To the Best of Our Knowledge

Series produced by Wisconsin Public Radio

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To the Best of Our Knowledge is a radio show about big ideas that fuel deep insights into our world through interviews with the world's luminaries, from experts to cultural icons. Each show revolves around a theme where we explore these ideas and the people who consider them.

TTBOOK is a nationally-syndicated, Peabody award-winning radio show where long-form interviews help fuel deep insights into our world. We have conversations with novelists and poets, scientists and software engineers, journalists and historians, filmmakers and philosophers, artists and activists—anyone with a big idea and a passion to have a creative and engaging conversation about it.

We consider ideas big and small, conventional and dangerous, and marshal them into shows centered around a theme. A show's theme sometimes centers on a big question, other times it will zero in on the small things that give us pause. A good theme is a conversation starter: is the Internet making us stupid? Can a computer truly be creative? Are humans innately good? What’s the best road trip you ever took?

Once we pick the theme, we dig in with interviews that explore the culture, the debate, the stories, the science and the actual sound of it all. And hopefully, when we’re done, we’ve animated the questions along with the answers, opening both our own minds and yours.

TTBOOK is available by annual carriage fee. Please contact Sean Nesbitt at sean.nesbitt@prx.org for more information. Hide full description

TTBOOK is a nationally-syndicated, Peabody award-winning radio show where long-form interviews help fuel deep insights into our world. We have conversations with novelists and poets, scientists and software engineers, journalists and historians, filmmakers and philosophers, artists and activists—anyone with a big idea and a passion to have a creative and engaging conversation about it.We consider ideas big and small, conventional and dangerous, and marshal them into shows centered around a theme. A show's theme sometimes centers on a big question, other times it will zero in on the small things that give us pause. A good theme is a conversation starter: is the Internet making us stupid? Can a computer truly be creative? Are humans innately good? What’s the best road trip you ever... Show full description


Additional Files

363 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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HOUR ONE: "The Tangled Roots Of War And Peace" - 1936 was an ominous year. A young George Orwell was headed to battle in Spain. But first, he plant...

  • Added: Oct 14, 2022
  • Length: 01:58:59
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HOUR ONE: "Empathy For Monsters" - The American soldiers who guarded Saddam Hussein came to like and care about him. This hour: Should we feel empa...

  • Added: Oct 07, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "To All The Dogs We've Loved" - Picture yourself half way through a thousand mile sled dog race. What do you think about? This hour, adve...

  • Added: Sep 30, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01
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HOUR ONE: "Writing Truth And Lies" - It's a long walk from the truth to the whole truth. A biographer, a poet, a memoirist and a filmmaker describe...

  • Added: Sep 23, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Losing Yourself In Fantasy" - When the real world becomes too much, fantasy might be your ticket out. But at what point does fantasy go ...

  • Added: Sep 16, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01
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HOUR ONE: "Telling A Life" - How do you tell the story of your life? Songwriter Patti Smith says try writing "about nothing." HOUR TWO: "The Powe...

  • Added: Sep 09, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: 'The Year Of Return' - 2019 marked the "year of return" to Ghana – attracting visitors from throughout the African diaspora. Now, scores...

  • Added: Sep 02, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01
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HOUR ONE: 'The Secret Language of Trees' - Trees talk to each other, and even form alliances with other trees or other species. Some are incredibly...

  • Added: Aug 26, 2022
  • Length: 01:58:59
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HOUR ONE: "Eye-To-Eye With Animals" - Have you ever locked eyes with an animal in the wild? It can be a shattering experience. HOUR TWO: 'A Parenti...

  • Added: Aug 19, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01
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HOUR ONE: "Saving Democracy from Demagogues" - Around the world, authoritarian leaders are on the rise – from Russia and Hungary to the U.S. We exa...

  • Added: Aug 12, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Journeys Through Gender" - Once upon a time there were two genders. He and She. Not anymore. So what are your pronouns? HOUR TWO: "The...

  • Added: Aug 26, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01
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HOUR ONE: "Walk With Me" - Walking prolongs our life and makes us human. So why are we doing less and less of it? HOUR TWO: "Why Do We Have So Mu...

  • Added: Jul 29, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Reading While Young" - Having trouble reading? Maybe the answer is a younger read. We'll celebrate the new season of our "Bookmarks" mic...

  • Added: Jul 22, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Whose Land Is It?" - Owning land is a big part of the American dream. But there’s a problem with that: That land is often stolen. So who...

  • Added: Jul 15, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: 'Decolonizing the Mind' - Colonization in Africa was much more than a land grab. It was a project to replace — and even erase — local cul...

  • Added: Jul 08, 2022
  • Length: 01:58:59
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HOUR ONE: "Are You Ready For The Psychedelic Revolution?" - Could a psychedelic compound undo years of depression or addiction? Meet the CEO behind...

  • Added: Jul 01, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Shapeshifting" - Seals that can turn into women, men who transform into wolves… Stories about shape-shifting are among the oldest in the...

  • Added: Jun 24, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "You're Not OK. That's OK." - One of our producers created a yard sign. It reads: "You're not OK. That's OK." 300 signs later, it's causi...

  • Added: Jun 17, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: "Mysteries Of Migration" - Millions of animals migrate every year to a destination they've never seen. How do they do it — and what can w...

  • Added: Jun 10, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:00
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HOUR ONE: 'As Read By The Author' - One of the most fun things we get to do is bring the soundscape of a novel to life — cue the monsters, the stor...

  • Added: Jun 03, 2022
  • Length: 01:59:01