The following audio files were selected from a larger group of 139 for the last week. The link to each podcast is at the highlighted topic and reached by double-clicking or ctrl-clicking the topic. All 24 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed can also be downloaded as a single 124 MB zip file here for four months (vs 473 MB, below). Accumulations of these are discussed at the end of this episode.
Mogadishu 23 mins – “Andrew Harding joins Mohamed Ahmed Noor who, by request of the president, has returned with his wife and family from a life in London to try and clean up Mogadishu.” At the link locate the title, “Docs: The Mayor of Mogadishu,” right-click “Download 11MB” and select “Save Link As.”
Prison Radio 23 mins – “Phil Maguire, Chief Executive of the Prison Radio Association (PRA), reports on the launch of Rise Maximum Radio, based inside Trinidad and Tobago’s Maximum Security Prison and hears this remarkable radio station’s first moments on-air.” At the link locate the title, “Docs: Reality Radio,” right-click “Download 11MB” and select “Save Link As.”
Homeless Kids 52 mins – “A look at youth homelessness across the United States, and why growing numbers of teens are ending up alone on the streets. Diane and[3] guests discuss efforts to provide them shelter — and a future.” You can listen online and view a transcript, but not download the program; however, it’s included with the zipped collection at the top of this edition.
US Oil Production 51 mins – “According to the International Energy Agency U.S. oil and gas production will exceed that of Saudi Arabia in less than seven years. The boom in shale oil extraction is behind this remarkable turnaround. Increased production will spur job growth in some states and will likely lead to an overall improvement in the balance of trade, and it could also set the stage for geopolitical shifts. However, analysts caution the increase won’t usher in the much touted goal of energy independence, nor is it likely to fully cushion us from price volatility. There are environmental concerns as well. Please join us to discuss the implications of stepped up U.S. oil production.” (Four guests plus Diane Rehm) You can listen online and view a transcript, but not download the program; however, it’s included with the zipped collection at the top of this edition.
Gates Foundation 57 mins – “Through stories of creating meaningful impact around the world, Melinda Gates explains how the Gates Foundation seeks to solve global challenges through innovation in the areas of health and education. Gates also shares life experiences and insights gained on working with others, pursuing life passions, and being committed to volunteerism.” At the link click the “Podcast” button, click “Download MP3” and and select “Save Link As.”
Pluripotent Stem Cells 99 mins – During the 206th episode of a weekly virology program the hosts, Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, Dickson Despommier, and Kathy Spindler “…discuss how the innate immune response to viral infection influences the production of pluripotent stem cells, and the diverse mobilome of giant viruses.” Us outsiders learn as much from the host asides as the main discussion. At the link follow the download instruction to save the file and save by selecting “Save Link As.”
Teflon History 15 mins – “Teflon is never far from reach, whether you realize it or not. Beyond its best-known application—as a non-stick coating for pots and pans—Teflon is also found in everything from airplane parts to jacket fabrics. With concerns about the safety of Teflon exposure on the rise, today we give this ubiquitous material a closer look. First, producer Amy Kraft peruses CHF’s oral history archives to learn about Teflon’s origins—including its stint as a top military secret during WWII. Then Distillations‘ associate producer Michal Meyer sits down with our very own Bob Kenworthy to discuss his days marketing the material as a DuPont employee, as well as his interpretation of the risks of Teflon exposure.” At the lin right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Drug Tests 12 mins – “When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world — except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark. In this impassioned talk, Ben Goldacre explains why these unreported instances of negative data are especially misleading and dangerous. Ben Goldacre unpicks dodgy scientific claims made by scaremongering journalists, dubious government reports, pharmaceutical corporations, PR companies and quacks.” At the link click “Download,” right-click “Download to Desktop” and select “Save File As.”
