Kristin Swenson is an associate professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, and she joins us to talk about approaching the Bible anew with a sense of wonder and context.
Read moreYou’re Lying To Yourself – And That’s A Good Thing
Shankar Vedantam, host of NPR’s “Hidden Brain,” joins us to talk about the myriad ways we lie to ourselves on a daily basis and how that might actually help lead to a much happier life.
Read moreThe Scammers On The Other End Of The Line
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee is a contributing writer at National Geographic, and he joins us to talk about his journey into the world of telemarketers and their phone mills selling dubious products.
Read moreA Mom, A Daughter And The Ocean In-Between
Author Elizabeth Miki Brina joins host us to talk about her efforts to reframe her life’s experiences through her mother’s eyes, and her attempts to understand the pain and loneliness of what it was like for her to leave her homeland behind.
Read moreHow Pocahontas Kept The Peace
Karen Ordahl Kupperman, Silver Professor of History Emerita at New York University, joins us to talk about how Pocahontas collaborated with a trio of English boys to keep communication flowing between the colonists and their Indian neighbors.
Read moreWhy Kendrick Lamar Is A Genius
Music journalist Marcus J. Moore joins us to talk about how this one-of-a-kind artist manages to push musical boundaries while remaining a top-selling pop culture icon.
Read moreIs Appropriation In Art Always Wrong?
Paisley Rekdal, Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Utah and the state’s poet laureate, joins us to discuss the places where identity intersects with politics, and why it’s important to confront the language we use when defining cultures.
Read moreYou’re Being Judged By How You Talk
Katherine Kinzler, professor of psychology at the University of Chicago, joins us to talk about the biased ways we view dialects and accents.
Read moreWhat Grandstanding Says About You
Justin Tosi, assistant professor of philosophy at Texas Tech University, joins us to discuss why getting off the soapbox is the best way to make the world a better place.
Read moreThe Sorry State Of Apologies
Clinical psychologist Molly Howes joins us for a lesson in what it truly takes to make amends.
Read moreHow Shakespeare Spun Tragedy And Comedy From An Epidemic
Stephen Greenblatt, John Cogan University Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University, joins us to talk about how an epidemic influenced Shakespeare.
Read moreWhy No One Listens to You
Reporter Kate Murphy joins us to talk about why listening—even to gossip—is good for our brains and human connection.
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