Johnson in the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” His tune on the soundtrack won 3 Grammy Awards. King sees his music as a bridge between the worlds of hip hop and the Blues.
Edward P. Jones won the Pulitzer Prize for his first novel, "The Known World." His short story collection is called "All Aunt Hagar's Children."
Mary Pauline Lowry has been obsessed with fire since she was a child. And she's pursued this obsession throughout her life -- by working as a member of a hotshot crew fighting wildland fires and writing a novel called "Wildfire" based on her experience.
Anne speaks with Claire Tomalin, Austen's biographer. They talk about Jane Austen and the contemporary fascination with her.
Our final interview in today’s show has nothing to do with collecting – unless you consider winning two presidential campaigns a collection of two wins. David Axelrod was the chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns and recently stopped by our studio to talk about the art of running for office.
David Kilcullen, an advisor to former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and an architect of the Troop Surge in Iraq under General Petraeus, talks about the problem with traditional counter-insurgency efforts.
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