To the Best of Our Knowledge
Each week, To the Best of Our Knowledge brings you two hours of in-depth interviews with nationally and internationally-known guests whose passion for new ideas will challenge and engage. Hosted by Jim Fleming, this interview magazine is thoughtful and penetrating, and features fascinating topics and guests.
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TTBOOK: Channeling Creativity
Cartoonist Lynda Barry believes that everyone is an artist and has stories to tell. James Othmer describes life in that center of American creativity, the advertising agency. Pattie Boyd was the woman who inspired three of the most famous rock songs of all time. Geoffrey Colvin says gre …
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TTBOOK: Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq, Coming Home
Jim Sheeler wrote about Marine Casualty Notification Officer Major Steve Beck, the last person a Marine's family wants to see at their door. John McCary reads an e-mail he sent his family in 2004 about the brutal nature of the insurgency. Kyle Haussmann-Stokes struggled alone with his PTSD, …
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TTBOOK: Money, Debt & Unbridled Capitalism
Liaquat Ahamed draws parallels between the recent financial meltdown and the events that led up to the Great Depression. Woody Tasch touts the benefits of supporting locally produced agriculture and "green" companies. Margaret Atwood says it's a mistake to think about debt as simply a mat …
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TTBOOK: Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq, Covering the War
Mike Hoyt is Executive Editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, and he encouraged his staff to question embedded reporters about the embed system and the war. Brian Palmer was embedded with the First Battalion/Second Marines and made a documentary film about the experience. Philip Gourevit …
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TTBOOK: Coming of Age Through Music
Lavinia Greenlaw explains how music helped her as she grew up. Ralph Stanley talks about his family, his music and his concern with death. Nick Hornby reveals his knowledge of obsessive music fan-dom in his new book, "Juliet, Naked." Geraint Watkins is a rock and roll pianist and accord …
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TTBOOK: Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq, Esprit de Corps
Toby Nunn was a Sergeant First Class in Iraq who currently works for the nonprofit group Soldiers' Angels. Tyler Boudreau is a twelve year veteran on the Marine Corps who resigned his commission over reservations about the legitimacy of the Iraq War. John Wrobleski, Sr. relates the story abo …
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TTBOOK: Fonts
Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones designed Gotham, the font of Hope and Change. Nicholson Baker reviewed the Kindle, Amazon's electronic reading device. Matthew Carter designed Verdana, the internet font, and co-designed Helvetica. Tracy Honn takes us on a tour of a working museum …
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TTBOOK: Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq, Architects of War
Douglas Feith was Under Secretary of Defense for Policy under Donald Rumsfeld, and one of the architects of the Bush Administration's war on terrorism. Col. David Lapan was one of the architects of the Defense Department's Embedded Media Program. David Kilcullen was a top military advisor …
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TTBOOK: Ethics of Western Aid
Dambisa Moyo makes the case that Western aid to Africa has been a disaster. Peter Singer lays out the argument that virtually everyone in America has a moral obligation to give money to help the desperately poor. Jacqueline Novogratz combines capitalism and charity to apply business princi …
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TTBOOK: Boots on the Ground: Stories from the War in Iraq, April 6, 2004
Donovan Campbell commanded a platoon of Marines in Ramadi on April 6, 2004. Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez served as Commander of Coalition Forces in Iraq from June 2003 to June 2004. Steve Levin is the producer of a documentary film, "Jerabek," which follows the family of a young Marin …
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TTBOOK: The World According to Pop Culture
Richard Poplak describes the ill-fated attempt to adapt The Simpsons for the Arab world. Daniel Radosh's friends took him to a Christian rock festival and introduced him the world of Christian pop culture. Pagan Kennedy has written an essay about Dr. Alex Comfort, the pioneering sex research …
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TTBOOK: Making Words
Patricia O'Conner says that what Americans think of as a British accent is a fairly recent development. Roy Blount Jr. is a humorist, word maven and author. Dan Everett went to the Amazon as a young Christian missionary and became captivated by the Indian people and their totally unknown la …
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TTBOOK: Searching for Shangri-La
Michael Wood describes his journey through the Himalayas in search of Shangri-La. Ian Baker describes his eight separate trips to find the hidden waterfall at the end of the Tsangpo Gorge. Amy Tan takes on the comic misunderstandings that arise when Americans seek enlightenment in China. …
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TTBOOK: U.S. vs. Them
Jonathan Nossiter talked with people all over the world who make and sell wine. Rachel DeWoskin became a TV star as the American vixen in "Foreign Babes in Beijing." John Perkins was recruited by the NSA and lived a life of privilege in the foreign aid business. Patrick Neate explain …
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TTBOOK: Re-Considering Crafts
Richard Sennett makes the case that our definition of craft should be expanded to include any job a person commits to executing to the best of their abilities. Betsy Greer talks about the resurgence of interest in knitting and crafts. Jessica Helfand collected antique scrapbooks, unique pers …
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TTBOOK: Back To The Farm
*Bright young men and women used to graduate and head for Wall Street or a top corporate law firm. Today ? more and more of them are heading back to the land. After all, which would you rather do ? wear a suit and slave in a cubicle ? or spend your days on your own land, growing food for yourselve …
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TTBOOK: What is Normal?
Stephen Kuusisto remembers visiting the seashore and a stable in Finland as a blind child. Emily Rapp was a poster child for the March of Dimes. Harriet Brown describes her experience discovering her daughter had anorexia. Tom Shachtman explains Rumspringa, when sixteen year olds experi …
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TTBOOK: National Parks
William Cronin says national parks intended for the masses are a 19th century American invention. James Mills investigates the Buffalo Soldiers and looks into the issue of why so few African-Americans visit the national Parks today. Mark Dowie provides examples of conservation projects invo …
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TTBOOK: Welcome to the Working Week
Douglas Rushkoff talks about the way our lives have become like corporate culture. Matthew Crawford explains why manual work matters. Candacy Taylor illustrated the lives of career waitresses. Charles Wilkins wrote a memoir about his summer job as a gravedigger.
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TTBOOK: Libraries
Maryanne Wolfe considers the science of reading and worries about the state of reading in our culture. Ursula Le Guin believes books will always endure. Geraldine Brooks created a fictional history for a real book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. Alberto Manguel assembled a personal library of …
To the Best of Our Knowledge
