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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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