In the pantheon of contemporary jazz pianists — from Keith Jarrett to Herbie Hancock — Craig Taborn is not widely known. But among fellow jazz musicians, he’s revered. Vijay Iyer calls him “one of the greatest living pianists.More
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Interviews By Topic
Only one bank faced criminal charges in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Somewhat surprisingly, it was a small, family-owned bank run by Chinese immigrants. Documentary filmmaker Steve James tells the story in his new film "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail," now nominated for an Academy Award.More
Maybe you're familiar with art therapy — making art to cope with pain. Philosopher Alain de Botton has a different idea. He thinks just looking at great art can be therapeutic.More
Philosopher Alva Noe has a theory about art. He says art is like philosophy, and the best art is disorienting and uncomfortable. It...More
How do you join a revolution? Egyptian artist Bahia Shehab says she was too quiet to shout in the streets during the uprising in Cairo, so she started spraying graffiti with the word "no" in Arabic.More
Steve presents a profile of Edward Abbey, whose book "Desert Solitaire" changed the way people thought about the desert. Abbey inspired many of today's environmental activists. We hear excerpts from Abbey's work and his admirers.More
In 2017, a new museum of fascism was proposed in Predappio, Italy—the birthplace of Benito Mussolini. Historically, the town was already a pilgrimage site for neo-Fascist groups. Journalist Ilaria Maria Sala explains the town’s history with fascism and how they’re trying to reckon with it today.More
Bruno Latour straddles disciplines, from sociology to philosophy, and for the last four decades has been a formidable intellectual presence around the world. His new book digs deeply into debates about nature, culture, and the Anthropocene.More
For three decades, MIT professor Sherry Turkle's been looking at the ways we interact with machines. She believes our digital devices are taking a toll on our personal relationships.More
Nate Staniforth spent thousands of hours learning the craft of stage magic. But he was really looking for wonder. And he says real magic is not smoke machines or stage tricks; it's creating a moment of genuine astonishment.More
Religious scholar Michael Muhammad Knight thinks that most religions, including his own Islamic faith, have a secret history of magical practice.More
In 2018, we have a lot more to be anxious about than just nuclear weapons.More
James Gleick, a science writer with a special interest in the cultural impact of technology, recently sat down with Steve Paulson to talk about the cultural history of time travel and its enduring appeal.More
Alyson Richman is the author of six historical novels. Her latest is called "The Velvet Hours" and it was inspired by a recent newspaper story in the Paris press.More
We all think about time but probably not as deeply as the groundbreaking theoretical physicist Lee Smolin. Smolin has created a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos. He lays it out in a book called "Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe."More
Unlike their canine relatives, coyotes have thrived in the U.S. Despite having been hunted just as intensely as wolves, coyotes have survived. Somehow, coyotes just spread, everywhere. Dan Flores told Steve Paulson how. More
The trailblazing author passed away this week at the age of 88. She was known for marrying the tropes of science fiction and fantasy to big ideas drawn from spirituality, economics, sociology and beyond. That eclectic mix made for impactful and relevant stories that transcended genre.More
What do you do when your buddy in high school turns out to be the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer?More