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: "The Dismal Science"
2008 Nobel Prize in Economics winner Paul Krugman talks with Steve Paulson. Stephen Marglin explains why insurance undermines community. Katy Lederer writes poetry inspired by economics. Steven Levitt has an alternate view on what drives the economy. Catherine Austin Fitts advo …
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TTBOOK: "A Good Death?"
David Rieff has written a sobering account of his mother Susan Sontag's last days. Judith Strasser recorded this commentary in response to the Rieff story. David Shields wrote about his father who doesn't give death the time of day. Pauline Chen says her medical training left her ill …
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TTBOOK: Wild World of Sports
Allen St. John describes the history of the Superbowl. Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht applies Kant's concept of Beauty to the appreciation of sports. Melissa Joulwan plays tough with the resurgent Rollerderby. Dave Zirin writes about politics, pitchmen and protesters in professional sports.
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TTBOOK: "Learning Outside the Box"
Jonathan Mooney says that "normal" is a social construct, not a medical one. Dan Zanes writes music for children of all ages. Matt Hern advocates alternative education. Michel Piechowski describes the way gifted children experience their lives. Sherman Alexie tries to teach an en …
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TTBOOK: Good Hunting
Donald Waller believes hunting deer is the best way to help control population. Kim Hiss describes her first hunt. Bob Stout is a bowhunter. Frank Boll hunts wolves with a camera. Tina Bertoni is a bear hunter. Tim Gallagher talks about his life with birds of prey.
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TTBOOK: "Touching the Sound"
Dame Evelyn Glennie, deaf percussionist and composer, talks about touching sound. Richard Rath describes the sounds of early America. Philip Groning made a film about a community of monks who make a vow of silence. Doug Quin helps us tune in to sounds we don't normally hear.
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TTBOOK: "Magical Thinking"
Robert Price debunks pop mysticism books like "The Secret." Mark Barrowcliffe was a dedicated player of Dungeons and Dragons. Holly Black explains the importance of fantasy to young readers. Laura Miller has had a complex relationship with the Narnia books.
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TTBOOK: "Singular Brains"
Lizzie and Nicky Gottlieb talk about the film "Today's Man," and the problems of adult Aspergians. John Elder Robison's memoir chronicles his life with Asperger's Syndrome. Howard Dully tells his story in a book called "My Lobotomy: A Memoir." Oliver Sacks concludes that despite how …
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TTBOOK: "Einstein, God, and the Universe"
Steve Paulson speaks with Richard Dawkins, Elaine Pagels, and Einstein biographer Walter Isaacson. David Lindorff wrote about two physicists' interest in mysticism and alchemy. David Leavitt tells the story of mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. Father Thomas Keating talks about God a …
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TTBOOK: "Apocalyptic Fiction"
Justin Taylor edited a collection of 34 short stories abut the end of the world. Kevin Brockmeier's novel concerns the dead who have not yet passed from living memory. Lydia Millet considers the current human impact on animals to be apocalyptic in scope. Scott Westerfeld writes wildly po …
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TTBOOK:
Alex Kuczynski tells Jim Fleming that the plastic surgery business is growing dramatically. Ruth Gendler feels we need to learn to see the beauty in the world all around us. Robert Leleux talks about growing up gay, in Texas, with his plastic surgery junkie and drama queen mother. Umbert …
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TTBOOK: " Musical Taste "
Carl Wilson examines the music of Celine Dion. Terre Roche and Doug Gordon talk about The Roches. Jeff Price is a digital music distributor. Robert Scotto wrote a biography of street musician and composer Moondog.
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TTBOOK: "To Sprawl or Not To Sprawl"
Joel Hirschhorn is a critic of sprawl. Robert Bruegmann thinks sprawl is very American way to live. Photographer Edward Burtynsky documented Chinese industrial zones, and film maker Jennifer Baichwal documented the trip. Tom Perrotta's novels feature life in the suburbs.
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TTBOOK: Walking the Walk
Satish Kumar is a Jain monk and ecological activist. A.J. Jacobs lived a biblical life for a year. Geoff Gilpin describes his experiences with Transcendental Meditation. Alix Olson is a poet-artist-activist.
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TTBOOK: Re-considering Craft
Richard Sennett thinks our definition of craft should be expanded. Betsy Greer and the authors of "Handmade Nation" are included in an on-site visit to a major crafts show. Jessica Helfand shows how people constructed unique personal narratives out of whatever materials were at hand. Kel …
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TTBOOK: What Boys Are Made Of
Conn Iggulden tries to help boys have more fun. Psychologist Michael Thompson consults with school systems about how to communicate with boys. John Van de Ruit set his novels in a South African boys school. Veronica Rueckert talks about raising a son. Teddy Atlas wrote about …
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TTBOOK: Design Green
Cameron Sinclair puts architects and designers to work on disaster relief. Azby Brown talks about the Japanese ideal of the very small house. Simon Winchester condemns humanity's short-sightedness of placing cities where the planet doesn't think they should be. Ralph Knowles discusse …
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TTBOOK: Going, Going, Gone Green
Colin Beaven and his family try "no impact living" in New York City. Jeff Ferrell advocates recyling in a big way, including dumpster diving. Edward Abbey became the patron saint of young environmental activists. Bryandt Urstadt researched the Peak Oil scene. Ken Eklund designed a Pe …
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TTBOOK: Cultural Touchstones
David Michaelis wrote a biography of cartoonist icon Charles Shultz. Nick Abadzais' graphic novel "Laika" describes the short, sad life of the Sputnik II dog. Ashley Kahn guides us through Miles Davis' landmark recording "Kind of Blue." Nancy Horan and William Drennan try to demystif …
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TTBOOK: This Sadness
Jerome Wakefield explains how the medical profession has transformed sadness into clinical depression. Joshua Shenk describes Abraham Lincoln's depression. Eric Steel made a film that included footage of suicide attempts. Michael Nye photographs and interviews mentally ill and homeless p …
To the Best of Our Knowledge
