The Extension 720 Podcast from 720 WGN

Harvard geneticist George Church explains how synthetic biology has and will continue to reinvent nature and ourselves.

Don Share, Elise Paschen, and Christina Pugh celebrate the art, from Auden to Yeats, and all in between.

Author Will Schwalbe explains how he grew closer to his terminally ill mother through shared reading.

Melanie Kirkpatrick, author of "Escape From North Korea", describes the harrowing, liberating departure citizens make from the oppressive communist regime.

African American authors Ron Christie ("Blackwards") & Oliver McGee ("How I Became a Black Republican in the Age of Obama) explain their opposition to Obama.

The President's career thus far is scrutinized by conservative authors Charles Kesler & Richard Miniter and progressive lobbyist Mike Noonan.

Chris Robling, Charles Lipson, & Tracey B. Strong analyze the event and share their insight into which candidate won the initial debate.

" Solar Cataclysm" author Lawrence Joseph looks at the likelihood of a solar blast destroying our electrical grids and whether the proper safeguards are in place.

Prof. of Neuroscience and author of "The Universal Sense," Seth Horowitz explains how the mind organizes & is impacted by our fastest sense.

One of Extension 720's favorite guests looks at Obama's plan for the US & illustrates what a post-American world would look like in his book "After America."

Sci-fi writers Gary Wolfe & William Shunn delve into popular topics of the genre, from other worlds & species to time travel and the meaning of it all.

Master linguist Gary Saul Morson cites & examines succinct wisdom on life, love, politics, war, money, sin, stupidity & more.

Former Navy Seal Chuck Pfarrer discusses his book "Seal Target Geronimo" which gives his account of the military operation that resulted in the death of the notorious terrorist.

Christian Wolmar looks at how railroads made America what it is today and how they dominated the U.S. landscape for over 100 years in his book "The Great Railroad Revolution."

Authors Yuval Taylor and Jake Austen describe the tumultuous history of black minstrelsy as told in their new book.