KFAI's MinneCulture Presents

Your Brain on Stories  from Battery Radio ~ From infancy to old age, nursery rhymes to novels, finger puppets to stage and screen, our lives are immersed in stories . Whether it's Hamlet or Han Solo, a story casts an irresistible spell over all of us. Why? Traditionally, scholars of literature find the answer in story structure, characters, and plot lines. But recently, storytelling has come under the gaze of anthropologists , cognitive scientists, and evolutionary psychologists. They seem to believe the answer is found in our evolution . These two installments of Your Brain on Stories examine how both fiction and non-fiction storytelling may have given early humans a very critical evolutionary advantage.

Old School from Hearing Voices ~ A back to school special and reminder of what school USED to sound like. Featuring work from producers Hillary Frank , Richard Paul, Katie Davis, and others about the joys, fears, boredom, and excitement of a regular school day from yesteryear. We'll also hear a from commencement speech Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich . Plus poetry from Taylor Mali, Meryn Cadell , Jelani, alongside some great  music  --  it's educational!