Tom Ashbrook, host of the radio talk show “On Point”, conducted a terrific interview today with Death and the Powers composer Tod Machover and director Diane Paulus. The conversation delved into whether today’s technology has transformed the age-old human desire to conquer death into a quest that seems plausible and possibly even attainable in the near future. Machover and Paulus spoke about how the opera’s story – a creation myth re-enacted by robots inhabiting a future in which there are no humans – provides a meditation on the most fundamental human questions. What is life? How is our spirit connected to our mortal bodies? How do we connect with one another? What remains of us when our bodies are gone?

Listen here for a fascinating hour!