The virtues of transgressive, subversive, rule-breaking art, both as an aesthetic and as a way of life. Read more
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Episode Archives
Original Air Date:
June 04, 2017
Previous Airdates:
June 04, 2017
November 17, 2018
August 24, 2019
August 01, 2020
May 15, 2021
A new generation of Black farmers are working to reclaim land, hoping to grow justice along with vegetables and plants.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 22, 2020
Previous Airdates:
August 22, 2020
May 15, 2021
Are there new ways to treat depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder? We explore some unconventional treatments for mental illness, including exercise, psychedelics and even horror films.Read more
Original Air Date:
February 15, 2020
Previous Airdates:
February 15, 2020
August 15, 2020
May 08, 2021
We owe our past and future existence on Earth to fungi. Some can heal you, some can kill you, and some can change you forever.Read more
Original Air Date:
June 08, 2019
Previous Airdates:
June 08, 2019
May 02, 2020
May 08, 2021
Remember when reading still felt magical? We talk to authors about Wonderland, magic wands, unicorns and other children's stories that inspire.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 01, 2021
Previous Airdates:
May 01, 2021
They say "don't feed the trolls" — but why should sexist and racist trolls get to own the web? Was it built for them, or for all of us?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 23, 2019
Previous Airdates:
March 23, 2019
February 22, 2020
July 04, 2020
April 24, 2021
When things don't go the way they're supposed to — viruses, star systems, presidents, even fish — why do we so quickly seek order to explain the chaos?Read more
Original Air Date:
August 08, 2020
Previous Airdates:
August 08, 2020
April 24, 2021
What if the most unselfish thing you could do was to pursue pleasure and joy? We make the case for the transformative power of joy, pleasure and delight.Read more
Original Air Date:
October 12, 2019
Previous Airdates:
October 12, 2019
July 11, 2020
April 17, 2021
Milwaukee is a city on water, right on the shore of Lake Michigan, split by the historic Milwaukee River. How did it shape the city's history, politics, culture, and people? We find out in this live broadcast from Turner Hall in Milwaukee.Read more
Original Air Date:
May 05, 2018
Previous Airdates:
May 05, 2018
April 13, 2019
April 18, 2020
April 17, 2021
Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 13, 2018
Previous Airdates:
January 13, 2018
September 22, 2018
June 29, 2019
June 13, 2020
April 10, 2021
In countries all over the world, rates of loneliness are skyrocketing. How did it become a condition of modern life?Read more
Original Air Date:
April 10, 2021
Previous Airdates:
April 10, 2021
Who really runs the world? Presidents and prime ministers, or CEOs and bankers? And who’s responsible when everything falls apart?Read more
Original Air Date:
December 23, 2017
Previous Airdates:
December 23, 2017
July 28, 2018
March 23, 2019
May 02, 2020
April 03, 2021
Millions of people are caring for someone with severe memory loss, trying to find ways to connect. One of the best ways anyone has found is music.Read more
Original Air Date:
August 17, 2019
Previous Airdates:
August 17, 2019
June 27, 2020
April 03, 2021
As monocropping and agribusiness continue to dominate modern farming, we speak to farmers, botanists and indigenous people about how they are reclaiming our seeds.Read more
Original Air Date:
September 14, 2019
Previous Airdates:
September 14, 2019
May 30, 2020
March 27, 2021
Where do you go to find models of powerful women? The ancient world was full of them, real and mythic, but today we barely know their names. Why? This week we rediscover the women of ancient myths and legends.Read more
Original Air Date:
June 09, 2018
Previous Airdates:
June 09, 2018
January 19, 2019
November 09, 2019
June 06, 2020
March 27, 2021
Colonization in Africa was much more than a land grab. It was a project to replace — and even erase — local cultures. How can that be undone?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 20, 2021
Previous Airdates:
March 20, 2021
What's the essence of religion? God? Scripture? Moral codes? Or is it really about something more unexplainable — primal spiritual experiences?Read more
Original Air Date:
November 24, 2018
Previous Airdates:
November 24, 2018
July 06, 2019
July 18, 2020
March 20, 2021
Sometimes, we take our body for granted. But even the everyday things it can do – keep our heart beating, fight off illness – are pretty extraordinary. Do you know what your body can do?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 23, 2019
Previous Airdates:
February 23, 2019
October 05, 2019
June 20, 2020
March 13, 2021
DNA tests are uncovering mixed bloodlines. For Black Americans, this can be emotionally-charged. What do you do when you find out one of your direct ancestors was a slave owner? Does it open the door to new conversations about racial justice?Read more
Original Air Date:
March 10, 2018
Previous Airdates:
March 10, 2018
October 20, 2018
June 08, 2019
May 16, 2020
March 13, 2021
Your voice is unique. It's how your friends and family know you. But how comfortable are you with your voice? And how freely do you use it?Read more
Original Air Date:
July 27, 2019
Previous Airdates:
July 27, 2019
June 27, 2020
March 06, 2021
Jazz wasn't just born in America. There's an alternative history — a story of colonial empires, grassroots revolutions and the global migration of sound.Read more
Original Air Date:
July 04, 2020
Previous Airdates:
July 04, 2020
March 06, 2021
Every so often, a new literary movement coalesces. A new generation of writers finds a voice. This time they’re young, gifted, and Native American.Read more
Original Air Date:
January 26, 2019
Previous Airdates:
January 26, 2019
September 07, 2019
May 23, 2020
February 27, 2021
Scientists and explorers have found a whole new world under our feet. It's an exciting place, and it's changing what we know about the planet and ourselves.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 02, 2019
Previous Airdates:
November 02, 2019
July 18, 2020
February 27, 2021
Millions of animals migrate every year to a destination they've never seen. How do they do it — and what can we learn from them?Read more
Original Air Date:
July 25, 2020
Previous Airdates:
July 25, 2020
February 20, 2021
The board games we play tell us so much more about ourselves than we think — our history, our politics and our inner psychology.Read more
Original Air Date:
November 30, 2019
Previous Airdates:
November 30, 2019
June 13, 2020
February 20, 2021
Do the old dreams of true love and happiness ever after fit our new lives and new identities?Read more
Original Air Date:
February 13, 2021
Previous Airdates:
February 13, 2021
Hope means believing there’s a future. But can hope co-exist with cataclysmic realities like climate change, or disruptive technological advances like artificial intelligence? Read more
Original Air Date:
May 04, 2019
Previous Airdates:
May 04, 2019
February 01, 2020
February 06, 2021
Even with all the music available today, most of us still listen primarily to just a few comfy genres. But there’s so much more out there — and so much of it defies neat, algorithm-friendly categorization.Read more
Original Air Date:
June 01, 2019
Previous Airdates:
June 01, 2019
March 21, 2020
February 06, 2021
This hour we talk with people who’ve turned that around and made hope real, whether it’s through political activism, faith, music, or reading a life-changing novel.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 27, 2019
Previous Airdates:
April 27, 2019
January 25, 2020
January 30, 2021
Is hope something we’re innately born with, or something we can choose to have? We talk with people who tell us where they think hope lives in ourselves and our communities.Read more
Original Air Date:
April 20, 2019
Previous Airdates:
April 20, 2019
January 18, 2020
January 23, 2021