We re-examine the myth of Robert Johnson. The most famous blues singer of them all died at the age of 27 after recording only 29 songs. Today he's idolized, but Elijah Wald says that may be for the wrong reasons.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Bruce Watson tells Steve Paulson why Erector Sets were so huge. They reflected the spirit of America’s Industrial Age, and A.C. Gilbert marketed them directly to boys.
Ernie Cline talks to Anne Strainchamps about his novel, "Ready Player One," which revolves around a massively multi-player online game and '80s pop culture.
Daniel Tammett loves numbers, can do calculations in his head into the millions, and can recite pi to more than 22,000 digits. But he has trouble telling right from left and looking people in the eye.
Hip hop artist DJ Spooky brought a crew to Antarctica and created Sinfonia Antarctica. He tells us how his audio portrait documents the effects of climate change on the continent.
David Edmonds talks with Jim Fleming about Bobby Fischer’s infamous chess match with Boris Spassky for the World Chess Championship in 1972.
Dwight Reynolds talks with Steve Paulson about the history of religious tolerance in Al-Andalus and how it was reflected in the music of Moorish Spain.
Novelist Christopher Miller's debut novel "Sudden Noises from Inanimate Objects" takes the form of liner notes for a box set by a fictional musician.
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