Every year around this time we look back at some of our favorite stories of the year. There were an awful lot to choose from this time around, so the choice came down to what we could fit in this half hour.

Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll hear about the job you get as opposed to the job you want, find out about the history of teaching machines, and spend an Academic Minute out in the dark edge of the universe.

Photo courtesy of MIT Press.