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Click on the titles below for classroom questions below.
Episode #1: Where Do Words Come From?—Peter Sokolowski
- Who decides when a new word should become part of a standardized language?
- Do all languages have the same number of words?
- By what mechanism is the spelling of a word accepted?
Episode #2: Living Theater—Stacy Klein
- What are the challenges of producing theater today that isn’t commercially driven?
- How can rural areas benefit from housing a theater troupe?
- Why are women theater directors still underrepresented?
Episode #3: Are Translators Traitors?—Tim Parks
- Can translations be simultaneously fateful and beautiful?
- What is the difference between translating a classic and a contemporary book?
- Why do publishers continue to underpay translators?
Episode #4: A Poet of Change—Wendy Barker
- What role does silence play in poetry?
- How does a poem take shape?
- Are poets agents of change? What kind of change?
Episode #5: Children Are Illogical—Norton Juster
- How can an author write for children without being condescending?
- Are children rational?
- Can ADD be an advantage for a children’s author?
Episode #6: How Tragedy Is Remembered—James Young
- Is forgetting as important as remembering?
- Are there drawbacks in building museums and monuments around tragedies?
- Is there a difference between personal tragedy and collective tragedy?
Episode #7: Illustrating the Classics—Barry Moser
- What do we mean when we say that a book has become a classic?
- Does the work done by illustrators similar to the one done by translators?
- Do you need to be an avid reader to become an illustrator of literary classics?
Episode #8: An Immigrant’s Story—Edwin Cruz
- Are immigrants treated differently depending on where they come from?
- In spite of its immigrant past, is America always ambivalent about newcomers?
- Does Emma Lazarus’ sonnet “The New Colossus” still resonate today?
Episode #9: Financial Literacy for Children of Color—Ty Jackson
- Why is money not a topic in the elementary-school classroom?
- Do children of different cultures understand money differently?
- Does upward mobility depend on openness about financial matters in families?
Episode #10: Why ‘Black Lives Matter’ Matters—Wesley Lowery
- In what way is ‘Black Lives Matter’ an outcome of the Civil Rights Movement?
- What kind of impact will it have in future generations?
- Will America ever reach a state of racial equality?
Episode #11: A Conservative in the Age of Trump—Bret Stephens
- In what way do political parties foster consent among their members?
- Is disagreement in politics a sign of unrest?
- How has conservativism changed since the Reagan years?
Episode #12: A Foreign Correspondent in Action—Robin Wright
- Is a foreign correspondent a witness?
- What dis the difference between reporting on national issues and on world affairs?
- Does the reporter’s gender matter?
Episode #13: Democracy in America—William Kristol
- Can democracy truly be representative?
- Is a political commentator ever objective? Should they be?
- What is the role of dissent in democracy?
Episode #14: “Representing” in Broadcasting: Ray Suarez
- Is ethnicity a factor in the way the news is delivered?
- Have accents become more acceptable in broadcasting?
- What is the challenges of minority journalist in today’s American media?
Episode #15: Fighting Cancer Through Knowledge—Peter Rooney
- Does suffering imperil reason?
- Should doctors and patients develop friendships?
- Can knowledge be a cure for illness?
Episode #16: A Rabbi in Search of God—Justin David
- In what way is God hidden?
- Do religious leaders be kept to a higher moral standard?
- To what extent is doubt an important part of faith?
Episode #17: Zapotec Poetry and the Language of Radio
- How do you define “endangered language”?
- Do these endangered languages deserve special treatment?
- In what way can the media be involved in improving their prospects?
Episode #18: In Search of Gorbachev—William Taubman
- Is a political leader born or made?
- Do different cultures have different approaches to leadership?
- How should a leader approach doubt?
Episode #19: Drawing and Thinking—Mo Willems
- How do we learn how to think?
- In what way are ideas the result of visual stimulation?
- To what degree should improvisation be a component of children’s education?
Episode #20: Russia Today—Masha Gessen
- In what way the East/West polarity real?
- Why does America have billionaires but Russia has oligarchs?
- Is it possible to restrain foreign influence from national elections?
Episode #21: The Artist of Hair—Sonya Clark
- Is art always about identity?
