To The Best Of Our Knowledge

To The Best Of Our Knowledge

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.

“TTBOOK” is produced in Madison, Wisconsin at Wisconsin Public Radio, and is part of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Note: “To The Best Of Our Knowledge” ended production on September 27, 2025. Archives of past programs are available below. Every episode of “To the Best of Our Knowledge” is available in the American Archives of Public Broadcasting.

Latest Episodes

  • Luminous: Reclaiming the Acid Queen

    We all know Timothy Leary, the high priest of ‘60s psychedelia, but his partner, Rosemary Woodruff Leary, has largely been forgotten. She also had a remarkable life, even breaking Leary out of prison with the help of the Weather Underground. Now, biographer Susannah Cahalan tells her story — from the heady Sixties to a life on…

    Luminous: Reclaiming the Acid Queen
  • Charles Monroe-Kane on intelligent optimism

    Charles reflects on one of TTBOOK’s core values — what we call “intelligent optimism.” It’s a complicated kind of hope, even brave in a time of despair and cynicism. And he plays snippets from some of his favorite interviews.

    Charles Monroe-Kane on intelligent optimism
  • Anne says goodbye and Steve reflects on Jane Goodall

    Anne reflects on saying goodbye to TTBOOK after 35 years. And Steve talks about his interview with Jane Goodall, and why the minds of chimpanzees have always fascinated her. She’s the rare scientist who talks openly about her own spiritual experiences.

    Anne says goodbye and Steve reflects on Jane Goodall
  • Farewell from TTBOOK

    You listened on car trips and overnight flights, in tents and canoes, kitchens and living rooms. You shared our love of ideas, our search for wonder, our curiosity and our belief in the future. Now, after 35 years, it’s time for us to say goodbye. In this hour, Anne talks with TTBOOK’s producers about some…

    Farewell from TTBOOK
  • Shannon Henry Kleiber on the poetry of the human voice

    Shannon delights in the nuanced intonations of the human voice, and she has a special appreciation for poetry. We hear her interview with Alice Walker, who talks about responding to anger and Buddhist teachings on “taking the arrow out of the heart.”

    Shannon Henry Kleiber on the poetry of the human voice

Meet The Staff