To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Sometimes the world is just too much. Too much awful news, too many things to worry about, too much to do. When you can’t take another headline, can’t handle another email, when you know inside you need something deeper than a vacation—maybe it’s time for a retreat. Original Air Date: January 18, 2025 Interviews In This Hour: Pico Iyer’s second home — A plant scientist explores her interior wilderness Guests: Pico Iyer, Monica Gagliano Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

In the first episode of "Luminous," our series about the philosophy and the future of psychedelics, how can psilocybin ease our fears about dying? And how can psychedelics change the way we approach the end of life? Original Air Date: April 08, 2023 Interviews In This Hour: How a pioneering psychedelic researcher 'leaned in' to his terminal cancer diagnosis — Dying without fear: How psychedelics can ease the anxiety of terminal illness — The terror and the ecstasy of psychedelics Guests: Roland Griffiths, Lou Lukas, Anthony Bossis Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Maybe it’s your grandmother’s molasses cookies, the garlicky tomato sauce your spouse cooked when you were first dating, or the chicken noodle soup you made every week when your kids were little. The sights, smells and tastes of certain foods can instantly remind us of a person or transport us back to a particular time in our lives. In this episode, we’ll meet kitchen ghosts from Kentucky, hear how religion and food are intertwined, and talk about how flavor evokes emotion – from grief to joy. Original Air Date: May 25, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The comfort and community of ancestral food — Slow down and take a 'flavor trip' — The perfect french fries of Kewaunee, Wisconsin — The surprising intersections of food and faith — Tasting the past: Food memories stir our emotions and senses Guests: Crystal Wilkinson, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Christina Ward, Joe Hardtke Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Before family photos, or school pictures or Instagram, there were hand-drawn and painted portraits. Throughout the ages, portrait artists have captured expressions and personalities on canvas or paper, and those who view the picture interpret this “likeness” in their own way. We talk with a philosopher, a musician and a novelist about the role of portraits through history, and how we see ourselves —and others — through these deeply personal images. Original Air Date: September 23, 2023 Interviews In This Hour: Re-envisioning history: A journey through Black portraiture — The painting tells a story: 'The Marriage Portrait' author on love, loss and layers of meaning in the Italian Renaissance — Portraits of perfection: Discovering Frans Hals' legacy in Haarlem Guests: Peter Brathwaite, Maggie O'Farrell, Steven Nadler, Thijs Gerbrandy, Norbert Middelkoop Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

The longest nights of the year are here, but how many of us will see them? The global spread of light pollution is making it harder to experience dark skies and natural darkness. Learning how to reconnect with the planet’s ancient nocturnal rhythms can be profoundly restorative. Nature writers and darkness activists tell us what we’re missing. Deep Time is a series all about the natural ecologies of time from To The Best Of Our Knowledge and the Center for Humans and Nature. We'll explore life beyond the clock, develop habits of "timefulness" and learn how to live with greater awareness of the many types of time in our lives. Original Air Date: December 21, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Listening to the song of the night — Adjusting our eyes to wonders of the nocturnal world Guests: Sam Lee, Leigh Ann Henion Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

We get the message before we’re out of training pants – when the going gets tough, look on the bright side, make lemonade out of lemons and just do it. We’re going to consider the exact opposite – the wisdom of giving up and letting go. Because sometimes, the strongest and most courageous thing you can do is walk away. Original Air Date: April 27, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The boundary-breaking power of fasting — How do we know when to call it quits? — Escaping the tyranny of certainty Guests: John Oakes, Adam Phillips, Maggie Jackson Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Have you ever wondered how plants find enough light and water? How they ward off attacks from predators? It turns out they’re a lot smarter than you realize. Some plants can hear a caterpillar munching on its leaves and then send out distress signals to activate their immune system. Certain flowers can trick bees into pollinating them, even when there’s no pollen. Plants also have memories. And they may even be able to see. Original Air Date: December 07, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Plants don’t have brains, so why are they so smart? — How do trees ‘talk’ to each other? Guests: Zoë Schlanger, Suzanne Simard Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

AI can do amazing things – write your term papers, sequence your genes, maybe replace your therapist. But even super-intelligence has limits. So, does AI really have a mind — or a soul? We'll explore the frontiers of artificial intelligence — from robots painting masterpieces to software engineers trying to create god-like machines. Original Air Date: March 30, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Stop worrying about deepfakes — Does AI have a soul? — Can robots paint a masterpiece? Guests: Walter Scheirer, Meghan O’Gieblyn, Sougwen 愫君 Chung Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Every click on your computer, every swipe on your smartphone, leaves a data trail. Information about who you are, what you do, who you love, the state of your mind and body… so much data about you, expanding day by day in the digital clouds. The question is—do you care? Would owning your data, or having more digital privacy, make life better? And what happens to all that data when you die? Original Air Date: November 22, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: A former child test subject seeks the data that shaped her life — In an age of surveillance, do you still care about your privacy? — When you die, what will happen to your data? Guests: Susannah Breslin, Lowry Pressly, Carl Öhman Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

