A World of Ideas
A series of half-hour interviews exploring the ideas and values shaping our future. A World of Ideas with Bill Moyers aired in 1988 and 1990 and featured scientists, writers, artists, philosophers, historians – some well-known but most never before seen on television – who shared their unique insights on a variety of important issues. Bill Moyers engages with these figures – “people with ideas and vision and insight” (The New York Times) and offers thought-provoking perspectives on the human condition that are both uniquely personal and relevant. (1988, 1990)
EXPLORE THE SERIES
- October 3, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe renowned ethicist talks about breaking and keeping the public trust.
- October 5, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe liberal religious leader talks about why even the faithful should cultivate doubts, how to question our virtues, and what we'd learn from an evening with Jerry Falwell.
- October 6, 1988 | A World of IdeasOn this episode of World of Ideas, Bill Moyers talks with the physician-philosopher about the questions science can't answer, including the idea of soul.
- October 7, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe physician and philosopher on pain, ease of suffering, and what it means to end a life.
- October 10, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe political philosopher talks about the the power of central government, privatization of government services, Reaganism, and the meaning of collective identity.
- October 11, 1988 | A World of IdeasIn this 1988 interview, the author discusses how the best writers are a nuisance to society, always preferring the uncomfortable truth to the comfortable lie.
- October 12, 1988 | Updated March 30, 2015 | A World of IdeasThe writer and professor discusses philosophies of education, what makes some schools good and some teachers memorable, and her mother's extraordinary journey to a career as a child psychoanalyst.
- October 13, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe economist and sociologist on the “economic miracle” of East Asia, and what it reveals about the state of our democracy and the relationship of character to capitalism.
- October 14, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe political scientist and historian on politics, parties, and leadership.
- October 17, 1988In this classic interview, Isaac Asimov explains that he is not an enemy of religion, how scientists are among the most moral people he knows and the urgent need to check population growth.
- October 18, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe anthropologist discusses gender roles in modern society and what happens when men and women socialized for different spheres have to adapt to sharing a workplace.
- October 19, 1988 | A World of IdeasThe historian and early refugee from Hungarian communism on the government's encroachment on public and private life.
- October 20, 1988Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson on blackness and how his characters find nobility in struggle.
- October 21, 1988 | A World of IdeasOne scientist calls the writer the greatest explainer of the age. In this second part, Bill Moyers talked to Dr. Asimov about science, education and the universe.
- October 24, 1988 | Updated March 31, 2015 | A World of IdeasThe doctor and child researcher is worried about the way the marketplace is treating families.