David Denby hatched a plan to make a million dollars on the stock market. Then the dot com bubble burst, and he watched his new fortune wither away.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Why do certain foods fall out of favor? Aaron Bobrow-Strain tracked the rise and fall of white bread for a book on the subject. He believes our anxieties about food often reflect larger social questions.
How did the Coca-Cola Company become such a powerhouse? Bart Elmore's the guy to ask. He's the author of an environmental history called "Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism."
Historian Deborah Harkness has transmuted her expertise in early alchemy and Elizabethan magic into a pair of best-selling novels, A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night. We talk with her about the connections between magic and science.
To hear an EXTENDED interview with Deborah Harkness, LISTEN HERE.
Author Chuck Klosterman's Dangerous Idea? Laugh tracks are the most philosophically stupid thing. Ever.
We've interviewed Klosterman a number of times, here's a link to more interviews with him.
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.
This is Charles. This interview was recorded near the end of the presidential race when everyone and their brother was trying to figure out what was happening in the minds of poor, white voters. I grew up in poverty under the shadows of Northeast Ohio steel mills. And it struck me that many of the insight everyone was looking for was right there in the music of where I grew up. In my opinion, the best example of that voice in 2016 was country music singer-songwriter Brandy Clark. Her album, "Big Day in a Small Town," had the answers, if anyone dared to listen.
Ethan Watters is the author of “Urban Tribes.” Watters says that the TV show “Friends” is a good example of the kind of social group he’s talking about.
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