To The Best Of Our Knowledge

Can we ever get inside the mind of an animal? Can we really know how a chimp or a parrot thinks and experiences the world? We'll talk with some naturalists and scientists who're trying, including Helen Macdonald and Frans de Waal. And the fascinating story of Charles Foster's attempt to live like a badger, when he lived in a hole in the ground and ate worms. Living Like A Beast; Helen Macdonald and "Birdle" the Parrot; Inside Animal Minds; Douglas Adams' Survival Guilt; Searching for the Last Unicorn.

Low-fi artist Syna So Pro loops with love.

Hollywood is finally getting ready to give women superpowers. For decades, moviegoers only saw the likes of Batman, Spider Man, and Iron Man, but in recent years there's been a slate of strong female characters on screen. And there's more to come, including The Black Widow, Captain Marvel and the iconic Wonder Woman. This hour, we're talking about superheroines, in film and in real life. Wonder Woman's Fascinating Origin Story; What It's Like To Be A Real Life Spy Girl; What Does A Strong Female Character Look Like?; Let's Put An End To Sexist Language; How Pop Music Marginalizes and Excludes Women.

The virtues of transgressive, subversive, rule-breaking art, both as an aesthetic and as a way of life. A Matter of (Bad) Taste; Two Tape Recorders and Twenty Knives; Classical Doesn't Have To Mean Dead; Hiding Yourself Behind Characters.

Filmmaker Laura Stewart on how being filmed affects documentary subjects, and how that affects the truth you can tell.

"We live by wild mercy," Terry Tempest Williams writes. In this hour, she takes us to some of her favorite national parks, from Big Bend to Arches. We also explore the desert wilderness of Utah's Escalante area, and hear about a father and daughter's remarkable adventure into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Lauret Savoy says the American landscape also has a complicated history that can't be separated from the country's racism. And Robert Moor talks about the wisdom of trails. A Father and Daughter Venture Into the Alaskan Wild; Terry Tempest Williams on National Parks; Desert Mind; Land, Race, Memory; The Wisdom of Trails.

Supersized slabs of juicy ribs cooked over a wood fire until the meat slides right off the bone. Food doesn't get more American than barbecue. It's part of our roots. And it's tangled up in our racial history. In this hour, we celebrate barbecue and explore its secret history. Barbecue: America's National Folk Food; The Queen of Barbecue; Barbecue and Racism; KC BBQ; Man Alive!: Struck by Barbecue.

David Byrne talks about how music works.

Are there certain acts, certain people who are beyond forgiveness? When you’re hurt and the only way out of toxic bitterness and resentment is to let go, how do you summon the resolve to reach out to the person who hurt you most? This hour, the keys to living a more forgiving life. Reconciling With My Rapist; How Does It Feel To Forgive?; The Four Key Steps To Forgiveness; Making Peace With My Father, With Help From Dante; Hari Kunzru on American Guilt.

Your name is a collection of sounds and syllables that identify you. It's your tag, handle, label, second skin.  It's written on your birth certificate and it'll be inscribed on your grave.  But what does it actually mean?  Names carry family dreams, expectations and legacies.  In this episode, stories about the power and politics of names -- how they shape us and how we shape them.  What does your name say about you? Me, Myself and My Name; What Not To Name Your Baby; The Man Who Wasn't Charles Lindbergh; The Power of Names; David Byrne is Thinking About How Music Works.