Is the Universe a Number?
For centuries, mathematicians have been looking for the deep design, the mathematical code to explain everything from microorganisms to spacetime. But it’s a dangerous quest. Read more
Worshipping Waterfalls: The Evolution of Belief
Do chimpanzees have spiritual experiences? A remarkable discovery in West Africa suggests they might. Read more
Hope: Are We Really Doomed?
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
Rewriting the Romance Script
Do the old dreams of true love and happiness ever after fit our new lives and new identities? Read more
Hope: How Do You Make It?
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
To All The Dogs We've Loved
The bond we share with dogs runs deep. How do dogs make our lives better? How do they think? And how do we give them the lives they deserve? Read more
Our Time of Mourning
Is there a better way to talk about death? And to grieve? The pandemic has brought us a period of global mourning — and a new reckoning with loss. Read more
What is the book White Fang about?
"White Fang" by Jack London is a classic outdoor adventure story about a wild wolf-dog's struggle to survive in the Yukon Territory during the 1890's Gold Rush. Writer Quan Barry read it for the first time at age 11 and learned just how powerful a book can be. More.
Who is the author of The Dark Is Rising?
Helen Macdonald On 'The Dark Is Rising'. Every year, at holiday time, "H is for Hawk" author Helen Macdonald reads this tale of a boy who finds out he's one of the "old ones," part of a series from author Susan Cooper. She says it reconnects her with a sense of wonder inspired by what might lurk beneath the surface of the seen world.
Who wrote the living mountain?
It's "The Living Mountain," by Scottish writer and poet Nan Shepherd. Stanley Crouch on 'Reasons of the State'. For decades, Stanley Crouch has cut a singular path through American culture as a cultural critic and an intellectual mentor to jazz figures like Wynton Marsalis.
Who is the author of The Dark Is Rising?
Every year, at holiday time, "H is for Hawk" author Helen Macdonald reads this tale of a boy who finds out he's one of the "old ones," part of a series from author Susan Cooper.
Who wrote the book White Fang?
Quan Barry on 'White Fang'. "White Fang" by Jack London is a classic outdoor adventure story about a wild wolf-dog's struggle to survive in the Yukon Territory during the 1890's Gold Rush. Writer Quan Barry read it for the first time at age 11 and learned just how powerful a book can be.
A Special Series in Partnership with the Center for Humans and Nature
In various cultures around the world, human identity cannot be separated from our nonhuman kin. The landscapes we call home — grasslands and forests, mountains and rocks, rivers and oceans — are shared by nonhuman beings who may be considered relatives. Age-old myths and modern science reinforce these kinship relationships.
Eye-To-Eye Animal Encounters
Exchanging glances with the natural world happens more often than you’d think. It can be so profound, there’s a name for it: eye-to-eye epiphany. More
Plants As Persons
If plants are intelligent beings, how should we relate to them? Do they have a place in our moral universe? Should they have rights? More
When Mountains Are Gods
Science tells us mountains are giant piles of rock, formed millions of years ago. But that's not all they are — there was a time when mountains were gods. More
Shapeshifting
There are old folktales of people who can become animals. Animals who become people. And there’s a lesson for our own time in those shapeshifting stories. More
How a man turned into a raven
Years ago, the philosopher David Abram was a sleight-of-hand magician who wanted to learn from the "traditional magicians" of Asia. So he apprenticed with a powerful shaman in Nepal, who seemed to have the ability to transform into a raven. More
Shapeshifters, shamans and the 'New Animism'
Shapeshifting images run deep in human history, going back to ancient cave paintings. Archeologist Chris Gosden says they're linked to the shaman's ability to cross into the spirit world where humans and animals merge. More