On today’s episode of Modern Notion, we visit the salon in New York that originated Brazilian waxing. Jonice Padilha, one of the seven sisters behind Manhattan’s J Sisters salon, speaks to reporter Renee Gross about how the salon came up with the idea of taking it all off. From there, the trend took off—you’ll have to listen to find out why.

Music this hour:

• “Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel
• “What True Self? Feels Bogus, Let’s Watch Jason X” by Chris Zabriskie, from the album Reappear

What if we looked at the human body as a landscape, and mapped its features using a cartographer’s eye? That’s what Dr. Gavin Francis does in his new book, Adventures in Human Being: A Grand Tour from the Cranium to the Calcaneum (Basic Books, October 2015). On this episode of Modern Notion we dive into some of the case studies from Dr. Francis’s book, from electro-shock therapy to vertigo.

Music this hour:

• “Oceanica” by Avaren, from the album For Others’ Use
• “Theme S” by Steve Combs & Delta Is, from the album Themes (Vol. 1)

Our guest on today’s (new! improved! weekly!) Modern Notion is Gordon Edgar, the longtime cheesemonger at Rainbow Cooperative Grocery in San Francisco. Gordon turns his attention to a specific kind of cheese in his new book, Cheddar: A Journey to the Heart of America’s Most Iconic Cheese (Chelsea Green, October 2015). In the midst of a cheese renaissance, Gordon wants to understand cheddar’s place in American culture.

Music this hour:

• “Chicken and Cheese 2 (Foot Village cover)” by Tussle

Listen for a quick update on what’s happening at Modern Notion.

On today’s show, we’re talking with author Simon Read about Winston Churchill—but probably not the Winston Churchill you already know. In his book, Winston Churchill Reporting: Adventures of a Young War Correspondent (Da Capo Press, October 2015), Read explores the five years Churchill spent as a war correspondent, which took him around the world, from Cuba to Sudan. In those five years, Churchill had experiences that impacted his later life as a world leader, and he solidified his feelings that he was destined for greatness.

Music this hour:

• “get out” by Jahzzar, from the album Sketches
• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

On today’s show, our guest is Dave Goulson, a professor of biological sciences and the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in the UK. Goulson recently wrote a memoir of sorts about a farm he bought in France, called A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm (Picador, April 2015). For the last decade, Goulson has been turning the farm into a bug-friendly wildflower meadow, and along the way he’s recorded what species live there and conducted experiments on them, too.

Music this hour:

• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within
• “Take Me Higher” by Jahzzar, from the album Tumbling Dishes Like Old-Man’s Wishes
• “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

On today’s episode of Modern Notion Daily, our guest is David Talbot, the former CEO and editor-in-chief of Salon.com. Talbot has written a new book, The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government (Harper, October 2015). Dulles was the director of the CIA until President John F. Kennedy fired him; and now there’s evidence to suggest that Dulles might have been behind the plot to kill the president. But perhaps even more persistent in Dulles’s legacy is his role in creating a “deep government,” operating outside the bounds of democracy within our country.

Music this hour:

• “Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel
• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within
• “eCommerce” by BoxCat Games, from the album Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack

Jamie Holmes is our guest today, talking about his new book Nonsense: The Power of Not Knowing (Crown, October 2015). Holmes argues that embracing ambiguity can help us lead more productive and happier lives. Also on the show, reporter Lila Cherneff visits a zebrafish lab on Mount Desert Island in Maine to learn about the science of resilience. Plus, contributing editor Mark Hay tells an alternate history of the dodo bird.

Music this hour:

• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within
• “Take Me Higher” by Jahzzar, from the album Tumbling Dishes Like Old-Man’s Wishes

On today’s show, novelist and English professor Eileen Pollack is discussing her new book, The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club (Beacon Press, September 2015). Pollack graduated from Yale with a bachelor’s degree in physics, but she believes that a lack of encouragement, and even active discouragement, led her to pursue a career in the humanities instead of male-dominated STEM fields. This book is a response to Larry Summers’s famous comments about women in science, urging us as a society to foster women’s increased participation in STEM.

Music this hour:

• “Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel
• “Flutter” by Jahzzar, from the album Onus
• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within

On today’s show, our guest is Clint Emerson, author of 100 Deadly Skills: The SEAL Operative’s Guide to Eluding Pursuers, Evading Capture, and Surviving Any Dangerous Situation (Touchstone, October 2015). Emerson uses his experiences a Navy SEAL to give tips on how to stay ahead of “the bad guys”—mostly by using “bad guy” tactics. He gives detailed instructions on how to make an improvised Taser with a disposable, plus many other ways to be prepared for the worst. Later in the hour, well, we hear about the worst: when several severed feet washed up on the shores of the Salish Sea. (That’s from contributing editor Mark Hay.)

Music this hour:

• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within“
• “Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel
• “Oceanica” by Avaren, from the album For Others’ Use
• “2.2.05” by BOPD, from the album 2005 Stayin Alive InstruMentals

On today’s episode of Modern Notion Daily, our guest is Wayne Wiegand, author of Part of Our Lives: A People’s History of the American Public Library (Oxford University Press, October 2015). Wiegand argues that libraries are about much more than books: they’re a community meeting place. And to answer the question in the headline: they’re not going anywhere.

Music this hour:

• “Kelli’s Number” by U.S. Army Blues, from the album Live at Blues Alley
• “Soldiertype (militarised)” by Ketsa, from the album What’s Without’s Within“
• Forgiven Not Forgotten” by Jahzzar, from the album Kuddelmuddel