Wonder Cabinet

Checking someone else’s privilege can be a form of hostility. Checking your own can be an act of humility. Does anyone actually benefit from talking about privilege? This hour, the benefits and drawbacks of talking about privilege.

The Bible and the Quran are some of our most sacred and revered texts. They're also full of violent passages. Is religion the source of violence and intolerance around the world?  We look at how sacred texts inspire both violence and liberation. Karen Armstrong Examines the Link Between Religion and Violence ; Abraham and Isaac; Black Sacred Music - Robert Darden [Playlist]; Humanist Manifesto - A.C. Grayling; BookMark: Mario Vargas Llosa's "Conversation in the Cathedral"; Photographing Angola Prison.

Outsiders used to be the outcasts, misfits, and under-employed. Now outsiders are thriving and they're changing the way we think about what is mainstream and what is alternative. How Outsiders Are Redefining Normal; Colin Wilson's "The Outsider"; How to Unleash Your Inner Misfit; Joseph Mitchell's Literary Journalism; Grammy Award-Winning Jazz Pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

There are images that once seen, can't be forgotten.  Like the recent photograph of a Syrian toddler who drowned when his family tried to flee their country. With his dark hair and bright red t-shirt and shorts, he has become the symbol of refugees fleeing Syria to Europe.  This hour, the morality and ethics of photographing war and human crisis.   Regarding the Pain of Others - Susan Sontag; At the Hour of Our Death - Sarah Sudhoff; Sonic Sidebar: William Christenberry; Potraits of the Mentally Ill - Michael Nye; The Rwanda Project - Art from War.

We tune in to watch Donald Trump, Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina trade barbs.  But what would it take to get people politically involved all year round, and not just during election season? Making Democracy Fun; Voices From The Internet Underground; Against Voting; Make Energy Democratic; Lands in Limbo.

Ever dream of penning a best-seller? You're not alone. According to one estimate, more than 80 percent of Americans think they could publish a book. But what does it really take to make it as a writer? What Does It Take To Make It As A Writer?; Is It Better to Get an MFA Or Move To NYC?; How The Creative Class Got Crushed; Why Write? Nobel Prize-Winner Orhan Pamuk Offers His Take; Never Write For Free; A Self Publishing Success Story; What Motivates The World's Greatest Mountain Climber?.

It will go down as one of the most amazing archeological discoveries in history. Homo naledi - a new species of human-like fossils found in South Africa - is already rewriting the story of human evolution. These 15 skeletons are the largest cache of pre-human bones ever found, but so far, scientists don't know how old they are, or why they were placed in this burial site. Crawling Toward History; Homo Naledi: Our Newest Oldest Relative?; Werner Herzog on the Deep History of Chauvet Cave; Ancient Shamans and Roving Neandertals; Michelle Paver on Stone Age Novels; Remembering 9/11 Through The Lens Of A Photojournalist.

Does death gives life meaning? You might think so, looking at the prominence of death and the afterlife in so many religions. For millennia, people have dreamed about immortality, and now transhumanists are trying to extend life by merging our selves with machines. Also, with so much of our lives lived online, how do we plan for our digital afterlives? "The Mysteries of Life are More Present"; "Not Knowing Is Itself Liberation"; Death After Dying; Mourning in the Digital Age; Humanity Beyond the Human; Reset: A Digital Afterlife Radio Drama; If the Earth Was Destined to Die ... A Thought Experiment; "Death Doesn't Bother Me, Anyway" Pt. 5; Note from Anne, On Being Haunted by Death.

How do we mark death and celebrate lost lives around the globe? In this hour, we hear stories from inside the funeral industry, and learn about burial and mourning rituals throughout history. Tending to the Body; Ask a Mortician; Ghanaian Coffins are a Fantasy of Life and Dreams [Slideshow]; Does Caring for the Dead Make Us Human?; Coming of Age in a Funeral Home; "Death Doesn't Bother Me Anyway, Pt. 4"; A Poet's Elegy to His Son; On the Music in This Hour [Playlist].

National Parks rock! National Parks: The Greatest American Invention; No More National Parks!; Cheryl Strayed on her memoir "Wild"; El Capitan Daredevils – The story of the few who have climbed the 3000 foot granite wall of Yosemite National Park.; Listening in on One Square Inch of Silence; The Adventure Gap: Why do so Few African-Americans go to National Parks?.