We all feel better after a good cry. In fact, humans are the only animals who cry emotional tears. But what about people who don't cry? And have you ever wondered why a sad song or movie makes you cry? Original Air Date: August 05, 2023 Interviews In This Hour: Hip-hop artist Dxtr Spits on teaching men to cry — The evolution and neuroscience of tears — What happens when an actor cries Guests: Dxtr Spits, Michael Trimble, Jen Plants Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Sometime in the last couple of years, America’s collective morning routine shifted. We used to start the day with coffee. Now it’s coffee and Wordle. Or Spelling Bee. Or both, plus the crossword. We’re living in a golden age of word games – which is fun, and one way to get just a tiny bit of relief when the world feels out of control. Original Air Date: November 09, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Getting into the puzzle mindset — Welcome to my crossworld Guests: A. J. Jacobs, Anna Schectman Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

For all the talk about how psychedelics might transform psychiatric care, there's still a fascinating question at the heart of psychedelic science. Is it the mind-blowing experience that fundamentally changes a person’s outlook on life? Or is it the powerful molecules that rewire the brain? Original Air Date: December 16, 2023 Interviews in this hour: Does psychedelic therapy need the trip? - Will psychedelics replace antidepressants? - Spiritual warriors in the psychedelic underground Guests: David Olson, Charles Raison, Rachel Harris Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

As a culture we’ve long been fascinated by witchcraft, with witches through the ages practicing magic and making spells. Even through the spread of misinformation, and when they’ve been hunted and silenced. We take you from the 17th century to the online witch communities of today. Original Air Date: October 30, 2021 Interviews in this hour: WitchTok, the super-connected coven - Are you now, or have you ever been, a witch? The witch hunt of Kepler's mother - From alchemy to internet witchcraft - the thousand-year history of magic - Spellcraft, field hockey and Emilio Estevez - the girl power of novelist Quan Barry's teen witches Guests: Honey Rose, Rivka Galchen, Chris Gosden, Quan Barry Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

What’s the last dream you remember having? Some of us dream every night. But we’re in too much of a hurry to remember our dreams or think about them the next day. Others of us are dream-deprived. What if we embrace our dreams — and our night selves — as a way to understand ourselves better, to connect to each other, even to lead a better life? Original Air Date: February 24, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The perils of a 'wake-centric' world — The lives we live inside our dreams — A dreaming mind, illustrated — Embracing your night self Guests: Rubin Naiman, Kelly Bulkeley, Roz Chast, Annabel Abbs-Streets Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

What would it be like to live in a world where magic is still alive? Not weird, not woo-woo, just ordinary. 400 years ago, consulting a magician in downtown London was as unremarkable as calling a plumber today. Even now, there are places where magic never died – like Iceland, where 54 percent of the population believes in elves, or thinks they might exist. Original Air Date: October 12, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Why do Icelanders believe in elves? — Deborah Harkness uncovers the real history of witches — Practical magic and the “cunning folk” of Tudor England Guests: Nancy Marie Brown, Deborah Harkness, Tabitha Stanmore Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

In 2020, Donald Trump won 84 percent of the white evangelical vote. Lately, he’s been leaning even more deeply into the rhetoric of Christian nationalists. Who are they, and what’s their role in the evangelical church? We talk with some Southern Baptists today, whose views may surprise you. Original Air Date: March 09, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The 'simmering violence' of Donald Trump and Christian nationalism — Examining the role of Southern Baptist women — Why one Black pastor left the Southern Baptists Guests: Jeff Sharlet, Beth Allison Barr, John Onwuchekwa Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

In the world of internet influencers and YouTube stars, it’s not enough to be ordinary anymore. You need to be special. But where did this craze for personal branding come from? Why are we so obsessed with ourselves? To understand this cult of the self, we need to go back to 19th century spiritual movements and the rise of the huckster — and also the myth of rugged individualism. But if we’re always shouting “Me me me,” what are we losing? What has it cost us? Original Air Date: February 03, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: If nobody sees you online, do you exist? — How personal branding became an American religion — Why rugged individualism is a dangerous myth — The philosophers who invented the modern self Guests: Angelo Bautista, Tara Isabella Burton, Alissa Quart, Andrea Wulf Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Most of us have no idea what will happen when we die. But some do—people who actually started the process of dying and then came back with remarkable stories—like meeting dead relatives. Science is not only extending the lives of patients who’ve been declared clinically dead; it’s also beginning to tell us what happens in near-death experiences. Original Air Date: September 21, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: Sebastian Junger reckons with the possibility of an afterlife — How science is revolutionizing our ideas about life and death Guests: Sebastian Junger, Sam Parnia Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Rooted in reality, written with a keen observer’s eye, and shaped with a sense of song, documentary poetry tells the truth in an artist’s voice. For generations, through wars, crisis, and political upheaval, documentary poets have helped make sense of some of our most difficult moments – by expressing what might otherwise be impossible to say. So what are they writing about today? This episode was produced in partnership with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. Original Air Date: January 13, 2024 Interviews In This Hour: The gospel of Suncere Ali Shakur — This is how I drew you — The poetry that bears witness to the everyday Guests: Philip Metres, Suncere Ali Shakur, Kaia Sand, Camille Dungy Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Maps, whether drawn by hand or by satellite, reflect the time they were drawn for. How will the next generation of cartographers deal with challenges like a world being reshaped by climate change? Original Air Date: December 09, 2023 Interviews In This Hour: Why are islands in the South Pacific disappearing? — Cartography in the age of Google Maps — This is your brain on maps — The mysterious music of the 'phantom islands' Guests: Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Mamata Akella, Bill Limpisathian, Andrew Pekler Never want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast. Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.