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
Comic novelist David Lodge takes on the old battle between science and the humanities in his latest book, “Thinks.”
Bennett Alan Weinberg talks with Anne Strainchamps about how little we actually know about the vegetable alkaloid we know as caffeine.
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.
Could the Internet feel happy or depressed? That's a distinct possibility, according to Christof Koch. In this EXTENDED interview, he talks about computer consciousness, God, and just what it means that our brains have a hundred billion neurons and trillions of synapses. Koch wonders whether all matter might have consciousness.
Entomologist Deborah Gordon tells Steve Paulson that ant colonies run with no one in charge. She’s spent years figuring out how they do it.
Why do we sleep? No-one really knows, but neuro-scientist Bob Stickgold tells Jim Fleming about his ideas concerning sleep and why it’s important.
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