Nov 23rd, 2008 · This week in Paris, one of the last icons of 20th century French intellectual life turns 100. Claude Levi-Strauss, a painter's son, not only reshaped the nature of how anthropologists do their work: He changed the world's perception of so-called "primitive" tribes in Asia, Africa and America.
Nov 22nd, 2008 · The environmental author writes about the collision of the human and natural worlds. She's best known for Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Her new book is called, Finding Beauty in a Broken World.
Nov 21st, 2008 · Think about that phrase in the Constitution - about how the President must be a natural-born American. If similar laws apply to the nations of central Asia, we may have to ask if a newborn baby will be entitled to run for president of Kazakhstan. A Swedish woman was on a flight over the Asian country when she gave birth. Two doctors and two nurses were on board the 11-hour flight. The baby's fine, born at 35,000 feet.
Nov 14th, 2008 · The Obama administration faces a Rubik's Cube of policy problems in Iran, including Tehran's nuclear activities, its hostility to Israel, its role in Iraq and Afghanistan, its support for Hamas and Hezbollah and the nature of the Islamic Republic itself.
Nov 10th, 2008 · Sixty years ago, Moses Asch set out to record "all the sound of the world." He established Folkways Records — "the little label that could" — and in the decades that followed, recorded everything from folk singers, to jazz greats, to sounds of the natural world.
Nov 7th, 2008 · Saxophonist and bandleader Paul Winter has created his own unique style of environmentally conscious music. The natural world is not only an inspiration, but it has also been a collaborator in his music. Winter talks about playing with humpback whales, as well as his legendary recording expeditions to the Grand Canyon.
Nov 7th, 2008 · The National Toy Hall of Fame this year is honoring the baby doll, the skateboard and the lowly stick. Of course, you might be able to employ it as a magic wand, a sceptor or a jousting sword. In choosing the stick, toy experts found virtue in its versatility, natural ingredients, no-cost and its appeal to the imagination. In 2005, the cardboard box was inducted into the hall.
Nov 5th, 2008 · Louisiana native Brooke Waggoner studied composition and orchestration at LSU before moving to Nashville to advance her career as a performing songwriter. Her quirky sense of song structure and her experimental nature bring to mind the wide range of influences that Mountain Stage host Larry Groce mentions in his introduction: from Chopin to Simon & Garfunkel to Rogers & Hammerstein.