Information overload seems to be the quintessential 21st century problem. Actually, people have worried about this for centuries, going back to the ancient Romans. Ann Blair provides a short history of information-gathering.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif tells Steve Paulson about the minimal lasting impact of the British occupation of her country, and why she lives and writes in Britain.
Anne Strainchamps goes looking for hope about the world's environmental problems among the children of Randall Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin.
“Alif the Unseen” is steeped in an old tradition. It’s a book of magic about a book of magic.
Girl loses self, solo hikes 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, and finds herself. Cheryl Strayed's best-selling memoir "Wild" is now a movie, starring Reese Witherspoon. Cheryl makes the case for walking as a life-saving act.
Andreas Viestad tells Jim Fleming some of his adventures shooting the “New Scandinavian Cooking” series that aired last year on PBS.
A loaf of fluffy white store-bought bread may look innocent -- but conceals a rich political and economic history. Aaron Bobrow-Strain charts the rise and fall of white bread and reveals what's really at stake when we argue about food.
Albert Nerenberg tells Steve Paulson he was watching a documentary about intelligence when it occurred to him that stupidity would make a much more interesting film.
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