Reader's Corner

What does it take for someone with seemingly every advantage in life to turn on their friends, their family and their country, all in the name of a cause? Today’s guest, Kati Marton, explores that question in her new book, True Believer: Stalin’s Last American Spy.

What does it take for someone with seemingly every advantage in life to turn on their friends, their family and their country, all in the name of a cause? Today’s guest, Kati Marton, explores that question in her new book, True Believer: Stalin’s Last American Spy. True Believer is the amazing true story of an American named Noel Field who spied for the Soviet Union during the 1930s and ’40s . Ultimately, Field was kidnapped and tortured by the KGB and forced to testify against his own Communist

Every once in a while, you come across individuals who make you feel better just for having encountered them. As today’s guest, David Brooks, puts it, “They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.”

This program was originally broadcast in May of 2016

This year marks the 75 th anniversary of the release of Casablanca , perhaps the most beloved of all Hollywood films. Somehow, this love story set in war time seems as relevant today as when it first lit up the silver screen back in 1942. People who’ve never even seen the movie still recognize its famous lines, and references to Casablanca abound in novels, plays, musicals, and other productions. In a new book, titled We’ll Always Have Casablanca , Noah Isenberg delves into the film’s

The decades after World War II were a golden age when many people around the world enjoyed an increasingly good quality of life. But by the early 1970s, the good times had all but vanished as energy shortages, financial crises and rising unemployment shook economies in America and around the world. In his latest book, titled An Extraordinary Time , Marc Levinson describes how economists and governments struggled to find the pathway back to a time when jobs were plentiful and living standards

Washington, Lincoln and FDR are revered as leaders who helped shape the course of history. They are often referred to as “great” presidents. But is it possible to have a great president today? And is greatness a quality that Americans even want in their chief executive?

At the turn of the 20 th century, the most popular entertainment acts in the country were found under the Big Top. The circus offered daring acts of bravery, wild animals, comic antics and the collection of human oddities known as the Freak Show. Two of the most popular sideshow attractions were young George and Willie Muse, African American albino brothers taken from their family and displayed through a number of circus companies. Their exotic white skin and wild dreadlocks made them a popular

Following one of the most divisive and contentious elections in history, it is easy to say that we are a nation in cultural crisis. But what does that actually mean? In the Rust Belt, as well as in rural Appalachia, it means factories closing and good jobs shipped overseas in less than a generation. It means an uptick in drug abuse and violence in the home, an erosion of the education system and trust in our government, and the disintegration of children’s dreams for a better future than that of their parents.

In our complex and data driven world, scientists are facing a major challenge to understand and document plant and animal species that may be in the process of disappearing. Climate change, habitat fragmentation, pollution and population growth are among the threats that are pushing some species toward extinction. The good news – and we need some good news these days – is that overwhelmed researchers are getting an assist from a growing number of enthusiastic volunteers. Known as citizen scientists, these volunteers are using their eyes, ears, and observations about the natural world to help scientists find answers to critical questions.