"Adam Steltzner is on a hunt for the truth. The engineer led the Entry, Descent, and Landing team on the Mars Curiosity Rover project, and tasked with delivering a rover the size of a small car safely to the Martian surface, decided that the best solution for final descent was a flying rocket crane. It seems crazy, but it was the right kind of crazy."

"Ira Glass is a writer, producer, storyteller, performer, and a familiar voice. His show This American Life has set the contemporary standard of nonfiction radio shows, and has influenced and inspired countless others to grab a mic and give podcasting a try."

"For years Mike Rowe has been traveling across the country to meet people whose laborious, often thankless work keeps the world moving forward. And across different shows and different television networks, what has remained consistent is Mike’s sincere curiosity and willingness to learn."

"By any measure Marc Maron has had a banner year. The comedian talked with President Obama on his podcast, his television show on IFC completed it’s third season and was renewed for another, and he has a new standup special premiering in just a few days. Must feel good, right?"

"Writing with a Blackwing is like swabbing a pad of butter across warm toast. It glides. The Palomino Blackwing 602 is my favorite pencil."

"Mary Roach wants to you to be uncomfortable, but intrigued. Her books examine the unexpected, curious minutiae of managing the human body and the science of how we deal with our own limitations."

"There comes a time in your life when you realize that you are a fairly mediocre human being. You can try to rectify some aspects of the situation—exercise or whatever—but there is little you can actually do to outrun your own unremarkableness. (You can’t outrun it because you’re out of shape.)"