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The Quest to Live Forever

There may be but two certainties in life—death and taxes—but of those two, death is most frightening. Humans hate the fact of death, and so we constantly tell ourselves stories to avoid its inevitability. According to the philosopher Stephen Cave, these stories about a god, a nation, a family, or an art help us manage the terror of our own demise. They’ve also fueled the expansion of civilization for eons. Wednesday, Cave joins us to explain how our unique and implacable yearning for immortality makes us human.

Stephen Cave writes regularly for the Financial Times, and has also written for the New York Times, the Guardian, Wired and others. His new book is called Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How It Drives Civilization [Amazon|Indiebound].

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.