Wonder Cabinet

Ever had the nagging suspicion that you’re being watched? You are. We all are. Surrounded by security cameras — in malls, restaurants, airports, workplaces, even in church, spied on by our very own phones and computers. Yes, surveillance can keep us safe, but we’re in danger of losing the last shreds of our privacy. In this hour, we explore not only the pros and cons of living while being watched, but what it's like to be doing the watching.

Guests: 

Do you ever get the feeling that your digital devices are eavesdropping on you?

The personal devices we live with and depend on — our computers, tablets, smartphones and more— all share information about us. Randolph Lewis tells more stories about how we’re being watched in a book called “Under Surveillance.”

In a world filled with devices that could be used to listen in on our daily lives, how do you take back control of your privacy? Steve Paulson asked security reporter Lily Hay Newman.

A couple of years ago, journalist Gay Talese published “The Voyeur’s Motel,” the true story of a motel owner who spent more than 30 years spying on his guests while they had sex. The case is now the subject of a Netflix documentary called “Voyeur.”

Marina Lutz grew up with a father who was obsessed with watching her. She discovered the full extent of his obsession as an adult, and made an award-winning short documentary about it called “The Marina Experiment.”

Ah, January.  Season of diets and fasts and cleanses, of "Drynuary" and "Veganuary."  Why does being virtuous always seem to mean giving up pleasure?  This hour, we explore the concept of renunciation and our complicated feelings about it. The Man Who Invented "Dry-nuary"; The Story of a Contemporary Hermit; The Religious Roots of Renunciation; Renunciation as a Creative Force; David Foster Wallace on Alcoholics Anonymous; How Prohibition Shaped America.

We don’t handle endings well, in general. So this hour, let’s learn about

Guests:

Steve Almond, Ilana Gershon, Sean Hemingway, Simon Critchley, David Giffels

Interviews:

What We Really Ask For When We Ask For Relationship Advice, The Most Important Job Skill In The New Economy Is Quitting , Hemingway's 47 Endings to "A Farewell to Arms", Only Grief Can Actually Stop Time. And It's Horrible., Would You Build Your Own Coffin? With Your Dad?, A Ritual For A New Year

Who really runs the world? Presidents and prime ministers, or CEOs and bankers? And who’s responsible when everything falls apart?

Guests:

Yanis Varoufakis, Steve James, Nathan Schneider, N. K. Jemisin

Interviews:

"Capitalism Will End" Says The Former Greek Finance Minister, When Prosecuting Banks, It's Easier To Fit The Little Guy In A Cell, Turning Twitter Into The People's Platform, A Not So Distant Future in the "Broken Earth" Trilogy

Do you ever crave silence? Maybe some can’t stand to hear themselves

Guests:

Erling Kagge, Gordon Hempton, George Michelsen Foy, Kyle Gann, Shawn Wen, Jennifer Egan

Interviews:

The Contemplative Silence Of A Cold, Lonely Journey , A Nature Preserve For The Quiet Of Nature, The Volume Of Absolute Silence, The Tale of a Mute Piano Performance, A Silent S

Sexism has no boundaries, as we're quickly discovering. But what impact does it have on scientific discovery if sexist behavior drives women out of science entirely?

Guests: Jane Willenbring,Erika Marin-Spiotta,Jane Goodall,Birute Galdikas,Emily Temple-Wood,Lauren Gunderson

Interviews: Alone in Antarctica, Trapped With Your Harasser,Sexual Harassment, the Open Secret of the Scientific Community,The Women Who Revolutionized Primatology,Turning Wikipedia Into a Weapon Against Misogyny,America's Most Produced Playwright Is Rewriting the History of Female Scientists

This is the story of a lonely, disturbed teenager desperately in need of a friend. His name was Jeff. Or as you know him, Jeffrey Dahmer — the serial killer.

Guests: Marc Meyers,Derf Backderf

Interviews: Before There Was a Monster, There Was a Boy,Separating Man From Monster

Across professions, half of Americans surveyed say they’re exhausted from work. More and more of us feel scrambled, tired and drained. Are we facing daily lives more prone to burnout? And what can we do about it?

Guests: Katrina Onstad,Susan Orlean,Emma Seppala,Anna Katharina Schaffner,Christopher J. Lee

Interviews: Sunday Night Blues, Monday Morning (Short) Fuse,What's Your Perfect Saturday Night Tune?,Setting Too High A Bar For Success Is Running Us Ragged,An Exhaustive History Of Being So Very Tired,Jet Lag? More Like Life Lag.