When evangelical Christians say they talk to God, what do they mean? Anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann wanted to find out, so she spent two years as a participant observer in a Charismatic church, talking to the congregation and even praying herself. She says prayer involves cultivating the imagination. Luhrmann also describes her cross-cultural study of schizophrenics who hear voices.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Don't ask Anna Dietrich if she invented a car that can fly. No one can do that she says. She did, however, invent a plane that can drive.
Alaa Al Aswany is one of the top-selling novelists in the Arab world, but because copyright protections are weak there, he still works part-time as a dentist.
Kevin Powers served as a machine gunner in Iraq in 2004 and 2005. His novel “The Yellow Birds” was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Anne Fadiman talks about the delight she and her brother took as children with collecting (and killing) butterflies.
Allen Snyder tells Steve Paulson that he uses a device called the Medtronic Mag Pro to stimulate autistic-savant-like abilities in normal people.
Andrew Hurley’s book is “Diners, Bowling Alleys, and Trailer Parks: Chasing the American Dream in Postwar Consumer Culture.” Hurley talks about the history of the diner.
Journalist Adam Cohen has written a book about E-bay. He tells Steve Paulson that the on-line auction house has been profitable since day one and will sell just about anything.
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