Cartilage Regeneration 9 mins – “Articular cartilage was predicted to be one of the first tissues to successfully be regenerated, but this proved incorrect. In contrast, bone (but also vasculature and cardiac tissues) has seen numerous successful reparative approaches, despite consisting of multiple cell and tissue types and, thus, possessing more complex design requirements. Here, we use bone-regeneration successes to highlight cartilage-regeneration challenges: such as selecting appropriate cell sources and scaffolds, creating biomechanically suitable tissues, and integrating to native tissue. We also discuss technologies that can address the hurdles of engineering a tissue possessing mechanical properties that are unmatched in human-made materials and functioning in environments unfavorable to neotissue growth.” At the link right-click “Download the Interview” and select “Save Link As.” A transcript of the interview is here.
UV Irradiation of Blood 15mins – In this episode of Quackcast Dr Mark A Crislip talks about a decades-old practice that died down, but survived and is still being applied. He explains why it is unlikely to be of much value. At the link right-click “Podcast” and select “Save Link As” to download the audio file.
Immune System Scams 15 mins – In this episode of Quackcast Dr Mark A Crislip discusses how the immune system works and why many over-the-counter remedies have little value. At the link right-click “Podcast” and select “Save Link As” to download the file.
Swedish Broadband Project 30 mins – “For this week’s Community Broadband Bits, we venture outside the U.S. to interview Benoit Felten of Diffraction Analysis about the Stokab [40-year-old] muni fiber network in Stockholm, Sweden. Stokab appears to be the most successful open access fiber network in the world [400,000 users]. Benoit has just published a case study of Stokab and is an expert on broadband networks around the planet. Our discussion covers how Stokab was built and what lessons it has for other cities. Because Stokab was started so long ago, other local governments will find they cannot simply duplicate it — times have changed. Benoit also writes regularly at Fiberevolution and can be found on twitter @fiberguy.” At the link locate the title, “Community Broadband Bits 21 – Benoit Felten on Stokab,” right-click “comm-bb-bits-podcast21-benoit-felten-stokab.mp3” near “Media Files” and select “Save Link As” to download the file.
Family Story Play 15 mins -“Over half of the grandparents in North America live over 200 miles from their grandchildren, but today’s communication tools fail for the young and old. In this talk Jofish Kaye discusses a large-scale qualitative study of families in the San Francisco Bay Area, and talks about the implications of that study for video-based communication in the future. In particular he describes Family Story Play and StoryVisit developed in conjunction with Sesame Workshop designed for children ages 3-5 and their adult loved ones. His results show that connected reading can dramatically improve distant family members’ sense of family togetherness, and suggest some interesting directions for future work around technology, video-chat, and love.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Healthcare Mobile Tech 21 mins- “Mobile and home-based technologies could help stretch limited funds and create sustainable healthcare for all. That’s the assertion of Eric Dishman, director of health innovation at Intel, in this university podcast. Estimating that there is a $500 billion opportunity for health IT in developing markets, particularly via non-governmental organizations, he argues that using technology strategically could help developing countries avoid the inefficient, high-cost, error-prone infrastructure of the United States. Dishman spoke at the USRio+2.0 Conference, hosted by the Stanford Graduate School of Business.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Disaster Gas Prices 65 mins – “Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the gas shortage following Hurricane Sandy and John Locke’s view of the just price. Drawing on a short, obscure essay of Locke’s titled “Venditio,” Munger explores Locke’s views on markets, prices, and morality.” At the link locate the title, “Munger on John Locke, Prices, and Hurricane Sandy,” right click on “MungerLocke.mp3” under “Media Files” and select”Save Link As” to download.
International Criminal Court 30 mins – “The International Criminal Court just turned ten. In a decade, all its cases have been Africa-based, and it has only convicted one person. This week’s Bridges with Africa asks whether the court has delivered justice for Africa and a whole lot more. Listen to the full show by clicking on the play button immediately below. For some highlights, click on the clips that follow.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” to download a file.
