This interview was broadcast first in January of 2013.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in September of 2013.

This is an encore interview and was originally broadcast in October 2014.

This interview was originally broadcast in November of 2014.

This interview with Dan Fagin was originally broadcast in September of 2014.

Cuba is a mere 90 miles from the United States, a puddle-jump flight or a long swim across the straits of Florida. Yet, for more than a half-century, that distance at times has loomed much greater, as U.S.-Cuba tensions played out across the world stage and here at home. That situation is changing – and dramatically so.

This interview was originally broadcast in September, 2014

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2013.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in April 2013.

This interview was originally broadcast in August of 2014.

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, France that claimed 17 lives sent shock waves around the world and heightened concerns about growing tensions between Islamic extremists and the West.

This interview was originally broadcast in May of 2014.

This is an encore broadcast of part 2 of the interview with Scott W. Berg, it was originally aired in October of 2013.

This interview was originally broadcast in October of 2013.

This interview with Isabel Wilkerson was originally broadcast in October of 2014.

This interview was originally broadcast in May, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in May, 2014

In honor of Veteran's Day, we're broadcasting this interview with Adam Makos. The program was originally broadcast in March, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in April, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview initially was broadcast in January, 2014.

This Reader's Corner interview originally was broadcast in July of 2013

This is an encore broadcast of the interview with David Robertson. The conversation was originally broadcast in January of 2014.

Antibiotics are ubiquitous in modern human life. Along with their well-known medical applications, they also are routinely used in agriculture, including our increasingly industrial production of meat.

Generations of western leaders have puzzled over how to manage their nation’s relationship with Russia – and headlines in recent months, especially from Ukraine, have only deepened this long-standing challenge.

This Reader's Corner interview was first broadcast in January, 2014

Businesses seeking to increase productivity, athletes striving to improve their performance, and couples intent on strengthening their relationship share this in common: To get what they’re after, they’ll need more than motivation. They’ll need commitment.

It took Edward Curtis just a few years after arriving in the small town of Seattle in 1887 to establish a reputation as one of its finest portrait photographers. Uneducated and self-taught, he quickly became one of the most respected lensmen in America and was summoned to capture images of President Theodore Roosevelt and even the president’s daughter’s wedding.

Ask just about anyone their opinion about politics and the federal government and two words you are likely to hear in response are: dysfunction and gridlock.

In May, Anthony Doerr visited Reader's Corner to talk about his new novel, "All the Light We Cannot See." Ten years in the writing, the book tells the stories of a blind French girl and a German boy during World War II and how their lives eventually intertwine.

"This program is an encore and was originally broadcast in November of 2013"

The office of the President of the United States is among the most highly visible institutions anywhere in the world. The person who occupies the office is subject to intense scrutiny – and while some of that is negative, the president oftentimes also serves as a symbol of the hopes, dreams and aspirations of a diverse American citizenry.

For John Thavis, the timing couldn’t have been better. His book, “The Vatican Diaries: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church,” was released in February 2013, just as Pope Benedict XVI announced he would be the first pope in 600 years to resign.

Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of education reforms over recent decades, only to see piddling results. Others, including Finland, South Korea and Poland, have realized major gains.

Earth Day 2014 is Tuesday, and celebrations are planned across our nation and around the world, including here at Boise State. Forty-four years after it was first launched, this annual event continues to evolve, attract new participants and raise awareness about environmental issues. What many may not realize is that Earth Day also played a major role in the birth of the modern environmental movement.

In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Four days after the crash, a B-17 searching for the missing cargo plane also went down in a blinding storm. All nine crewmembers survived the crash, and an amphibious Grumman Duck was sent on a daring rescue mission to bring them home. After picking up one member of the B-17 crew, the rescuers of this third flight flew into a severe storm and vanished.

Stories about the heroics of World War II are deeply embedded in our popular culture. But the Hollywood storyline seldom reflects on the struggles of those left to survive amid the ruins of what was likely the most destructive war in human history.

In 1886, William Temple Hornaday set out for the untamed West to collect American bison specimens for the U.S. National Museum. Just a few years earlier the bison herds of North America had been estimated in the millions.

Research shows that kids who read well do better in school and have a distinct advantage in developing communication and logical thinking skills. Avid readers also tend to be more engaged in the world around them.

Bethine Church was widow of Senator Frank Church and would have turned 91 on Feb. 19 2014, she died on Dec. 21, 2013 at her home in Boise. Bethine was one of Idaho’s sweethearts and a political powerhouse in her own right. Her contributions to Idaho and its institutions are numerous and include being the founder and chair of The Frank Church Institute at Boise State University.

Preparing students to excel in a fast-changing world is a concern for many nations. Some countries, including our own, have implemented a variety of education reforms over recent decades, only to see piddling results. Others, including Finland, South Korea and Poland, have realized major gains.

Each day, our lives are increasingly driven by the unseen force of data that is harnessed, organized and focused by complex sets of mathematical formulas known as algorithms. These Information Age tools play a huge role in everything from the safety and efficiency of our cars, to the kind of music we hear on the radio, to the split-second trading on Wall Street that drives our economy.

During World War II, a small group of British and American scientists worked tirelessly to defeat the German U-boats that were wreaking havoc on allied commerce. Armed with a dogged determination and a fair amount of mathematics, physics and probability theory, they forged the new field of operational research and forever changed how wars were fought and won.

In November of 1942, a U.S. cargo plane on a routine flight crashed into the Greenland ice cap, setting in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Four days after the crash, a B-17 searching for the missing cargo plane also went down in a blinding storm.

As the former Rome bureau chief for Catholic News Service, few understand the inner workings of the seat of Roman Catholicism better than John Thavis. His book reveals that Vatican City’s public image of power, hierarchical authority and reverence for the past often masks a disorganized, inept and uncertain organizational culture.

We all know we’re in wild animal habitat when we enter the campground. Leave food unattended and you might find yourself in a battle with a bear. But what if the battleground was your own backyard?

History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are the challenges faced by journalists of the day who risked everything to get to the front lines of battle.

Many of us can probably recall maps of the solar system from our school days that showed nine planets, from Mercury to Pluto, orbiting around the sun. All that changed in 2006, when the International Astronomical Association voted to demote Pluto from a real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf planet,” a move that stirred controversy around the world.

China has long been described as “inscrutable” – a country that is both exotic and difficult to understand. Today, the world’s most populous nation is a major player on the international stage. Yet, at times, China’s actions continue to baffle outsiders unfamiliar with the country’s long and rich history and its impact on all aspects of Chinese life.