The following audio files were selected from a larger group of 166 for the last week. The link to each podcast is at the highlighted topic and reached by double-clicking or ctrl-clicking it. All 22 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed can also be downloaded as a single 111 MB zip file here for four months.
ENCODE Project 18 mins – First half of program is devoted to description and discussion of the report concerning the true scope and use of junk DNA in management of gene activity. The second half deals with the Panamanian rain forest. Got to the link, locate the title, “ENCODE – functionality in the genome,” right-click “Media files scia_20120906-2032a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” to download.
Inuit Legends 54 mins – “Ancient stories depicting life and creation from traditional Inuit oral legends, retold, dramatized and recorded in Iqaluit, Nunavut. CBC Radio’s Legends Project compiles traditional oral stories, legends and histories of Canada’s Inuit and First Nations, gathered in communities across the country.” At the link locate the title, “Legends I: An Inuit Journey,” right-click “Download Legends I: An Inuit Journey” and select “Save Link As” to download.
Selkirk Canada 54 mins – “The War of 1812 wasn’t the only important event that year in nascent Canada. That fall, the Earl of Selkirk established a small colony in what would become southern Manitoba. IDEAS host Paul Kennedy tells the story of how that tiny settlement changed Canada, introducing new ideas of what the west could be, including an early version of a multicultural Canada.” At the link locate the title, “Selkirk’s Grant,” right-click “Download Selkirk’s Grant” and select “Save Link As” to download.
Prescription Shortages 33 mins – “There’s a critical shortage of essential prescription drugs in Canada. Hear from an anesthesiologist in Halifax and others who say the system is broken and the lives of patients are in danger.” At the link locate the title, “The Drug Shortage,” right-click “Media files whitecoat_20120903_71977.mp3” and select “Save Link As”.
Ghana Witches 24 mins – “Kati Whitaker gains rare access to Northern Ghana’s witch camps, where old women accused of witchcraft are banished” At the link find the title, “Docs: No Country For Old Women,” right-click “Download 11MB” and select “Save Link As” to download file.
Gaming to Survive 19 mins – “When game designer Jane McGonigal found herself bedridden and suicidal following a severe concussion, she had a fascinating idea for how to get better. She dove into the scientific research and created the healing game, SuperBetter. In this moving talk, McGonigal explains how a game can boost resilience — and promises to add 7.5 minutes to your life. Reality is broken, says Jane McGonigal, and we need to make it work more like a game. Her work shows us how.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Flexible Boat Oil Cleaner 14 mins – “When TED Senior Fellow Cesar Harada heard about the devastating effects of the BP Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, he quit his dream job and moved to New Orleans to develop a more efficient way to soak up the oil. He designed a highly maneuverable, flexible boat capable of cleaning large tracts quickly. But rather than turn a profit, he has opted to open-source the design.” The result or project is called Protei, an open-source sailing drone. At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Prescribing Health 16 mins – “Rebecca Onie asks audacious questions: What if waiting rooms were a place to improve daily health care? What if doctors could prescribe food, housing and heat in the winter? At TEDMED she describes Health Leads, an organization that does just that — and does it by building a volunteer base as elite and dedicated as a college sports team. Rebecca Onie is the founder of Health Leads, a program that connects patients to basic care and resources, such as food and housing, that are the root cause of many health problems.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Human Evolution 17 mins – “Throughout human evolution, multiple versions of humans co-existed. Could we be mid-upgrade now? At TEDx Summit, Juan Enriquez sweeps across time and space to bring us to the present moment — and shows how technology is revealing evidence that suggests rapid evolution may be under way. Juan Enriquez thinks and writes about profound changes that genomics will bring in business, technology, and society. His TED Book, “Homo Evolutis,” explores those changes.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Texting Value 5 mins – “When Nancy Lublin started texting teenagers to help with her social advocacy organization, what she found was shocking — they started texting back about their own problems, from bullying to depression to abuse. So she’s setting up a text-only crisis line, and the results might be even more important than she expected. Nancy Lublin is CEO and Chief Old Person at DoSomething.org, where she harnesses the extraordinary energy of teens and focuses it on issues they care passionately about.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Green Bronx Machine 14 mins – “A whirlwind of energy and ideas, Stephen Ritz is a teacher in New York’s tough South Bronx, where he and his kids grow lush gardens for food, greenery — and jobs. Just try to keep up with this New York treasure as he spins through the many, many ways there are to grow hope in a neighborhood many have written off, or in your own.” Mention is made towards the end of two videos, but only this YouTube item can be found; it’s good and will lead to a whole series on urban farming in NYC. At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Penis Anatomy 11 mins – “We’re not done with anatomy. We know a tremendous amount about genomics, proteomics and cell biology, but as Diane Kelly makes clear at TEDMED, there are basic facts about the human body we’re still learning. Case in point: How does the mammalian erection work? Diane Kelly studies vertebrate anatomy, in particular the connection between the design and the function of reproductive organs.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Brain Research 5 mins – “There have been remarkable advances in understanding the brain, but how do you actually study the neurons inside it? Using gorgeous imagery, neuroscientist and TED Fellow Carl Schoonover shows the tools that let us see inside our brains. Carl Schoonover is a neuroscientist and one of the founders of NeuWrite, a collaboration between writers and neuroscientist.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Rio de Janiero 12 mins – “Eduardo Paes is the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, a sprawling, complicated, beautiful city of 6.5 million [1.4 in favelas]. He shares four big ideas about leading Rio — and all cities — into the future, including bold (and do-able) infrastructure upgrades and how to make a city “smarter.” Mayor Eduardo Paes is on a mission to ensure that Rio’s renaissance creates a positive legacy for all its citizens.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Patent Trolls 6 mins – “Drew Curtis, the founder of fark.com, tells the story of how he fought a lawsuit from a company that had a patent, “…for the creation and distribution of news releases via email.” Along the way he shares some nutty statistics about the growing legal problem of frivolous patents.”At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Death Row Lessons 18 mins – “What happens before a murder? In looking for ways to reduce death penalty cases, David R. Dow realized that a surprising number of death row inmates had similar biographies. In this talk he proposes a bold plan, one that prevents murders in the first place. David R. Dow has defended over 100 death row inmates in 20 years.” At the link click “Download” button, then right-click “Download to Desktop(MP3)” and select “Save Link As”.
