As summer vacation rolls around, a little inspiration to travel. The Road from Rome; Sonic Sidebar: Aboard Niagara; The Road to Tantra - Asra Nomani; The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton; BookMark: Karen Russell on "A High Wind in Jamaica"; On Our Minds: The High Line.

Survival. Erasing Death - Dr. Sam Parnia; The Oldest Living Things in the World - Rachel Sussman; Sonic Sidebar: Patchwork Flight (radio drama); The Knowledge - Lewis Dartnell; Dangerous Idea: Not Believing in God; On Our Minds: Barbara Ehrenreich.

What makes a great school? Is it the quality of teaching, class size, or the curriculum? When it comes to school reform, everyone seems to have an opinion. Today, we're rethinking schools and the way we teach. Testing Successful Intelligence - Robert Sternberg; Sonic Sidebar: Better Grading; Unschooling - Astra Taylor and Dana Goldstein; The Education of Famous Americans - Daniel Wolff; Bookmark: Sarah Lewis; On Our Minds: Jose Antonio Vargas.

Food to Die for The Last Meal - Death Row cook Brian Price; Southern Guide to Cooking at Funerals - Charlotte Hays; Sonic Sidebar: Dane County Farmer’s Market; Wild Foraging - Sam Thayer; Death Dinners - Michael Hebb; BookMark: Poet Billy Collins; On Our Minds: Poet Nikki Giovanni.

When’s the last time you took a selfie? You know, a snapshot of yourself that you share online. From feminist selfies to funeral selfies to politicians’ selfies, there’s been hot debate about selfies lately. This week artists, critics and psychologists weigh in.   Selfie Primer; Psychie - The Psychology of Selfies; Sonic Sidebar: Woven Women; Poems & Selfies - Steve Roggenbuck; Picture the Artist; Dangerous Idea: Humane Prisons; On Our Minds: Toms River.

Regarding the Pain of Others. 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; Dangerous Idea: Gender Choice; On Our Minds - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Escape Heroin from A to Z - Ann Marlow; How to Disappear - Frank Ahearn; Sonic Sidebar: Kidnapped; The Devil's Highway - Luis Alberto Urrea; Dangerous Idea: Alternative Currency; On Our Minds: Poet Les Murray.

Another season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" is beginning, and the History Channel's "Vikings" is racking up ratings. Why are we so interested in the Middle Ages? Just How Heavy Was That Armor?; Get Your Medieval On!; Geoffrey Chaucer, Detective; Meet a Medieval Warrior-Girl: Nicola Griffith's "Hild"; George R. R. Martin Tells Us Why We're Addicted to Historical Fantasy; BookMark: Nick Bantock; On Our Minds: Karen Joy Fowler.

Music and Memory: Kurt Cobain's lasting impact, music and repetition, Pink Martini Kurt Cobain's Lasting Impact - Charles R. Cross; Sonic Sidebar: Cobain's Influence on Hip-Hop; On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind - Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis; Pink Martini - Thomas Lauderdale; Dangerous Idea: Pleasantness is Evil; On Our Minds: Richard Powers; Richard Powers Reading from "Orfeo".

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: Noah's Flood.