Astrophysicist Michael Salamon, who works at NASA's Universe Division, says Walt Whitman –- and a lot of other poets -- misunderstood the beauty of the heavens. Give him a few minutes with Whitman, Salamon says, and the poet would have some revising to do. Produced by

Trombonist J. Walter Hawkes, who now plays with Norah Jones, almost quit music. He was going to pursue a more regular-guy path in computer programming. But then a horrible accident changed his life path. Produced by Lu Olkowski.

A creative community called LVHRD, pronounced "live hard," hosts Iron Chef-like contests for creative professionals.Lu Olkowskiattended a special LVHRD challenge: two teams of landscape architects going head to head, designing in cheese.

People often depict scientists as coldly rational. Physicist Michael Salamon, who works at NASA's Universe Division, takes issue with that. He explains why Walt Whitman misunderstood the beauty of the universe, and why Maxwell's Equations are like a sexual experience. Produced by Lu Olkowski.

Did you ever wonder who decides the color of your shampoo bottle? As part of our on-going series about creativity and science, Lu Olkowski talks with a polymer chemist who creates pigment formulas for plastics at the Engelhard Corporation.

Don Ingber is a cell biologist from Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital. One day he saw a piece of modern sculpture and—Eureka!-he was inspired to make a major breakthrough in biology. Lu Olkowski reports on the unlikely epiphany.

Fisher-Price called the PXL-2000 "the first camcorder for kids." It turned out to be the only one: children weren't interested. But, as Lu Olkowski found out, some aspiring film directors were.

The entertainment industry demands that performers have flawless, youthful, and unlined faces. Actress and teacher Heather Rashe just finished her dissertation about actresses and their anxieties about aging. She told Lu Olkowski about what’s at stake for women who perform in front of a camera.

A beautifully designed tractor is the kind of farm equipment that’s guaranteed to induce childlike awe in even the slickest city dweller. Lu Olkowski visited a few farmers in upstate New York and asked them why these machines inspire so much devotion. 

One of the best known personality tests is the Thematic Apperception Test, which asks patients to imagine a story based on a picture of an ambiguous scene. The "TAT" is undergoing its biggest overhaul since its creation 70 years ago, which means psychologists are having to think deeply about ...

First-time director Zana Briski’s documentary Born into Brothels is short-listed for this year’s Oscars. A few years ago Briski, a photographer, found herself giving photography lessons to children living in the brothels of Calcutta’s red light district. She told Lu Olkowski about the challenges of trying to change people’s lives ...

A beautifully designed tractor is the kind of farm equipment that’s guaranteed to induce childlike awe in even the slickest city dweller. Lu Olkowski visited a few farmers in upstate New York and asked them why these machines inspire so much devotion. 

In 1985 photographer Andrea Modica had taken a teaching job in upstate New York when she first met Barbara who was six years old. She continued to photograph Barbara for the next 16 years. Produced by Lu Olkowski.

Fisher Price called the PXL-2000 “the first camcorder for kids.” It also turned out to be the only one. Children weren’t interested, but some directors were.

(Originally aired: July 4, 2002)

Fisher Price called the PXL-2000 “the first camcorder for kids." It also turned out to be the only one. Children weren’t interested, but some directors were. 

Lu Olkowski looks at an artist and amateur scientist who believes we're sending the wrong messages to extraterrestrials.

(Originally aired: January 10, 2002)

In 1985 photographer Andrea Modica had taken a teaching job in upstate New York when she first met Barbara who was 6 years old. She continued to photograph Barbara for the next 16 years.

Lu Olkowski looks at an artist and amateur scientist who believes we're sending the wrong messages to extraterrestrials.