Special Program

Stress may save your life if you're being chased by a tiger. But if you're stuck in traffic, it may be more likely to make you sick. In this hour of Radiolab, we take a long hard look at the body's system for getting out of trouble. Stanford University neurologist (and part-time "baboonologist") Dr. Robert Sapolsky takes us through what happens on our insides when we stand in the wrong line at the supermarket, and offers a few coping strategies: gnawing on wood, beating the crap out of somebody, and having friends.

Paul Simon has been translating his inner thoughts into songs for over 50 years.  He doesn’t have just one way of writing -- it’s a constantly evolving set of discoveries that include both inspiration -- and a lot of hard work.  In this hour, Paul Simon tells us about his creative process, and we’ll hear his own favorite hits (Kodachrome, Late in the Evening, Boy in the Bubble) and deeper cuts (Darling Lorraine, Love and Hard Times) from throughout his solo career.  Listener information at http://www.publicmediaservice.org/2011/09/s

In this hour, Radiolab asks what is natural in a world where biology and engineering intersect. Biotechnology is making it easier and easier to create new forms of life, but what are the consequences when humans play with life? We travel back to the first billion years of life on Earth, take a look at how modern engineers tinker with living things, and meet a woman who could have been two people.  Listener information is available at http://www.radiolab.org/

The Promised Land

OK. Maybe you're in your desk chair. You're in your office. You're in New York, or Detroit, or Timbuktu. You're on planet Earth. But where are you, really? This hour, Radiolab examines the bond between brain and body, and looks at what happens when it breaks. Author and neurologist Oliver Sacks tries to find himself using magnets, we talk to a neuroscientist who uses an optical illusion to solve a century-old mystery that haunts some amputees, and pilots describe surviving out-of-body experiences while flying fighter jets.

From turkey and stuffing to latkes to black-eyed peas, the holiday season seems to revolve around food. And this fall The Promised Land — public radio's Peabody Award-winning series about vision and leadership — takes an unexpected tack on the subject.

Each fall the Third Coast International Audio Festival brings the best new documentaries produced worldwide to the national airwaves in a special two-hour program.  The 2011 broadcast includes evocative stories, from the tale of a young woman coaxed out of a coma by her boyfriend, to the insightful exploration of Tea Party politics in Michigan through a friendship gone awry.  Host Gwen Macsai, an award-winning writer, producer and humorist, is our guide through this annual tour of the world's best new documentaries.

Alison Young is joined by Cantus, one of America's best all-male ensembles, for singing and storytelling about gratitude and what it is to be thankful. Listener information is available at http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/programs/cantus_thxgiving/