Wonder Cabinet

Anyone who’s moved knows how difficult it can be to settle into a new place. Whether it’s another country or an apartment just down the block, it takes time and work to get comfortable. We’re living through a period of mass human migration, with people on the move all over the planet. This hour, we’re talking about home – how to take an unfamiliar place and make it yours.   A Violinist Flees Syria and Discovers a New Home in the US; How 'Home' Made Us Human; For Some Veterans, the Return Home is the Hardest Part of Their Tour; Bookmark: Jonathan Chait recommends “What Hath God Wrought” by Daniel Walker Howe; The Revolutionary War’s Impact on America.

How do you tell the story of your life? Do you focus on meaning, accomplishment and hope - or on failure and loss? Psychologists say telling a good life story can make you happier. But do we also create an inauthentic version of ourselves if we turn everything into a narrative? We explore the idea of life stories, and hear why poet Patti Smith chose to "write about nothing" when writing about her own life. How to Edit Your Life Story; The Terminal Bar; "I Am Not a Story"; Elena Ferrante and Elizabeth Hardwick; Patti Smith's Mind Train.

How can someone be a monster — a brutal dictator, a mass murderer, a serial killer — and up close seem like a decent, caring person? What happens when you find yourself liking someone who’s done terrible things?

We explore our obsession with public shaming in this hour. Public Shaming on the Internet; Shame-Based Sentencing Instead of Jail Time; The Upside of Shame: Promoting Positive Change; Dangerous Idea: Universal Recess!; Sowing Your Wild Oats in Mid-Life.

Privilege checking has become a mainstay of a certain kind of conversation about race or identity. One person reminds -- or accuses -- another of enjoying all kinds of unearned advantages, thanks to their skin color, gender, class or sexual orientation. Checking someone else’s privilege can be a form of hostility. Checking your own can be an act of humility. Either way, it can oftentimes be painful. But does anyone actually benefit from talking about privilege? This hour, the benefits and drawbacks of talking about privilege. A Primer On Exploring White Privilege; Let's Stop Talking About Privilege; Sensitivity Or Censorship: How Language Policing On College Campuses Is Shaping America's Future; The Case For Teaching Children About The Origins Of Diversity; What Organizations Get Wrong About Diversity; The Moral Argument For Human Cloning, Genetic Enhancement.

Can science tell you how to "get happy?"  This hour,  the psychology and history behind the very idea of happiness. Plus some practical advice for how to live well. Want to be Happier? Turn Everyday Tasks Into a Game; A Little Less Feeling, A Lot More Action; A History of Happiness; How to Find Happiness in Everyday Life and Language; David Morris Recommends “Solo Faces” by James Salter; Rediscovering Henry David Thoreau.

Do you ever wish you could reinvent yourself? This hour, we hear from four noted artists who experienced pivotal turns in their own lives: artist Rashid Johnson, writer/photographer Teju Cole, singer Nikka Costa, and musician Michael Nesmith. Artist Rashid Johnson Explores Race, Yearning and Escape; How Temporary Blindness Taught Teju Cole To See; Why Not Abolish Literary Genres?; From Child Pop Star to Jazz Singer; From the Monkees to Country Rock.

We take road trips and endless highways for granted, but there are other countries where people can pay a heavy price just for getting behind a wheel. Put It In Boogie Gear On the Backslide; Driving While Female; What If We Forget How to Get Lost?; A Guidebook to the 'Blackest Road Trip Ever'; Traveling Between Worlds Apart.

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. From Selma to Ferguson, Tahrir Square to Zuccotti Park, political demonstrations have made history. But have they worked? This hour we explore the effectiveness of political protest. Why Protest Is Broken; Barney Frank On Why Protests Don't Work; Taking It To the Streets; A Lifelong Activist; The Craft Of Protesting; Overcoming Fear Through Protest.

You can tell the difference. Or can you? A Reporter's Journey to the Epicenter of Liberal Fake News; Who Shares A Fake Story? Fake Users; When Is It Prudent To Be Paranoid?; Poison in the Soda Pop, and Other Conspiracies That Spring From A Grain of Truth; Radioactive Clocks And The Women Poisoned By Them.