Focus

Focus, or Focus 580, was WILL Radio's flagship talk program from 1981 until 2014. David Inge was the host from 1981 until his retirement in 2012. Always engaging, the program acted as a resource for citizens to directly question politicians and candidates as well as keep up on the arts, science, health, and even the latest from well-known novelists.

The Focus archive below offers thousands of great interviews and serves as a time capsule and a great resource for researchers and those just curious about how influential people spoke of important topics as they were happening.

Heaven’s Touch: From Killer Stars to the Seeds of Life, How We Are Connected to the Universe

Guest: James B. Kaler, Ph.D.

We may feel isolated from the universe on a planet so small. But, says astronomer James Kaler, we are more connected to our corner of existence than we think. Today on Focus, he joins us to talk about his new book Heaven's Touch, in which he explores the variety of ways that the universe affects events on our own planet, from the gravitational effects of Jupiter to solar flares to deep-space cosmic rays.

Naming Nature: The Clash Between Instinct and Science

Guest: Carol Kaesuk Yoon, Ph.D.

Today on Focus, we'll explore the historical tension between evolutionary biology and taxonomy with biologist Carol Kaesuk Yoon. As taxonomy modernized and moved into the laboratory, it began to yield results that counteracted human instinct. In fact, argues Yoon, by giving taxonomists greater scientific authority, we've contributed to our own alienation from nature.

Image of the Trotsky Downfall of a Revolutionary book cover

Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary

An interview with Bertrand M. Patenaude, Ph.D., Research Fellow, Hoover Institution Library and Archives and Lecturer, Stanford University, and author of the book Trotsky: Downfall of a Revolutionary