Where do you find crazy ideas and some of the world's smartest people? In theoretical physics - the world of parallel universes, super strings and black holes.  We go on a whirlwind tour of the universe - from the multiverse to an imaginary walk on Mars. Mathematical Universe - Max Tegmark; Copernicus - Dava Sobel; Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Cosmic Wonder; Walking on Mars - Craig Childs; Steven Weinberg's Dangerous Idea; Sean Carroll's Very Big Picture.

In the mid-80's the metal band Winger topped the charts with hits like "Seventeen." Then Grunge came along and left bands like Winger in the dust.  Now, Kip Winger is back on top with a new CD that debuted at #1 on the music charts.  Only this time, he's rocking the classical charts. His new album is "Conversations with Nijinsky"-- orchestral compositions performed by the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.  Hear the full range of Kip Winger's musical sensibility in this podcast, which takes us from "Seventeen" to classical compositions inspired by Stravinsky and Honegger.  Listen to a candid in-depth interview and eavesdrop as Kip rehearses and performs a haunting acoustic version of "Blue Suede Shoes" with a 17-year old high school cellist, and gives us a solo "Down Incognito" backed by jazz djembe.   It's a portrait of a musician who has come into his own as a mature and wide-ranging performer and composer.

Prominent Evangelicals are divided on the subject of Donald Trump and whether he deserves the Evangelical vote. Some have gone so far as to say the soul of their movement is at stake. This week, we talk about the perennial tension between faith and politics, and the evolution of the Religious Right.   The Mark of Trump; Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in GOD; Transgression: Where Queer and Evangelical Meet; Speaking in Tongues; Kip Winger Goes Classical.

We explore the fine art of comedy writing with Simon Rich, Bob Odenkirk and Megan Amram. And we dissect a cultural icon -- "The New Yorker" cartoon with the magazine's cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff. Spoiled Brats - Simon Rich; Bob Odenkirk on Comedy as an Act of Truth and Destruction; Science...for Her! - Megan Amram; The New Yorker Cartoons - Bob Mankoff; Is Adulthood Dead?; What Do Your Passwords Say About You?.

Sending humans to Mars used to seem like an impossible dream. But with the discovery of flowing water on Mars and the blockbuster movie "The Martian," even NASA is talking about a human mission to Mars. So why do people want to go to the Red Planet? We hear from a Mars One finalist and from the commander of one of NASA's Mars simulations; for 8 months she lived in a dome on the side of a volcano. Also, two science fiction heavyweights: Andy Weir describes the improbable origins of his blockbuster novel "The Martian," and Kim Stanley Robinson wonders what it would be like to travel to the nearest habitable star system 12 light years away. His answer? Like being trapped in a Motel 6. SEE NASA'S "MARS EXPLORERS WANTED" POSTERS HERE One in A Hundred: Finalist for Private Mars Program On Her Hopes and Fears; The Modern Mars MacGyver: Andy Weir on his Breakout Novel "The Martian"; Simulating Mars — From a Dome in Hawaii; Could Traveling to Mars Save Humanity?; Whistlers and Bow Shocks: Hearing the Sounds of Space; Leaving the Cradle: Kim Stanley Robinson on Traveling Beyond Our Star System.

When you don't have a voice, when you feel like lawmakers just won't listen to you, protest is one way of capturing the world's attention. But does it work? 

The Art of the Collection How Deep is Your Love? The Mania of Collecting Takes One Journalist to the Bottom of a River; Lorraine Daston on a History of Wonders; Artist Natasha Nicholson Lives Inside Her Art - Literally; Who's Got the Button? Gary Brockman Does.; David Axelrod on How to Run for President.

What's your name and what does it say about you? Me, Myself and My Name; What Not To Name Your Baby; The Man Who Wasn't Charles Lindbergh; The Power of Names; Writing With Apples: A Visit To Novelist Jane Hamilton's Family Orchard.