The Best Of Our Knowledge

A new course at Bennington College in Vermont seeks to examine challenges facing democracy. And we’ll learn about the longtime creative partnership between children’s book author and illustrator Eric Carle and editor Ann Beneduce.

The cause of long COVID, where patients experience symptoms months after their initial illness, is a mystery. Now, a new study might bring scientists a step closer toward understanding the disease. And we’ll visit students who are learning STEAM concepts through cooking.

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll have a conversation with Dr. Carl Safina, an ecologist and author of Alfie & Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe.   The book tells the story of an orphaned owl who was cared for by Carl and his wife Patricia during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the large impact a little owl had on their lives.  

Marine photographer Brian Skerry has traveled the globe, capturing dramatic and moving images of the ocean and the life it supports. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak about his latest work documenting change in the Gulf of Maine.  And we’ll have a conversation with Laura Homsey, author, illustrator, and creator of Petit Paper Stories .

For some, Scrabble is more than just a board game. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge we’ll attend a competitive Scrabble tournament. We’ll learn about a high school graduate who has devoted himself to recording the stories of veterans. And NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is marking two years of science operations.

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge , we’ll learn about the students and faculty at Stony Brook University who have created a resilience tool kit for student journalists. And we’ll learn about a national initiative to expand local news coverage through academic partnerships.

The spring 2024 semester was marked by student protests across the country. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge , we’ll speak with an organizer at Bard College, where administration officials reached an agreement with Pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A new public authority is hoping to steer the future of a recently-closed college in Albany, New York. And we’ll learn about a rare fern with...

College textbooks can be a necessary part of coursework, but they’re often pricey. On this week's episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we'll hear about a new report examining automatic textbook billing practices. And a new effort is seeking to assist college presidents in preparing students for civic life.

America is experiencing renewed efforts to ban books, pass so-called parents' rights legislation, and vilify teachers unions.  We’ll speak with the authors of "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual," about who and what is putting schools at the center of the culture war.

New York education officials have unveiled a proposal that would transform the state’s graduation requirements. Lucas Willard speaks with state Commissioner of Education Dr. Betty Rosa.

Research shows that college students are increasingly lonely. We’ll dive into a study that examines students’ mental health and how colleges and universities are fostering community and belonging. And the use of artificial intelligence in writing scientific research has skyrocketed. But does it create accuracy concerns?

The rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has been rocky this year. We’ll dig into how the bumpy rollout could affect colleges and universities. It’s been more than 6 years since the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Florida. We’ll speak with Parkland parent and school safety advocate Max Schachter. And high school students in upstate New York...

Published in 1995, James W. Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me” continues to challenge the U.S. education system and everything we thought we knew about American history. The book has now been adapted into a graphic novel. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge we’ll speak with illustrator and National Book Award-winning comics artist Nate Powell.

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: For five centuries, the world has benefitted from the artistic and scientific contributions from Leonardo da Vinci. A touring exhibit brings the Renaissance polymath’s ideas to life. We’ll go behind the scenes at America’s largest theater company for young people.   And it’s time for students preparing for college to fill out their federal student aid...

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Researchers are using artificial intelligence to listen in on the animal kingdom. Periodical cicadas this spring are singing in enormous numbers across the United States. It’s reunion hundreds of years in the making. And we’ll speak with young students who are exploring careers in education.

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's bicentennial commencement will feature a special guest, brought to life with artificial intelligence technology. Students at Union College blend traditional fine art with advanced technology. And an indigenous student graduating from a South Dakota high school shares his ideas with an international audience.

The 2019 documentary Fantastic Fungi continues to mesmerize audiences with its time-lapse photography and perspectives on perhaps the most misunderstood kingdom of life. The film has been remastered and is now showing in theaters. We’ll speak with director Louie Schwartzberg. And new research shows frogs are evolving faster than we thought.

The College of Saint Rose, a private four-year institution in Albany, New York, will close at the end of the spring semester. We’ll hear from students and faculty who are facing important decisions on their education and employment.

The documentary “Common Ground,” a follow-up to 2020’s “Kiss the Ground,” examines the U.S. agricultural system and the industrial threats to the nation’s farmland. On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge, we’ll speak with film co-director Josh Tickell. And advanced 3D imaging is letting scientists examine and share museum specimens in a new way.

Hairy bodies. Compound eyes. Feather-like antenna. The perhaps misunderstood moth is in the limelight in the experimental documentary film, “The Night Visitors.” The movie provides a glimpse into a world many of us overlook. We’ll speak with filmmaker Michael Gitlin.

The April 8th solar eclipse will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for millions. We’ll meet students who are using balloons to study the celestial event. And what’s better than a sturdy pair of shoes? Horseshoes, that is. We’ll learn about a program that is educating future farriers.

From Mexico to Maine, the April 8th solar eclipse will carve a path of darkness across North America. We’ll learn how NASA is preparing to study the event. And commercial interest in space is at an all-time high. We’ll learn more from the U.S. Office of Space Commerce.

What’s your favorite board game? We’ll explore the history of board games in America. And we’ll visit an upstate New York woodworking shop that is opening its doors to the community.

In an age of smartphones and streaming, where physical media is disappearing, we’ll take a trip to the largest collection of popular music in the world – and meet the man who has dedicated most of his life to cataloguing recordings and historic materials. And we’ll attend a groundbreaking for a new middle school in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

On this episode of The Best of Our Knowledge: In a changing climate, researchers around the world are asking citizen scientists to use their smartphones to help monitor beach erosion and storm damage. And we’ll find out why company Columbia Sportswear is currently displaying its logo on the moon.