Alexander McCall Smith, was born in Africa and has written the immensely popular “No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” series of novels.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Israeli novelist Amos Oz tells Steve Paulson that his own life parallels the history of modern Israel and that his parents were intellectual European emigres.
The film “Buzkashi Boys” is a coming of age story set in Afghanistan’s national sport, Buzkashi. It's a game of horse polo played with a dead goat instead of a ball. Plus, a coda from novelist Khaled Hosseini.
Angus Trumble is Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art, and is the author of “A Brief History of the Smile.” He tells Steve Paulson that the Julia Roberts-style toothy grin in a recent fashion that would have seemed improper centuries ago.
From Bloomer, Wisconsin, listener Jonathan Blyth sent us a ghost story called "You Are What You Eat."
Former Vice President Al Gore helped bring global warming into public consciousness. Despite the dire projections of rising temperatures, he says he's still an optimist.
Essayist Andre Aciman is fascinated by memory , though he says what we remember is rarely straightforward. He talks with Steve Paulson about memory and writing.
Benjamin Kunkel is not only a bestelling novelist and co-founder of the literary magainze n+1. He tells Steve Paulson why he's also a become Marxist public intellectual.
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