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.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Norwegian writer Karl Ove Knausgaard recommends a chilling read: "The Flame Alphabet" by Ben Marcus.
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.
Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler is president of the Fauna Communications Research Institute. She shares samples with Jim Fleming of some of the amazing animal sounds her group has recorded.
Social critic Camille Paglia explains what makes some of her favorite poems great, and we hear them read.
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.
Evelin Sullivan, author of “The Concise Book of Lying,” talks with Steve Paulson about lies of necessity, little white lies, and what sort of deception really makes people angry.
So if you want to protect your privacy when you’re online or on the street, what do you do? Photographer Adam Harvey is developing a DIY solution...
Pages
