"I had never known that beauty and death could go together." Joanna Ebenstein runs Brooklyn's Museum of Morbid Anatomy, which celebrates the memento mori that were part of daily life in the past. From art sculpted out of a dead person's hair, to death masks molded from a corpse's face, she give us a tour.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
<p>Climate experts are shocked by the rate at which greenhouse gases are rising. New US government figures show CO2 levels have already topped experts' worst-case scenarios. But if driving hybrids and switching to fluorescent bulbs isn't enough -- what is? William Powers presents a vision of truly sustainable living in an off-the-grid, 12x12 cabin.</p>
Susan Jacoby gives several frightening examples of the way American culture is dumbing itself down, and how poorly educated many American college graduates are.
Ronda Rousey may be the best mixed martial arts fighter who ever lived, and she continues to dominate the MMA. But her rise to the top hasn't been easy. She tells the remarkable story of how she became a champion fighter.
What happens when war becomes just another video game? Lido Giovacchini tells a story of futuristic combat.
What would a world without national borders look like? There's a good chance it'd look very similar to the one we have today. Parag Khanna is a global strategist who believes borders are becoming irrelevant in an increasingly connected world. More than national boundaries, he believes what matters are the connections between cities.
J.R. Thornton was once a serious tennis player on the junior circuit. Then he moved to China and spent a year training with the Beijing National Team, where he discovered just how different the life of an aspiring champion could be. His novel "Beautiful Country" reveals the incredibly difficult demands on young athletes in China.
Sarah Lewis talks about her book, "The Rise: Creativity, The Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery."
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