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To the Best of our Knowledge (Books-Conversation)

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Next available on KSTX 89.1 San Antonio, TX in 12 hours 15 minutes
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Host: Jim Fleming
Each week, To the Best of Our Knowledge brings you two hours of in-depth interviews with nationally and internationally-known guests whose passion for new ideas will challenge and engage.
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Genres: Books-Conversation
Location: Madison, WI
Language: English
Networks: NPR, PRI, Wisconsin Public Radio, One Place

Last updated 170 days ago Update program info

Recent Topics

TTBOOK: Meet the Press

Sat, Nov 15 Listen

Chuck Klosterman interviews celebrities like Bono and Britney. Joe Garden is the editor of "The Onion." Jack Vitek tells the story behind "The National Enquirer." Gay Talese talks about his sports journalism.

TTBOOK: Transgender Identity

Sat, Nov 15 Listen

Aaron Raz Link and his mother, Hilda Raz wrote the story of Aaron's gender reassignment surgery. Conceptual artist Genesis P-Orridge talks about music and gender. Jason Goodwin wrote a novel set in 19th century Istambul. Kelley Eskridge is never specific about the gender of her recurring character Mars.

TTBOOK: Food Stories

Sat, Nov 8 Listen

Chef Dan Barber talks about where food comes from. Jane Hamilton tells stories of her family's apple orchard. The Kitchen Sisters Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva collect food stories. Ray Turner describes catching eels. Judith Jones was Julia Child's editor.

TTBOOK: Poetry Instead

Fri, Nov 7 Listen

Patricia Smith performs several of her provocative, award winning poems. Jay Parini uses poems to explain why poetry matters. Gioia Timpanelli writes novels with a poetic sensibility. Les Murray talks about the roots of his poetry and reads several poems.

TTBOOK: Modern Music

Sat, Nov 1 Listen

Alex Ross describes the development of modern classical music and its wide-ranging influences. The East Village Opera Company artists Peter Kiesewalter and Tyley Ross update opera for the 21st century. Ben Ratliff listened to music with jazz composers. Syd Straw shares a lot of music from her album "Pink Velour."

TTBOOK: DNA and Discovery

Fri, Oct 31 Listen

Jessica Queller tested positive for the breast cancer gene BRCA. Michael Crichton discusses the ethics of gene patenting. Sean Carroll describes advances in DNA research. James Watson cracked the code of DNA. Sarah Waliany and Caroline Lang are young students making discoveries in science.

TTBOOK: Voices

Sat, Oct 25 Listen

Anne Karpf says voices communicate things that transcend language. Daniel B. Smith investigates hearing voices in your head. Jim Gaffigan is a humorist who communicates with his "inner voice." Steve Nieve and Muriel Teodori created an opera called "Welcome to the Voice." Wesley Stace tells the story of a ventriloquist's family.

TTBOOK: Africa at the Crossroads

Fri, Oct 24 Listen

Melissa Faye Greene profiles the woman who saved AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. Mandeza Kandemwa practices traditional African healing arts. Derick Burleson wrote a collection of poems about Rwanda. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel describes Nigerian civil conflict. John Carlin relates the story of the sporting event that changed South Africa.

TTBOOK: Drinking Pleasure

Sat, Oct 18 Listen

Alice Feiring talks about "natural" wines. Randall Miller and Jody Savin made a movie about the wine industry in California. Koren Zailckas was a 14 year old who drank heavily. Neil Steinberg was the personification of the hard-drinking journalist.

TTBOOK: The Sacred and the Profane

Fri, Oct 17 Listen

Al Green returns to R&B music with the album "Lay It Down." Mamak Khadan sings classical Persian music. Li-Young Lee writes poety about the power of love. Michael Reilly recorded the singers of Como, MS.

TTBOOK: Getting Religion

Sat, Oct 11 Listen

Stephen Prothero believes Americans need to know more about religions. Lupe Fiasco tries to reconcile his Islamic beliefs and American Rap culture. Elaine Pagels wrote an appreciation of Judas. Anne Lamott reached God after a life filled with drink and drugs.

TTBOOK: The Fine Art of Aging

Fri, Oct 10 Listen

David Galenson talks about Old Masters and Young Geniuses. Nick Lowe has been making music for 40 years. Amy Gorman collected the stories of women artists between the ages of 85 and 105. Millard Kaufman started a new career as a novelist at age 90.

Facing the Rest of Your Life

Sat, Oct 4 Listen

Michael Gates Gill changed his life by working at Starbucks. James McManus describes getting an Executive Physical. Guitarist Glenn Kurtz celebrates the joys of practicing. Joanna Trollope wrote a novel about Empty Nesters. Carl Klaus collected the letters he wrote to his wife to Kate after her death.

Women in War

Fri, Oct 3 Listen

Journalist Carolin Emcke collected her letters home from war. 1st Lt. Nicole Smith is the first black woman Apache helicopter pilot in US Army. Hilla Medalia made a documentary about a suicide bomber and the girl that she killed. Elizabeth Samet teaches literature at West Point. Fredrick Whitehurst saved the diary of a Vietnamese soldier.

The Horror, the Horror

Sat, Sep 27 Listen

Andrew Davidson reads from his novel"The Gargoyle." Richard Hand describes classic horror radio. Glenn Kay walks with zombies from the movies. Kelly Link writes horror for young adult readers.

