Every 11-year old goes through this, right? Your teacher places a brown wizard's cap your head, and the hat tells you what your defining characteristic is. You are brave, or loyal, or ambitious, or intellectual. Plus, your whole school is sorted into personality types. If that were real life, parents and educators would be horrified -- but it's a fantasy that Harry Potter fans have thought about for years. James Madison University professor Elisabeth Gumnior, and Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile of the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text weigh in on the enduring appeal of the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Also featuring Kate Essig and Martin Cahill.
This is part four in a six-part series on magic and fantasy.
Mike Pesca with two things you needs to know, and one you don't: 1) The vanishing giraffe population; 2) Paris tries to slow smog; 3) Brazil's bizarre scheme to compensate wronged tourists.
0 Min
Dec 8, 2016
Slate's Dana Stevens and Troy Patterson discuss Shutter Island. WARNING: This podcast is meant to be heard AFTER you've seen the movie.
25 Min
Feb 18, 2010
The new Phantom 4 drone from DJI boasts game-changing features that can sense and avoid obstacles, allowing even the worst of pilots to avoid crashing into things ...and people. The Wall Street Journal's personal tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler has the review.
7 Min
Mar 3, 2016