Fibonacci's 'Numbers': The Man Behind the Math 

"Though generations of schoolchildren have cursed arithmetic, the world was a much more inconvenient place without it. Before the advent of modern arithmetic in the 13th century, basic calculations required a physical abacus."

The Man Of Numbers: In Search Of Leonardo Fibonacci

"But then came a young Italian mathematician named Leonardo da Pisa — no relation to da Vinci — who, in 1202, published a book titled Liber Abaci. That's Latin for 'Book of Calculation.'"

Brain Bugs

"In Brain Bugs: How the Brain's Flaws Shape Our Lives, Buonomano explains how and why our brains sometimes fail us when we try to do things like remember long lists of information, add large numbers in our heads or make long-term decisions. He tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies that the brain's weaknesses and strengths have evolved over thousands of years, based on what our ancestors needed — and didn't need — to survive."

Mediterraneans Abandon Their Famous Diet

It is hard to believe that Italians are as overweight as this segment indicates. I saw very few overweight, and virtually no obese, Italians during my 10 days in May.

The Troubled History of the Supermarket Tomato

"Supermarket tomatoes may look delicious — smooth, red and unblemished — but for the most part, they taste like nothing at all."

Privatizing Outer Space

"Hollywood history is littered with cautionary tales about corporate takeovers of outer space, but in 2001: A Space Odyssey, things looked oddly familiar: Interstellar travelers flew Pan Am and stayed in Hilton hotels."

T-Minus One Last Time For America's Spaceship

The Best Of The Louvre, On A Single Canvas by Samuel Morse

G.R.R. Martin's Complex Epic For An Ambivalent Age

by Lev Grossman