To the Best of Our Knowledge: Teen Angst

In this hour, biologist and science writer David Bainbridge tells Steve Paulson that a prolonged adolescence is unique to humans and one of our greatest evolutionary advantages. Bainbridge's book is Teenagers: A Natural History.

Next, Frank Warren is the founder of the blog PostSecret and author of the companion books A Lifetime of Secrets and My Secret. He tells Anne Strainchamps how the blog works, and that he treasures the postcards he receives. We also hear a montage of sample postcards.

Then, Rebecca Walker is the daughter of celebrated novelist Alice Walker and a white Jewish father. Rebecca is the author of memoirs called Baby Love and Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of A Changing Self. She talks with Steve Paulson about her unconventional upbringing and how having a child of her own changed her feelings about it.

After that, Eugene Mirman is an indie comic and the author of an outlandish self-help send-up called The Will to Whatevs. He tells Jim Fleming that school was horrible for him and gave rise to his nerd humor.


Finally, Laura Miller is a literary critic at Salon dot com and the author of The Magician's Book. She tells Anne Strainchamps why she thinks Stephanie Meyers' Twilight books are such a phenomenal success with young women, even though the lead female character is so lacking in gifts or accomplishments. [Broadcast Date: January 27, 2010]