What It’s Like to Be a Brain Surgeon, with Dan Heath
Sharing an episode of “What It’s Like to Be…” from author Dan Heath. On the podcast, Dan explores the world of work, one profession at a time, and interviews people who love what they do. He finds out: What does a couples therapist think when a friend asks for relationship advice? Is a Secret Service Agent supposed to pretend like they’re not there when they’re around the president? What are the 3 clocks that govern the life of a long-haul truck driver? If you’ve ever met someone whose work you were curious about, and you had 100 nosy questions but were too polite to ask… this is the show for you. In this preview, Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa [kee-NYO-nes EE no ho sah] (“Dr. Q”), a brain surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, describes his work: zapping parts of the brain to know where to cut, operating a mouth-controlled microscope, and carrying the weight of life-or-death decisions. How do you preserve a mathematician's expertise when removing tumors? And how did Dr. Q go from picking tomatoes to performing brain surgery?You can listen to more episodes of What It’s Like to Be at https://link.mgln.ai/ttbookdanheath
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41:12
Love in the Time of Extinction
It can be hard to enjoy the natural world these days without anxiety. You notice a butterfly on a flower and wonder why you don’t see more. How’s the monarch population doing this year? And shouldn’t there be more bees? The challenge is to live in this time of climate change – but still find joy and refuge in it. Original Air Date: July 27, 2024Interviews In This Hour: Ecologies of love: Heather Swan’s stories of insects and the web of life — Becoming edible: Philosopher Andreas Weber’s mystical biologyGuests: Heather Swan, Andreas WeberNever want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast.Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
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52:08
Docupoetry
Rooted in reality, written with a keen observer’s eye, and shaped with a sense of song, documentary poetry tells the truth in an artist’s voice. For generations, through wars, crisis, and political upheaval, documentary poets have helped make sense of some of our most difficult moments – by expressing what might otherwise be impossible to say. So what are they writing about today?This episode was produced in partnership with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.Original Air Date: January 13, 2024Interviews In This Hour: The gospel of Suncere Ali Shakur — This is how I drew you — The poetry that bears witness to the everydayGuests: Philip Metres, Suncere Ali Shakur, Kaia Sand, Camille DungyNever want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast.Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
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52:12
On Pilgrimage with Dorothy Day
How does someone become an official saint? Meet Dorothy Day — journalist, radical activist, mother and lay minister to the poor who died in 1980 — who is being considered for sainthood by the Catholic Church. Shannon Henry Kleiber walks in her footsteps through New York City, where she lived and worked, looking for miracles, talking with people whose lives were changed by her, and wondering how and why saints matter today.We are grateful for additional music for this show from Tom Chapin, Si Kahn and the Chapin Sisters. Thanks also to the Dorothy Day Guild, and The Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Archives, which houses Dorothy Day’s papers and photos.Original Air Date: April 19, 2025Interviews In This Hour: In search of miracles, favors and graces — Inside the ‘agony and ecstasy’ of Maryhouse — We are all ‘called to be saints’Guests: Robert Ellsberg, Martha Hennessy, Fr. James MartinNever want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast.Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
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51:43
Off The Map
Maps, whether drawn by hand or by satellite, reflect the time they were drawn for. How will the next generation of cartographers deal with challenges like a world being reshaped by climate change? Original Air Date: December 09, 2023Interviews In This Hour: Why are islands in the South Pacific disappearing? — Cartography in the age of Google Maps — This is your brain on maps — The mysterious music of the 'phantom islands'Guests: Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Mamata Akella, Bill Limpisathian, Andrew PeklerNever want to miss an episode? Subscribe to the podcast.Want to hear more from us, including extended interviews and favorites from the archive? Subscribe to our newsletter.
”To the Best of Our Knowledge” is a Peabody award-winning national public radio show that explores big ideas and beautiful questions. Deep interviews with philosophers, writers, artists, scientists, historians, and others help listeners find new sources of meaning, purpose, and wonder in daily life. Whether it’s about bees, poetry, skin, or psychedelics, every episode is an intimate, sound-rich journey into open-minded, open-hearted conversations. Warm and engaging, TTBOOK helps listeners feel less alone and more connected – to our common humanity and to the world we share.
For more from the TTBOOK team, visit us at ttbook.org.
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