Showing results by narrator "Jim Fleming" in All Categories

New York Times columnist David Brooks is best known for his political writing, but he's also fascinated by recent findings in psychology and neuroscience. In fact he says many of our public policies fail because we're not actually the rational decision makers we think we are. In this hour, we'll talk with David Brooks, also, rising jazz star Vijay Iyer on the neuroscience of music.

Today most of what we read is on a screen. So here's the question: Is there something different -- something better -- about reading a physical book? Or does it matter? We explore slow reading, e-reading, bibliotherapy and a novel that unfolds within another novel.

In this hour we'll hear the latest science on brain plasticity. First, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and researcher Norman Doidge (The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science). Next, author Daniel Pinchbeck (2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl), and more.

In this hour, we ask what exactly Einstein concluded about religion. First, a discussion with Richard Dawkins, Elaine Pagels, and Einstein biographer Walter Isaacson (Einstein: His Life and Universe). Next, Jungian analyst David Lindorff (Pauli and Jung: the Meeting of Two Great Minds). Then, author David Leavitt, (The Indian Clerk). Finally, mystic Father Thomas Keating.

When we’ve had enough of reality, we often seek escape in a movie. But we don’t have to shut off our brains when we visit the cinema. Some films actually encourage us to use our minds. This hour, we explore philosophy through the lens of film.

Does death gives life meaning? You might think so, looking at the prominence of death and the afterlife in so many religions. For millennia, people have dreamed about immortality, and now transhumanists are trying to extend life by merging our selves with machines.

Science fiction offers us visions of histories we don't know -- histories of the future and the past. Today, legendary science fiction writers talk about science, utopia, and the imagination. Plus, the winners of our 3 Minute Futures fiction contest!

DEVO co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh talks about his visual art exhibition, "Myopia," and Joshua Wolf Shenk lays waste to the myth of the lone genius as we explore the creative...

Your name is a collection of sounds and syllables that identify you. It's your tag, handle, label, second skin. It's written on your birth certificate and it'll be inscribed on your grave. But what does it actually mean? Names carry family dreams, expectations and legacies. In this episode, stories about the power and politics of names - how they shape us and how we shape them. What does your name say about you?

Hear that? It's the soothing sound of silence. We'll have much more, including Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking; one man's quest for absolute silence; and John Cage's 4'33.

There are nearly 250 million migrants across the world right now. Some will be escaping war or oppression, others will be seeking out freedom or economic prosperity, but whatever the reason, the kind of life they're looking for lies across a border that's policed and restricted. What if it didn't have to be that way? This hour, we explore a world without borders.

"Everyone is on the Internet but they're not all talking with each other. There are groups upon groups out there, but they don't talk to one another. So while the Internet brings everyone into a share space, it does not necessarily bring them together." -- David Lynch

Political animosity between the right and the left is off the charts. Social scientists say we're living in one of the most polarized periods in history and that conservatives and liberals don't just disagree anymore. They hate everything about each other. It's time to de-polarize! Let's figure out how.

Welcome to the next generation of African writers. They're young, multi-lingual, and breaking out of all the old literary boxes. This hour, why Africa has one of the most exciting literary scenes on the planet.

If you think about it, every day we receive countless services from complete strangers - the newspaper delivered to your door, the trash picked up at the crack of dawn, the fresh fruit for sale at the supermarket. There's a whole army of invisible workers powering our economy who we rarely get to hear about. From the warehouse workers who fill out our online orders, to the migrant laborers who pick our food, even down to the unpaid office intern, this hour we're talking about the hidden workers who make it all happen.

Our planet is facing a mass extinction crisis. By the end of the century, we could lose up to half of all living species. But people are working hard to save endangered species and habitats, and a few scientists are even trying to bring lost species - like passenger pigeons and woolly mammoths - back to life.

When was the last time you said something so mortifying that all you wanted to do was crawl under a rock and hide? We've all been through plenty of uncomfortable moments, but it seems like we rarely talk about them. From teenage angst to cringe comedy, this week we're setting aside the shame and reveling in all things awkward.

Procrastination can be an occasional bad habit, but it can also be a lot worse. It can lead to depression, low self-esteem, anxiety. Today, we try to answer the question, why do we put things off and how can we stop?

Light has long been a powerful metaphor for holiness and truth, and rightly so. From the stars in the sky to the bulbs in our homes, light touches every facet of human life. This hour, a look at the natural, artificial, and symbolic light that colors our history - and our future.

Getting through winter requires mental and physical toughness, plus good central heating. But animals have amazing strategies for surviving conditions that make humans whimper. Today, winter survival strategies from our furred and feathered friends. What could we learn from a walrus who spends the winter munching shrimp below 30 feet of polar ice? Or from frogs who survive the entire season awake, but frozen solid?