Shakespeare behind bars, the (not-so) scientific art of manifesting your dreams, and more of our greatest hits

William Shakespeare said that "brevity is the soul of wit," so we'll try to keep this short. 

Whether it's in your high school English class or one of the many Shakespeare-inspired 90s rom-coms (10 Things I Hate About You, anybody?), most of us have encountered Shakespeare in some form or another. 

Another place you can find the Bard? California's Centinela State Prison. The podcast Where There's a Will: Finding Shakespeare tells us about how performing Shakespeare can be transformative for incarcerated individuals.

Also: in 1986, NASA's space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all of its seven crew members. Among them was Christa McAuliffe, a social studies teacher who would have been the first private citizen in space. 

Christa was one of 10 finalists from Ronald Reagan's "Teacher in Space" project. Chosen from more than 10,000 teacher applicants, the finalists participated in weeks of rigorous testing and training. NASA called it "space camp," but the process was far from fun and games. 

In Slate's One Year: 1986, we hear about that intense experience from the former candidates themselves.

All that and more, this week on Podcast Playlist.

The Secret: "Rhonda Byrne's The Secret sold millions of copies based on a simple premise: All of science is fake and the only reason anything ever happens is because people manifest it by communicating with the universe."

Where There's a Will: "Host Barry Edelstein takes us into California's Centinela State Prison for a one-of-a-kind production of Shakespeare's English history plays performed by incarcerated individuals."

One Year: 1986: "This week, Evan Chung tells the story of the American teachers who competed for an unprecedented prize: a spot on the January 1986 launch of the space shuttle Challenger. Three of the finalists describe the grueling selection process and the tragedy that killed one of their own."

Missing and Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? "Reporter Connie Walker meets face to face with the person who sent her a tip about Alberta Williams' unsolved murder. Find out why they're breaking their silence, and meet the sister who's still haunted by vivid memories of Alberta's disappearance."

Future Perfect: "Billions of dollars are donated every year from the fortunes of people who've died but are using their wills to influence our world from beyond the grave. Some of these zombie donors left instructions that are racist, classist, or just silly. So how do we free ourselves from the grip of the undead?"

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For more great podcasts, check out CBC's podcast portal, and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.