Historian Garry Wills tells Jim Fleming that despite his “Confessions,” Augustine was no libertine, and dealt with all the major theological problems of early Christianity.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Jimmy Santiago Baca was in a maximum security prison. He taught himself to read and fell in love with words. Today he’s a champion of the International Poetry Slam, and the author of multiple books of verse.
Sue Mingus tells Jim Fleming how she met her husband, recalls their two weddings, explains why she spread her husband’s ashes in the Ganges River and talks about his last days in Mexico. And we hear lots of his music.
Reporter Scott Wallace joined Brazilian explorer Sidney Posseulo on an expedition deep into the Amazon in search of one of the last uncontacted tribes, the Arrow People.
Stephen Greenblatt tells the remarkable story of how the discovery of an ancient poem helped launch the Scientific Revolution. Also, an excerpt from Lucretius' poem "On the Nature of Things."
If you've spent any time playing Tetris, you've probably spent a lot of time playing it. Tetris is simple yet addictive. Your job is to fit falling geometric blocks together so that there are no spaces between them. Box Brown has spent alot of time playing and thinking about Tetris. He's written and illustrated a graphic history of the world's most popular video game. It turns out that Tetris has a fascinating backstory.
Before the Internet, a good memory wasn't just useful; it was prized as a sign of intelligence. And there were memory geniuses who developed mental tricks for storing information. Philosopher and novelist Simon Critchley delves into the fascinating history of the memory palace, which once promised almost God-like wisdom.
What does the growing popularity of podcasts mean for public radio? Are they competition? Inspiration? For insight, we turned to one content director who's also launched a few podcasts.
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