Chivalry was the moral code observed by knights of the Middle Ages. It originated in the military practices of aristocratic French and German soldiers, but developed into an elaborate system governing many different aspects of knightly behaviour. It influenced the conduct of military campaigns and gave rise to the phenomenon of courtly love, the subject of much romance literature, as well as to the practice of heraldry. The remnants of the chivalric tradition linger in European culture even today. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Miri Rubin, Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History and Head of the School of History at Queen Mary, University of London; Matthew Strickland, Professor of Medieval History at the University of Glasgow and Laura Ashe, Associate Professor in English at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Worcester College.[In Our Time,BBC] link

Yale law professor Amy Chua touched a nerve with her 2011 bestseller "The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," about Chinese parenting styles. She's back with a new book, "The Triple Package," which claims some cultural groups outperform others based on three traits. She and her co-author, husband Jed Rubenfeld, join us in-studio to talk about their controversial new book. [KERA Think] link

America's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight

from KERA's Think
Are you on a diet? Have you dieted in the past? We'll examine our love affair with dieting this hour with Susan Yager, whose new book is "The Hundred Year Diet: America's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight" (Rodale Books, 2010).

Link

Untold Tales from America's Hidden History

from KERA's Think

Where did the country we know and love today really come from? We'll explore a few of the lesser-known stories of America's early history this hour with Kenneth C. Davis, whose new book is "A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America's Hidden History" (Harper, 2010).
Link

The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt

from KERA's Think
Who started the modern capitalist system that seems so normal to us today? We'll talk this hour with T.J. Stiles, winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Biography for his book "The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt" (Vintage, paperback, 2010). It is now out in trade paperback.

Link

Vanishing Words

from WNYC's Radio Lab

Agatha Christie’s cleverly plotted detective stories made her the 20th century’s best-selling fiction author—she sold billions of books throughout a career that spanned the 1920s to the 1970s. But her intricate novels may reveal more about the inner workings of the human mind than she intended: according to Dr. Ian Lancashire at the University of Toronto, the Queen of Crime left behind hidden clues to the real-life mysteries of human aging.

In today’s podcast, a look at what scientists uncover when they treat words like data. In Agatha’s case, an English professor makes a diagnosis decades after her death. And in a study involving 678 nuns—as Dr. Kelvin Lim and Dr. Serguei Pakhomov from the University of Minnesota explain—an unexpected find in a convent archive leads to a startling twist. In both examples, words serve as a window into aging brains…a window that may someday help pinpoint very early warning signs for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. We also hear from Sister Alberta Sheridan, a 94-year-old Nun Study participant.

link

early lessons

Early Lessons (American Radio Works)

The Perry Preschool Project is one of the most famous education experiments of the last 50 years. The study asked a question: Can preschool boost the IQ scores of poor African-American children and prevent them from failing in school? The surprising results are now challenging widely-held notions about what helps people succeed – in school, and in life.

link