Why does God allow suffering? This age-old question is considered by Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” who arrived at some soothing answers after facing his young son’s death.

Here we consider the constant imperative of distinguishing fact from falsehood online. How can we tell whether information is reliable? We’ll hear from the CEO who leads Wikipedia, which tests for valid information in the 50 million articles they’ve published online; a librarian who wrote the American Library Association poster, “How to Protect Yourself from […]

In this segment, we examine the importance of early literacy, starting with the simple act of reading aloud to a very young child. Librarians, pediatricians and others weigh in on how these bonding experiences demonstrate for children that reading can be a source of pleasure (just ask a toddler who requests to be read the […]

Sociologist Eric Klinenberg treats libraries as hallowed spaces. “We are sitting here today in an incredible public library solely because you and I have inherited from the generations that came before us an institution born of a principled commitment to advance the public good…because everyone should be able to make something better of themselves.”

Dr. Rees Cosgrove, a gifted brain surgeon who has performed thousands of high-stakes operations, conducts operations on a variety of patients, including children. In this dialogue, he describes what it’s like to conduct such a procedure and what he has learned about that which skilled doctors can and cannot control. Find out more. Check out […]

Why do our hearts sometimes harden and impede the flow of compassion? Getting a handle on this question requires deep awareness of the underlying impulses that drive our shifting moods. Compassion teacher Frank Rogers suggests that our fears, obsessions, angry attitudes and stress reactions are often an expression of “some deep need that is aching to be […]

In 2019, Americans visited the library more often than they went to a movie theater or attended a sporting event. In fact, Gallup found that going to the library was – by far – the most frequent cultural activity in the United States. A Pew survey reports that over ninety percent of Americans view libraries […]

In a world afflicted with so much violence, it would be easy to underestimate the impact of basic human compassion in actually solving conflict. Yet time and again, people are transformed—sometimes profoundly—by gentle acts of caring.

We hear stories of peacemakers who draw from their lives and traditions as a basis for breaking down barriers and promoting conflict resolution.

Many of our ancestors were far more in tune with the rhythms of nature, and family customs for using these healing plants were passed down through the generations. Now this understanding, updated by modern science, is again available to health care consumers.