Fear Factors

Corey Robin looks at the long relationship between fear and politics in Fear: The History of a Political Idea. For most runners, marathons are the ultimate test of strength and endurance. But Dean Karnazes tells us about his quest to push those limits with ultra marathons: races of 50 or 100 miles in extreme conditions. Then, Gareth Armstrong tells us about his one-man show, Shylock—the story of The Merchant of Venice told from the point of view of Shylock’s best friend Tubal. And Gene Wilder makes sense of the highs and lows of his life in his new memoir Kiss Me Like a Stranger.

» More on today's Listen to This pick