The 1987 pop song “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega is considered the “mother of the MP3.” It was the test track used by German scientists to perfect this new file format that would revolutionize the music industry. Ryan Maguire has been experimenting with the sounds that got stripped out of that first MP3.

Jose Oberholzer is a transplant surgeon who lies awake nights thinking about a cellular cure for diabetes. He created the Chicago Diabetes Project so the best minds in the country can work together on a cure. He says we're close!

More than a hundred years ago, a small group of Russian Mennonites went looking for Christ in Central Asia. They didn’t find him, but they did find a home among Muslims in Uzbekistan. Sofia Samatar tells their history in her new memoir, alongside her own story of growing up the daughter of a Somali Muslim and an American Mennonite.

"Making Peace With Vietnam" is a documentary that chronicles life in that nation as Vietnam vets return to do humanitarian work. Plus, Ludwig Wittgenstein may be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, but few people know about him.

When you think animation you might think the Simpsons or Disney or Spirited Away. But animation artist Anh Do says animation art is everything that moves. He got his start as a boy who emigrated to America from Vietnam with no English skills, so he drew pictures of everything he needed.

The author of, A Hoot in the Light: Illuminating the Sensory Modes of Animal Communication, says that by recognizing animal voices, we make our particular brand of humanism a little more humane.

And: “Honeybee” Brown is planting apiaries in urban community gardens in an effort to save the ailing honeybee.

The first captive Africans arrived in the Jamestown settlement in Virginia in 1619. A shipload of women intended as mates for the male settlers also arrived that year. How should we be telling and commemorating this history in 2019?

Sam Blanchard is a digital artist who uses humor and technology in his work. One of his favorites is a nod to his phobias--including going bald and a fear of heights!

Bix Beiderbecke was one of the first great legends of jazz, but his recording career lasted just six years. A book by Brendan Wolfe, Finding Bix: The Life and Afterlife of a Jazz Legend, connects Beiderbecke's music, history, and legend.

"Councilors Without Borders" traveled to Puerto Rico to help people who continue to suffer after the Hurricane Maria disaster. Residents are still feeling stressed by the storm and worry about the new storm season to come.