foggy trees

Listening to the Mother Trees

Articles

Suzanne Simard is a forest ecologist who's revolutionizing our understanding of trees. She has discovered that trees use underground networks to communicate and cooperate with each other. It turns out that whole forests can exist as a superorganism.More

Latest Stories

War is Beautiful?

"From War is Beautiful" by David Shields, published by powerHouse Books.
Photo Gallery

David Shields says the New York Times is complicit in romanticizing war through imagery.

Humans Have Gotten Nicer and Better at Making War

Mural of ancient soldiers returning from battle
Articles

Historian Margaret MacMillan tells Steve what war reveals about human nature.

Length: 
15:07

Is War Inevitable?

Mark Art, Not War
Audio

Is war inevitable? Leymah Gbowee loudly and strongly says no. And she’s got proof.

Length: 
11:40

Remembering 9/11 Through The Lens Of A Photojournalist

James Nachtwey, Collapse of the South Tower, Church of St. Peter, September 22, 2001.
Articles

James Nachtwey is one of the world's great war photographers. For more than three decades, he's covered just about every major armed conflict around the world, and he's been wounded several times on the job. He talks about his harrowing work in Afghanistan, Iraq and where those wars began — Ground Zero in 2001.

Length: 
14:35

Ruth Ozeki on 'Kamikaze Diaries'

ruth ozeki
Bookmarks

For her own book, author Ruth Ozeki drew from “Kamikaze Diaries,” a collection of writings left behind by the young soldiers who died on suicide missions. They represent a generation of brilliant, highly educated young students who were conscripted into the army and ordered not just to kill but to die.

Length: 
3:38

Even With Jobs, The Middle Class Is Feeling the Squeeze

man moving steel
Articles

Alissa Quart spent the last few years traveling around the country, talking with all kinds of people about work. What she found is a lot of people with jobs that look good on paper but who feel — in a word — squeezed.

Length: 
12:26

F*** Work

punch the clock
Dangerous Ideas

When we talk about reforming work, fixing work, creating new kinds of work — author and historian James Livingston thinks perhaps we’re not going far enough. 

Length: 
4:51

'His Dark Materials' Author Philip Pullman On The Consciousness Of All Things

Dæmon Pan and the alethiometer in HBO's adaptation of "His Dark Materials"
Articles

Philip Pullman, the celebrated English writer has just written a 630-page sequel brimming with contentious ideas about religious tyranny, the loss of imagination and the nature of consciousness — all in a book that’s marketed to children.

Length: 
16:00