Rachael Carson 52 mins – “Growing up in Springdale, Penn., Rachel Carson was an avid reader who dreamed of becoming a writer. But a college biology teacher turned Carson’s interest to the sciences. Her work at the Bureau of Fisheries led to the 1951 bestseller, “The Sea Around Us,” which was the second of three books on ocean life. But then Carson learned a Long Island, N.Y., community was suing the federal government for spraying the insecticide DDT. Inspired by that case, Carson wrote the 1962 classic, “Silent Spring,” which launched the modern environmental movement. For this month’s Environmental Outlook: A new biography of the life and legacy of Rachel Carson.” The interview refers to a Slate article, ” Rachel Carson Didn’t Kill Millions of Africans” by William Souder . At the link you can only listen online, but the podcast is included in the zip file noted at the top of this page.
Bailouts 63 mins – “Neil Barofsky, author of Bailout and the former Special Inspector General for the TARP program, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book and the government bailouts by the Bush and Obama Administrations. Barofsky recounts what he learned about how Washington works and the incentives facing politicians and bureaucrats. His book and this interview are a workshop in public choice economics. Along the way he unravels some of the acronyms of the last few years including TARP, TALF, and HAMP. The conversation concludes with lessons learned by Barofsky and what might be done in the future to prevent the corruption and ineffectiveness of past bailouts.” At the link locate the tite, “Barofsky on Bailouts,” right-click “Barofskybailouts.mp3” and select “Save File As” to download.
Brain Functions 56 mins – “How nerve cells make decisions, how genes control behaviour, using light to interrogate neuronal circuits, anxiety attacks, deep brain stimulation to bust addiction, how the immune system can cause psychosis, the genetics of behavioural problems and hallucinogenic flashbacks: fact, or a mind playing tricks on you? This week we launch Naked Neuroscience, a new monthly podcast to open your mind…” At the link right-click “MP3” or “MP4” and select “Save Link As” to download.
Cybersecurity 60 mins “How is data sent safely online, and how can we keep prying eyes away? This week we investigate the basis of cybersecurity, ask if chip and pin is safe and talk to a team of hackers who attempt to penetrate websites legitimately. We also reveal the dangers of wifi as we find out what your mobile phone is revealing about you. Plus the genetic basis of movement, a new form of flexible battery and, in our Question of the Week, how one telephone line can have multiple uses!” At the link right-click “MP3” or “MP4” and select “Save Link As” to download.
Education Analytics 97 mins – A panel of 3 experts from the educational field, business and the government discuss defining and apply student performance data in ways that can improve individual learning and institutional efficiency. The link takes you to a downloaddable video presentation, but a smaller audio option is available by selecting the “Audio” tab, right-clicking “Download” and selecting “Save Link As”.
Immigration Workforce and Policy 84 mins – A panel of 5 experts from the government, business and unions present an excellent discussion of the U.S. immigration workforce and types of changes needed to fairly cope with related problems at the Brookings Institute. The link takes you to a downloadable video presentation, but a smaller audio option is available by selecting the “Audio” tab, right-clicking “Download” and selecting “Save Link As”.
Over 100 feeds are used to prepare this weekly blog, harvested with Feedreader3. The feeds are available as an opm file at Google Docs. A PDF of feeds is also available there. Free Commander is used to compare old and new downloads to remove duplicates each week. MP3SpeedChanger is applied to change playback speed of multiple files as a batch. A speed listening background article is here. Sixty-four podcasts for 2010 and earlier at 1.5x are listed alphabetically in this PDF and can be downloaded in two sections as zip files, Part 1 and Part 2, each holding about 350 MB. For 2011 an alphabetical PDF list of 184 podcasts at 1.5x is available, and the actual files can be downloaded in five segments: Part 1 to 5 (Part 1 – 276 MB; P2 – 291 MB; P3 – 284; P4 – 153 MB, and P5 – 256 MB). A similar list and downloads for 362 podcasts for Jan-Jun 2012 is here.Those podcasts are grouped into eight zipped files for easier downloading. Multiple parts are used due to a 300MB limit on file size uploads. A similar group for the last half of 2012 will be available in Jan 2013. A commenter recommended this $1.99 iPhone/iPad app for mobile devices; leave a comment if you try it. Please leave a comment if you have problems with the links and downloads.
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Media Mining Digest 