Wonder Cabinet

We explore the secret life of sleep in this hour. The Secret Life of Sleep - Kat Duff; The Politics of Sleep - Matthew J. Wolf-Meyer; Sleep Donation - Karen Russell; Sonic Sidebar: Is Sleep Going Extinct?; Dangerous Idea: Life Roller Coaster; On Our Minds: Josh Ruxin.

With the elections approaching, candidates and campaigns are working hard to get out the vote. But what would it take to get people politically involved all year round? Making Democracy Fun; Voices From The Internet Underground; Against Voting; Dangerous Idea: Differential Technological Development; On Our Minds: Dataclysm.

Science fiction offers us visions of histories we don't know -- histories of the future and the past.  Today, legendary science fiction writers talk about science, utopia, and the imagination.  Plus, the winners of our 3 Minute Futures fiction contest! CLICK HERE to read the winning entries and a selection of our favorites. 3 Minute Futures Winner: "Social Scene Alert"; Politics of Science Fiction - Kim Stanley Robinson; 3 Minute Future Fiction: "Food Production"; Star Trek Legacy - Gates McFadden; Science and the Imagination - Ed Finn; 3 Minute Future: "Dogs in the Snow"; BookMark: Junot Diaz; Race and Sex in Sci Fi - Samuel R. Delany.

We explore Creative Writing in this hour with Gary Shteyngart, author of "Little Failure." Little Failure - Gary Shteyngart; Writers and Drinking - Olivia Laing; Sonic Sidebar: John Cheever's "The Swimmer"; The Trickster's Hat - Nick Bantock; Dangerous Ideas: Peace Is Now; On Our Minds - Charlie Parker.

Cavemen.   Not Cro-Magnons or Neanderthals, but modern cavemen and women. They eat raw meat, run barefoot and practice throwing heavy stones. Arthur De Vany on Modern Cavemen; Paleofantasy - John Hawks; Cavedigger; Michelle Paver on "Chronicles of Ancient Darkness"; Dangerous Idea: Don't Recycle!; On Our Minds: David Mitchell.

From cyborgs and synesthesia, to ASMR and using sensation to heal from trauma, we're exploring the edges of our senses this hour. Synesthesia, Then & Now; The Mystery of Tingles - ASMR; Cyborg Senses - Neil Harbisson; Feeling Through Trauma - Bessel van der Kolk; Dangerous Idea: Hacking Laughter; On Our Minds: Responding to Ebola.

Everyone loves a good joke, right? Well, at least when it's not at your expense. We explore hoaxes throughout history, get in the mind of a prolific prankster, and hear from writer Walter Kirn about getting duped by a dangerous con man. Famous pranksters - Kembrew McLeod; Art of the Hoax - Joey Skaggs; The Con - Walter Kirn; Sonic Sidebar: The Showman and the Slave; BookMark: Cheryl Strayed; On Our Minds: Life With Harper Lee.

With minimum wage on many ballots this election season, TTBOOK looks at just what it takes to "make it" in America these days Living Poor; So Rich, So Poor - Peter Edelman; Bootstrapping; Sonic Sidebar: American Dreams; American Promises; BookMark: Eileen Gunn on “Filter House” ; On Our Minds: Easy Money.

The bedtime stories of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin are enchanting stories. They’re also much more: violent, sexually explicit, political, and feminist. 1001 Nights 101; 1001 Nights: A Retelling - Hanan Al-Shaykh; SONIC SIDEBAR: Orhan Pamuk on The Arabian Nights; Salman Rushdie on "Luka and the Fire of Life"; BookMark: Vikram Chandra reviews “The King Must Die” by Mary Renault ; On Our Minds: Iran.

It's hard to wrap your head around the future of the human brrain.  Augmented intelligence, memory playback, downloadable skills - it's all coming.  We explore the future of the mind, and hear how a brain injury can transform your life. Struck By Genius - Jason Padgett; Future of the Mind - Michio Kaku; Disharmony; Dangerous Idea: Simulating drugs through hypnosis; On Our Minds: Against Football.