Mary Walsh has made a career out of comedy. Still, she's not quite sure she's funny.
Listen in as she talks about political humor, sketch comedy and why it might be easier for outsiders to find funny.
Looking for a clip of her in action? Here it is.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Anne here. My conversation with Turkish writer Elif Şafak back in April still sticks with me as the year comes to a close. In many parts of the world, 2016 was the year of the populist leader—especially in Turkey, where Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched a crackdown on free speech and all forms of opposition. 120 journalists have been jailed, more than 2,000 academics have been dismissed from universities, and more than 100,000 public workers have been fired. How did Turkey—once a model of new democratic nations—become such a different place? Not only did Şafak see this coming, she warned that the West should not consider itself immune.
Choying Drolma began her life as a Buddhist nun in Nepal. As she tells Steve Paulson, Drolma is now bringing music to the West with American guitarist Steve Tibbetts.
Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard recommends a chilling read: "The Flame Alphabet" by Ben Marcus.
For most of recorded history, bread has been the essential food. Darra Goldstein, editor of “Gastronomica” magazine, says you can’t overstate the significance of bread in human history.
Photojournalist Brendan Bannon lives and works in Africa, where he has documented refugee crises, epidemics, poverty and drought. He's the creator of "Daily Dispatches," an effort to get away from the narrow view of Africa as a place of deep tragedy.
Dan Everett went to the Amazon as a young Christian missionary and became captivated by the Indian people he'd come to convert and their totally unknown language.
David Rieff has written a sobering account of his mother's last days. It's called "Swimming in a Sea of Death," and tells how he tried to do the right thing by his mother - Susan Sontag - while also being true to himself.
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