Gal Beckerman on THE QUIET BEFORE: ON THE UNEXPECTED ORIGINS OF RADICAL IDEAS
\u201cI'm writing about group creativity, which is not something we often do \u2026\xa0what's interesting to me is what happens in the friction between people's minds through conversations,\xa0through discussion,\xa0through the exchange of ideas,\xa0through debate,\xa0through sort of egging one another on \u2026 bringing about any idea that's going to sort of undermine the nature of reality as we know it.\u201d Gal Beckerman of\xa0The Atlantic\xa0joins us on the show to talk about his fascinating new book,\xa0The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas, including the story behind the Ph.D. he earned in order to write it, how he found the people who drive his narrative from 17th-century France to present-day Minneapolis, how technology helps (or hurts) the exchange of ideas, and so much more.
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Featured Books:
The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas\xa0by Gal Beckerman
Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63\xa0by Taylor Branch
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65\xa0by Taylor Branch
At Canaan\u2019s Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68\xa0by Taylor Branch
King Leopold\u2019s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa\xa0by Adam Hochschild
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Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional bonus episodes on Saturdays.)