How we live is indelibly intertwined with the care and empathy we give to each other. What if we put care into helping Americans find homes and build dwellings, into keeping their bodies and minds sound, and finding meaningful and well-paid work? In this three part series, "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project bring you real life stories about economic struggle in our time, as well as ideas for solutions. Original Air Date: November 19, 2022 Interviews In This Hour: Do they need to know that I'm blind? — The work of care is vital. Why don't we pay like it i ..read more

Every click on your computer, every swipe on your smartphone, leaves a data trail. Information about who you are, what you do, who you love, the state of your mind and body… so much data about you, expanding day by day in the digital clouds. The question is—do you care? Would owning your data, or having more digital privacy, make life better? And what happens to all that data when you die? Original Air Date: November 22, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: A former child test subject seeks the data that shaped her life — In an age of surveillance, do you still care about your privacy? — When you die ..read more

Sometime in the last couple of years, America’s collective morning routine shifted. We used to start the day with coffee. Now it’s coffee and Wordle. Or Spelling Bee. Or both, plus the crossword. We’re living in a golden age of word games – which is fun, and one way to get just a tiny bit of relief when the world feels out of control.  Original Air Date: November 09, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Getting into the puzzle mindset — Welcome to my crossworld Guests: A. J. Jacobs, Anna Schectman Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including exte ..read more

In 2020, Donald Trump won 84 percent of the white evangelical vote. Lately, he’s been leaning even more deeply into the rhetoric of Christian nationalists. Who are they, and what’s their role in the evangelical church? We talk with some Southern Baptists today, whose views may surprise you.  Original Air Date: March 09, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The 'simmering violence' of Donald Trump and Christian nationalism — Examining the role of Southern Baptist women — Why one Black pastor left the Southern Baptists Guests: Jeff Sharlet, Beth Allison Barr, John Onwuchekwa Never want to miss an ..read more

Most of us have no idea what will happen when we die. But some do—people who actually started the process of dying and then came back with remarkable stories—like meeting dead relatives. Science is not only extending the lives of patients who’ve been declared clinically dead; it’s also beginning to tell us what happens in near-death experiences. Original Air Date: September 21, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Sebastian Junger reckons with the possibility of an afterlife — How science is revolutionizing our ideas about life and death Guests: Sebastian Junger, Sam Parnia Never want to miss an epi ..read more

Rooted in reality, written with a keen observer’s eye, and shaped with a sense of song, documentary poetry tells the truth in an artist’s voice. For generations, through wars, crisis, and political upheaval, documentary poets have helped make sense of some of our most difficult moments – by expressing what might otherwise be impossible to say. So what are they writing about today? This episode was produced in partnership with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Original Air Date: January 13, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The gospel of Suncere Ali Shakur — This is how I drew you — The poet ..read more

Human creativity — whether it’s solving a tough problem or writing a novel — is one of our defining traits. It’s also deeply mysterious. Where does that creative spark come from? Original Air Date: February 09, 2019 Interviews In This Hour: A Neuroscientist and a Novelist Put Creativity Under a Microscope — Is This The Price of Genius? — Alma Mahler: 'Malevolent Muse' or Early Feminist Composer? — Was The Art Worth All The Pain? Guests: Heather Berlin, Siri Hustvedt, Jim Holt, Mary Sharrat, Nathaniel Mary Quinn Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us ..read more

What can we learn from whales – and whales from us? Technology like AI is fueling new scientific breakthroughs in whale communication that can help us better understand the natural world. And, there’s an international effort to give whales a voice by granting them personhood. Special thanks to Ocean Alliance and whale.org for some of the whale recordings heard on this episode. Original Air Date: August 24, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Translating whale, with the help of AI — Searching for a whale alphabet — Giving a voice to the whale ancestors — Roger Payne touches a whale Guests: Shane Gero ..read more

How we live is indelibly intertwined with the care and empathy we give to each other. What if we put care into helping Americans find homes and build dwellings, into keeping their bodies and minds sound, and finding meaningful and well-paid work? In this three part series, "To The Best Of Our Knowledge" and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project bring you real life stories about economic struggle in our time, as well as ideas for solutions.  Post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health challenges can push people into poverty. Meanwhile, the experience of financial desperation c ..read more

It can be hard to enjoy the natural world these days without anxiety. You notice a butterfly on a flower and wonder why you don’t see more. How’s the monarch population doing this year? And shouldn’t there be more bees? The challenge is to live in this time of climate change – but still find joy and refuge in it.  Original Air Date: July 27, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Ecologies of love: Heather Swan’s stories of insects and the web of life — Becoming edible: Philosopher Andreas Weber’s mystical biology Guests: Heather Swan, Andreas Weber Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the ..read more