National security, civil liberties, terrorism...those issues obsessed Romans 2,000 years ago just as they obsess us today. Renowned classicist Mary Beard says we have lots to learn from Ancient Rome, including insights into how empires rise and fall.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
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Dan Chaon's short story collection, "Stay Awake," is set in post-recession America, where dreamers, losers and troubled souls feel like ghosts in their own lives.
Amy Borkowsky’s mother leaves unbelievable messages on her answering machine. She tells Steve Paulson that what her mother does is based on love and her devotion to the role of mother.
What's the perfect drug for a culture of distraction? Adderall. Sales of the prescription drug have increased exponentially and not always legally, especially to young adults. Casey Schwartz spent her twenties gulping down prescription stimulants to help her get through school and start her career. She wrote about her experience in a story for "The New York Times Magazine" called "Generation Adderall."
Anne Lamott is famous for her intensely personal and very funny style of writing. Her latest book is "Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith."
Ali Allawi is a visiting fellow at Harvard and the former Minister of Defense and Minister of Finance in Iraq. He talks with Steve Paulson about Islam and modernism.
Zen Buddhist Abbot Joan Halifax has been sitting with dying people since 1970. She says the experience has been a profound gift. She says that she has no idea what happens after we die, and that she's comfortable with that mystery.
Writer Andre Aciman says a good memoir can capture emotional truth even when certain historical details are fictionalized. He describes the art of the memoir.
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