Writer Richard Rodriguez views his so-called brown identity as a racial mixture, dating back to the colonization of the Americas. He tells us why he celebrates being brown, and embraces the term "Hispanic."
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Frank Schaeffer grew up in a Swiss Evangelical commune, the son of a fundamentalist theologian. He and his father helped found the Religious Right and were part of its power structure for many years, Then Schaeffer recanted. Today he's a liberal democrat who describes himself as "an atheist who believes in God." He outlines his disenchantment with Evangelical politics.
What compels someone to commit acts of terror? Anthropologist Scott Atran has spent a decade talking with jailed suicide bombers and jihadist leaders. He says they're motivated by core human values: brotherhood, loyalty and the dream of a better world.
Stephen Prothero tells Steve Paulson about the first American cremation, which didn’t really go very well, and the current craze for going out in a blaze of glory.
The idea of a universal basic income is getting serious consideration these days from governments -- in Switzerland, Finland, even Kenya. Could it get traction in the U.S.? Absolutely, says journalist Rutger Bregman.
Two experts talk about Vastu, a Hindu philosophy for designing buildings in harmony with the universe.
Sarah Flannery is an Irish mathematician and former child prodigy. She won the EU Young Scientist of the Year award when she was 16 for her work on the Cayley-Purser algorithm. She challenges us to the Russian Postal System puzzle.
Steven Moore tells Steve Paulson about our rich history of experimental fiction.
Pages
