Gary Cross

This week in Studio 360, Kurt Andersen and his guest, historian Gary Cross, discuss our love-hate relationship with cuteness, and how biology and culture conspire to make us say “awwww…”

Kurt Andersen and his guest, historian Gary Cross, examine our attraction, and occasional aversion to things that are cute. We’ll explore whether cuteness in Japanese art may be masking anxieties about the bomb. Plus: Kurt talks with novelist Walter Mosley about his new novel Fortunate Son.

Studio 360 considers the strange force of cuteness, and our biological urge to say, “awww!” or sometimes “ugggh” when we encounter the cute. And in Japan, anxieties about the atomic bomb may be masked in cuteness. Plus, a live set of smart indie pop from the band “Stars.”