Literary theorist Terry Eagleton's Dangerous Idea? The humanities are dying.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Do nations need states? Do ethnic, religious, and/or linguistic groups of people – do they, in this age of globalization, do they need to form a country with borders and an army and all that comes along with that? Do they need to be a state?
Ersi Arvizu tells Jim Fleming about growing up longing to get involved in the sport of boxing. Her dad ran a boxing gym for boys in their backyard.
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.
E. Fuller Torrey is a research psychiatrist who believes there has been a five fold increase in the incidence of insanity in the last 250 years, and that some infectious agent is to blame.
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.
Freakwater is an American country band. They're profiled by TTBOOK producer Veronica Rueckert. We hear lots of music from their new album, "Thinking of You."
Brad Kessler was a writer in New York City. He's still a writer, but now he lives on 75 acres in Vermont with a small herd of goats.
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