''To the Best of Our Knowledge'' (also known by the acronym TTBOOK) is a weekly public-radio

interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

program produced by

Wisconsin Public Radio Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 34 public radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the ''Ideas Network'' and the '' NPR News & Music Network,'' as well as the ''All Classic ...

and distributed by PRX. It is broadcast on 180+ public radio stations in the U.S. and is also available as a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

. Jim Fleming, until his retirement in January 2014, hosted the program, along with interviewers Steve Paulson and Anne Strainchamps. Strainchamps took over as host after Fleming's retirement.

Program format

''To the Best of Our Knowledge'' produces two one-hour programs each week. Each hour has a theme, which is explored over the course of the hour primarily through interviews, although the show also airs commentaries, performance pieces and occasional reporter pieces. Topics vary widely, from contemporary politics, science and "big ideas," to pop culture themes such as "Nerds" or "Apocalyptic Fiction." The program produces at least one five-part series every year, which tends to be distributed more widely than the weekly broadcast. "East Meets West," a series on East/West cultural crossroads, included interviews with cellist

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan, Muslim rapper Lupe Fiasco, Indian filmmaker

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

, and Pakistani rock icon Salman Ahmad. "Electrons to Enlightenment," a five-part series on science and religion, included interviews with intellectual heavyweights

E. O. Wilson Edward Osborne Wilson (June 10, 1929 – December 26, 2021) was an American biologist, naturalist, entomologist and writer. According to David Attenborough, Wilson was the world's leading expert in his specialty of myrmecology, the study of an ...

, Richard Dawkins,

Francis Collins Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He is the former director of the National Institutes of Health (N ...

and

Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and ...

. ''To the Best of Our Knowledge'' won the 2004 Peabody Award for Programming.

References

External links

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Archive website
Public Radio International programs Peabody Award-winning radio programs {{US-radio-show-stub