Alvin Toffler and Margaret Mead, an author and an anthropologist who endeavored to understand the impact of scientific invention. In this episode of our series, The Experimenters, we hear from two visionaries who believed that while we’ve start

Peanuts, Atlantis, and Colorblindness

Feb 12th, 2017 20m 44s

Oliver Sacks, Jacques Cousteau, and George Washington Carver. Our podcast returns with lost interviews featuring this trio on self, sight, and deep-sea diving. The three icons had the imaginations and daring to go where none had gone before. Th

Carl Sagan on Extraterrestrials *

Mar 29th, 2016 12m 53s

“The evolutionary record is clear that extraterrestrials would be very different from us” – Carl Sagan in 1985, as told to Studs Terkel. The incomprehensible vastness of the universe, the wonder of our own place in it all… Carl Sagan was able

Dame Stephanie Shirley on Survival Code *

Mar 15th, 2016 16m 34s

“I have to make my life worth saving, and each day you spend as if it would be your last” – Dame Steve Shirley in 2010 Dame Stephanie Shirley might be the most successful tech entrepreneur you have never heard of. In the early 1960s, Shirley st

Temple Grandin on Search Engines *

Mar 2nd, 2016 11m 46s

“Everything in my mind works like a search engine set for the image function.” – Temple Grandin in 2008 This rarely heard oral history with the autism activist, author, and professor of animal science, was uncovered at Colorado State University

Frank Lloyd Wright on Arrogance *

Feb 16th, 2016 11m 11s

“Any man who really has faith in himself will be dubbed arrogant by his fellows” – Frank Lloyd Wright in 1957, as told to Mike Wallace Architect Frank Lloyd Wright did something new when he made buildings that somehow became one with the landsc

Sally Ride on Dumb Questions *

Feb 2nd, 2016 11m 59s

“I wish that there had been another woman on my flight. I think it would have been a lot easier.” – Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, shortly after her historic launch in 1983. Interviewed by Gloria Steinem. At the time of this int

Garrison Keillor on Humor *

Dec 15th, 2015 8m 25s

“My family was shocked when I came home with a volume of Hemingway … There was a price to be paid for being interested in fiction.” – Garrison Keillor in 1994 In this new episode we have a conversation with a true storyteller, the humorist, Gar

Nina Simone on Shock *

Dec 1st, 2015 8m 52s

“It’s a good time for black people to be alive. It’s a lot of hell. A lot of violence, but I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I have a chance to live, as I’ve dreamed.” – Nina Simone in 1968, from a rare interview that’s never

Kurt Vonnegut on Man-Eating Lampreys *

Nov 11th, 2015 9m 8s

“Nothing means anything — except the artist makes his living by pretending, by putting it in a meaningful hole, though no such holes exist.” – Kurt Vonnegut in 1970 Kurt Vonnegut walked into a class room at NYU in November 1970. He was a guest

Bill Murray on Being Obnoxious *

Oct 27th, 2015 9m 4s

“I‘m just an obnoxious guy who can make it appear charming, that’s what they pay me to do.” – Bill Murray in 1988 as told to T.J. English This previously unheard interview was recorded at Bill Murray’s house in New Jersey. T.J. was writing a pr

Patty Hearst on Reasonable Doubt *

Oct 13th, 2015 11m 28s

“I‘m a coward, I didn’t want to die” – Patty Hearst in 1982, as told to Larry Grobel. Larry Grobel told us the story about a time back in the early 80s when he borrowed a swimsuit at the Playboy mansion. It seems that back then, Hugh Hefner kep

Tom Waits on Everything and Nothing *

Sep 29th, 2015 9m 5s

“I don’t know what the ‘big time’ is” – Tom Waits in 1988 as told to Chris Roberts Imagine what would happen if you sat down on a couch next to Tom Waits? Here’s the tape. Watch the animated version of this episode from our series with PBS Digi

Hunter S. Thompson on Outlaws *

Jul 28th, 2015 9m 57s

“I keep my mouth shut now. I’ve turned into a professional coward.” – Hunter S. Thompson in 1967 with Studs Terkel. The interview was recorded shortly after the release of Thompson’s book, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. He spent mo

Dustin Hoffman on Duplicity and Famosity *

Jul 14th, 2015 9m 31s

“I carried a knife taped to my leg. I never used it but it was there.” – Dustin Hoffman in 1971. Listening to this interview tape from the Pacifica Radio Archives, we were drawn to this idea of the struggles that pop up between different genera