Libraries

Fri, Sep 26 Listen

Maryanne Wolfe discusses the science of reading. Ursula Le Guin believes books will always endure. Geraldine Brooks wrote a novel about the history of a rare manuscript. Alberto Manguel has a massive personal library. Susan Hirschmann created a publishing company for children's books.

The Beats Go On

Sat, Sep 20 Listen

John Leland Finds a lot of relevance in the writings of Jack Kerouac. Joyce Johnson describes her life in "A Beat Memoir." Jerry Aronson made a documentary of the life of Allen Ginsberg. Cassandra Cleghorn & Erik Lawrence of the jazz ensemble Merge.

Mind and Meaning

Fri, Sep 19 Listen

Jill Bolte Taylor suffered a stroke and gained insight into the workings of her own brain. Pranksters Coyle & Sharpe perform their "Microphone in Brain." George Vaillant considers the spiritual evolution of the mind. Daniel Levitin believes music was a part of the evolution of the human mind. Owen Flanagan discusses consciousness and meaning.

The Bestiary

Sat, Sep 13 Listen

Laurel Kendall leads us through a mythic creatures exhibit. Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman searches for unusual creatures. Jonathan Baillie directs the EDGE of Existence program. Tim Friend describes an unusual microbe, Archaea. Nicholas Christopher reads from his novel "The Bestiary."

Boomer Backlash

Fri, Sep 12 Listen

Jeff Gordinier talks about the accomplishments of Generation X. Leonard Steinhorn's book argues the Boomers were the "Greater Generation." TTBOOK listeners and host Jim Fleming address Charles Monroe-Kane's anti-boomer rant. Lisa Chamberlain explains the economic innovations of the Gen-Xers. Christopher Buckley posits a latter-day "Modest Proposal."

Learning Science

Sat, Sep 6 Listen

FMA Live! tries a new way to teach Newton's Law in Schools. Paula Apsell discusses how she is keeping NOVA current. Walter Isaacson describes Albert Einstein. NPR Reporter Robert Krulwich on making science accessible.

Deja Vu All Over Again

Fri, Sep 5 Listen

Neuro-psychologist Chris Moulin studies deja vu and memory . Lawrence Hatab describes Nietzsche's concept of Eternal Recurrence. Wendy Lesser reads from her essay about viewing Hitchcock's Vertigo. Rivka Galchen's novel deals with the disconnect of the familiar.

The Malleable Mind

Sat, Aug 30 Listen

Norman Doidge reports how the human brain can repair itself. Daniel Pinchbeck advocates rewiring the brain with drugs. Katherine Ellison describes how motherhood changes women's brains. Marvin Minsky envisions future human artificial brains.

Leadership in War

Fri, Aug 29 Listen

Deborah Scranton directed The War Tapes. Martin Gilbert is the biographer of Winston Churchill. James Bradley considers the ethical dilemmas of war information. Martin Greenblatt evaluates leadership in Shakespeare's plays. Patty Loew recounts stories of Native American warriors.

Re-Thinking the Sixties

Sat, Aug 23 Listen

Tom Hayden talks about Sixties activism. Gil Halstead reflects on the anniversary on the My Lai massacre. Suze Rotolo was Bob Dylan's companion in the early 60's. Charles Monroe-Kane provides a Gen-X perspective. Rick Perlstein charts a significant cultural movement.

East Meets West: Encountering Islam

Sat, Aug 23 Listen

Tariq Ramadan talks about Muslims in Europe. Azhar Usman is a Muslim Comic. Lupe Fiasco is a Muslim Hip Hop Artist. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a critic of Islam. Ausma Khan publishes Muslim Girl Magazine.

East Meets West: Culture in the Crossroads

Sat, Aug 16 Listen

Kumail Nanjiani's standup show questions faith. Rachel DeWoskin is a Foreign Babe in Beijing. Eddy Moretti & Suroosh Alvi on Muslim Heavy Metal. David Kalat talks about J-Horror Films. Anne Allison discusses Japanese toys. Mira Nair is an Indian filmmaker.

Water, Water Everywhere?

Fri, Aug 15 Listen

Fred Pearce discovered people are simply taking too much water out of the world's river systems. Jeff Wiltse explains how municipal pools have reflected the social tensions of American society. Julia Whitty is a master diver and film-maker of the coral reefs in the South Pacific. Carl Safina describes the life cycle of the leatherback turtle. Sasha Issenberg chronicled the globalization of Sushi.

East Meets West:The New Silk Road

Sat, Aug 9 Listen

Colin Thubron revisits the Silk Road. Yo-Yo Ma talks about his Silk Road Project. Marian Salzman & Robyn Meredith on Rise of "Chindia." Susan Friedman has an e-mail friend in Iraq. Josh Rushing joins Al Jazeera in America.

Collaboration

Fri, Aug 8 Listen

Ward Cunningham is the inventor of the web collaboration tool the wiki. Adam Sisman and Steve Paulson talk about the friendship between poets Coleridge and Wordsworth. Rold De Heer made a film with an aboriginal community. Michael Timmins and Margo Timmins reflect on the Cowboy Junkies album "The Trinity Session."