- In what way do our own ancestors coexist with us in our own body?
- In what way do artist of color face challenges of controlling their own narrative?
Episode #22: The Dream of Assimilation?—Min Jin Lee
- In what way do immigrants change America and American changes immigrants?
- How does the English language reflect these changes?
- Is the American Dream alive in the age of Donald Trump?
Episode #23: Israel’s Targeted Assassinations—Ronen Bergman
- When is revenge permissible?
- Does the rule “Eye for an Eye” apply to nations?
- Are targeted assassinations immoral?
Episode #24: The End of Representation—Junot Díaz
- Are writers of color held to different aesthetic and moral standards?
- Does writers of color have the obligation to be political?
- Is literature an equal-opportunity field?
Episode #25: Medicine & Poetry—Rafael Campo
- Can poetry heal?
- Has the medical profession forgotten how to deal with humans?
- How do we talk about illness?
Episode #26: The Endurance of the Uncanny—Carmen María Machado
- Are fiction and nonfiction antithetical?
- Is it possible to talk about dreams without betraying their ephemerality?
- Why does the uncanny generated anxiety in us?
Episode #27: Mourning with Words—Forrest Gander
- Is poetry a form of therapy?
- Are the words to describe death or is it beyond language?
- How do different cultures handle mourning?
Episode #28: Our Face, Our Self—Ruth Ozeki
- Is our face an expression of our personality?
- Do faces lie?
- How are faces in a multiethnic society read?
Episode #29: Exploring the Ramayana—Arshia Sattar
- Why do the classics matter?
- Does each civilization have different classics?
- Are classics perfect?
Episode #30: Why Poetry—Matthew Zapruder
- Is poetry necessary?
- Are poets born or made?
- Is poetry always political?
Episode #31: All News Is Local—Brooke Hauser
- Is poetry necessary?
- Are poets born or made?
- Is poetry always political?
Episode #32: The Opinion Battle—George Will
- Should opinions be silenced?
- Should people change their mind?
- Are opinions improvable?
Episode #33: The Global City—Saskia Sassen
- Are global cities cruel?
- Who is visible and invisible in the global city?
- How do cities become global?
Episode #34: Globalization and Its Discontents—Joseph Stiglitz
- Is globalization dangerous?
- Is it natural?
- Should it be contained?
Episode #35: Development as Freedom—Amartya Sen
- Are the poor less free than the rich?
- Should education be made free?
- Do development nations need to be helped?
Episode #36: The Culture of Music—Magos Herrera & Brooklyn Rider
- Does music have an address?
- In what way does music create community?
- Is the musician a storyteller?
Episode #37: The Power of Voice—Stephanie Houtzeel & John Milbauer
- In what way is the human voice powerful?
- Is voice another musical instrument?
- How does our voice change as we mature?
Episode #38: The Truth of Fiction—Andre Dubus III
- Is the truth of the fiction writer the same as the truth of the historian?
- Can a novel lie?
- Does fiction have a responsibility?
Episode #39: The Realm of Emotions—Martha Nussbaum
- How many emotions are there?
- Are emotions dangerous?
- How do men and women engage with their emotions?
Episode #40: The Music of Epirus and the Collector’s Obsession—Christopher King
- What drives us to collect items?
- Are objects of the past memory capsules?
- Can music from ancient times be recreated?
Episode #41: Is Courage Measurable?—Grace Talusan
- Are books today as diverse in terms of topics as they should be?
- Is pain explainable in words?
- Is courage measurable?
Episode #42: Photography as Testimony—Marcelo Brodsky
- Is the camera a witness of history?
- Is the photographer an intruder?
- Is it morally right to Photoshop photographs?
Episode #43: Hey Kiddo—Jarrett Krosoczka
- Are graphic novels replacing regular novels?
- Is autobiography a form of fiction?
- Can one be objective about one’s own life?
Episode #44: Writing on the Wall—Peter Cole
- Are words musical? Is the poet a composer of sounds?
- How does one become a poet?
- Is it possible to translate objectively someone with a different religious view?
Episode #45: Horizon—Barry Lopez
- What places in the globe are untouched by humankind?
- Does nature need to be saved?
- Is tourism innocent? Is it a form of destruction?
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