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Do Animals Have Culture?

The old ad said "StarKist don't want tunas with good taste --- StarKist wants tuna that taste good." But some animals may have good taste after all. Scientists are recognizing cultural traits and behaviors in a growing number of species. We'll hear from an ornithologist whose radical new definition of art includes the activities of birds and flowers. We'll travel back in time to when whale songs showed up on the pop charts, and find out how the whales themselves pick new songs. And we'll visit a very special concert --- wolves only.

Studio 360

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Will Sci-Fi Save Us? 

What does today's sci-fi mean for our real-life future? Cyberpunk author Neal Stephenson argues that it's time to get over our love of dystopia. A class at MIT searches sci-fi classics for technologies they can invent right now, although maybe they shouldn't. Geoengineers take a tip from Carl Sagan -- who saw a green future for Mars -- to see if we can save Earth. And we meet some scientists who think that if we ever want to see the stars, we'd better start building the starship.

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Flying Cars and Tricorders: How Sci-Fi Invented the Present

From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to George Orwell's 1984 to Spike Jonze's Oscar-winning Her, artists have imagined what the future will look like. In this week's episode, Kurt Andersen explores how science fiction has shaped the world we're living in right now. The inventor of the cell phone gives credit to Star Trek's communicator; International Space Station superstar Chris Hadfield explains the ups and downs of space; and science writer Carl Zimmer says the giant sandworms of Dune got him interested in life on Earth.And we answer the age old question: where's my flying car? (Originally aired: January 24, 2014)

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From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to George Orwell's 1984 to Spike Jonze's Oscar-nominated Her, artists have imagined what the future will look like. In this week's episode, Kurt Andersen explores how science fiction has shaped the world we're living in right now. The inventor of the cell phone gives credit to<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Original-Collection-Captains/dp/B001TH16DI/wnyc-s360-20" target="_blank"> </a>Star Trek's communicator; International Space Station superstar Chris Hadfield explains the ups and downs of space; and science writer Carl Zimmer says the giant sandworms of Dune got him interested in life on Earth.And we answer the age old question: where's my flying car?

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So You Think You're Creative?

We're always talking about creativity, but what do we mean? Can we find creativity, can we measure it, can we encourage it? Kurt talks with professor and author Gary Marcus (Guitar Zero) about what science tells us about creativity. A researcher shoves jazz musicians into an fMRI machine and has them improvise; an intrepid reporter gets her creativity tested and scored; and a little girl introduces us to her imaginary friends (all of them).
(Originally aired: November 23, 2012)

Arts, Culture & Media

Turning the Scottish Countryside into a Map of the Multiverse

The Golden Record Remastered

Two Artists Let The Animals Speak For Themselves

How Pop Music Helped Save the Whales

One of the Coolest Sci-Fi Movies of the Year Is Only 8 Minutes Long

An audience watches actors Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol on the big screen.

This beloved Bollywood film gets a new life on Broadway

Gender

New Cate Blanchett film 'Tár' divides opinion among female conductors 

Yuxin Wu plays the Chinese gehu string instrument. 

Music

Chinese musician works to revive the gehu instrument

Many Taipei residents visit the city's historic Dihua Street to buy goods for the Lunar New Year.

Culture

Taiwan and China celebrate Lunar New Year amid vastly different COVID levels

Syrian children who are refugees in Turkey face many barriers to learning. 

Refugees

In Turkey, refugee children face hurdles to school enrollment

Antonio Trujillo holds a cigarette while resting on a bench, in Pamplona, northern Spain

Environment

Big tobacco is forced to pay for cigarette butt pollution in Spain, but smokers may soon be on the hook

In this Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014, photo, a Free Syrian Army fighter from Shams al-Shamal heads to the front line in Kobani, Syria. 

Critical State

Random rules: Part II

Conflict & Justice

Court orders Canada to take back its citizens from camps in Syria

Peru protests reveal ethnic and regional divides

A security personnel speaks to people from inside the main gate of Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, India

Free speech

Blocking BBC documentary on Gujarat riots goes against India's democratic values, journalist says

Sci And Tech

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