Google Hangouts 47 mins – This School of Podcasting episode contains a few items at the start before an interview about using Google Hangout: “A Google Hangout is an online meeting that can have up to 10 people participating at a time. A Google event is a notice of something (meeting, etc) at a certain date and time. Hangouts that are “On Air” are streamed live to whoever wants to watch. The best thing is they are free to use…Today we talk with Ray Ortega who does the Podcasters Roundtable along with the Podcaster’s Studio. Ray provided some tips on the “behind the scenes of the Podcasters Roundtable.” 1. Google Hangout is an online meeting between (up to) 10 people. When these are “On Air” they can be seen by everyone as they are streamed live. 2. You want to go into your settings and change the audio setting from “Voice” to “Studio” which will improve the audio quality. 3. The invitation to the event is an invitation to watch. 4. The invitation to the Hangout is an invitation to participate in the Hang Out 5. When a Hangout is happening, it’s not streaming until you click on “Broadcasting” button. 6. When its over the recording of your hangout is available for download. You can download that video and extract the audio out of the video.” At the link scroll to the bottom of the page, right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Signal Program 15 mins – “What if you could witness a crime taking place from space, and even step in to prevent it? A group of researchers at Harvard’s Humanitarian Initiative are trying to do exactly that. As the nation of Sudan faced a complex crisis — a secession of the southern region that threatened to boil over into a civil war in 2011 — Nathaniel Raymond and his team at The Signal Program were carefully monitoring the conflict. Their methods were uncommon. Using donated satellite imagery — the kind normally used to observe environmental conditions or create maps — the team tracked the movements of troops, military vehicles, and resources in near real-time, and used that information to alert humanitarian groups on the ground. But it’s a process fraught with challenges, from imperfect imagery (imagine a cloud passing by just as you’re trying to spot tank movements), to the ethical questions that come with intervening in a conflict remotely. So how does a group of civilians at Harvard go about monitoring an unfolding humanitarian disaster from space? Our producer Frances Harlow spent a day with the team at the Signal Program to find out how they work.” At the link right-click “download” and select “Save Link As.”
Petraeus Impact on Working Women 17 mins -The CIA, an extramarital affair, and shirtless photos — host Michel Martin and the Beauty Shop ladies weigh in on the scandal surrounding former CIA chief David Petraeus. They discuss who is involved, who risked the most, and what the fallout might be.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Charter Cities 20 mins – “Today’s show is the story of two men and one big idea.The big idea is that a poor country should take a small, empty part of its territory and say: We’re going to build a new city here. And in this new city, we’re going to get rid of our existing laws and rules, and bring in the best laws we can find from around the world. Get help from foreign countries. Maybe the UK could serve as a court of appeals. Maybe Canada could send in a few Mounties to help set up a police force. The two men are Paul Romer, a world famous North American economist, and Octavio Sanchez, chief of staff to the president of Honduras.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Internet Trends 88 mins – “The Internet is creating tremendous social, economic, and cultural value. Through digital connections, people are communicating with one another, overcoming social and political hierarchies, and building businesses around the world. Yet despite these positive benefits, many nations are experiencing slow-growing economies and barriers to innovation. In an era of limited growth, it has been difficult to lay the basis for long-term development. On November 13, the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings looked at ways to reform the U.S. economy, improve innovation, and address the difficult economic problems the country faces which demand new solutions. How can policymakers encourage growth through innovation? What areas offer the most promising growth for the 21st century? A panel of experts focused on broad topics in the areas of infrastructure, entrepreneurship, knowledge transmission, and protecting digital assets. ” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Nickel Cokes 18 mins – “Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn’t change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of Coke cost a nickel. On today’s show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to get a couple lawyers out of his office.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Nigerian Violence 8 mins – “A suicide bomber rammed a car loaded with explosives into a Catholic church in Nigeria Sunday, killing at least 10 people in the latest incident of religious violence in that country. But Margee Ensign, the U.S. born president of the American University Nigeria, is hoping her institution can be a force for peace. She talks with host Michel Martin.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Yemen 91 mins – “Rife with political turmoil, Yemen has proven fertile ground for al Qaeda-linked groups in the post 9/11 era. Until the beginning of 2012, the United States cooperated with the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh, but his departure—orchestrated with U.S. support—raises questions for future counterterrorism cooperation. How much ground has al Qaeda gained in Yemen despite setbacks in Pakistan? Can the United States effectively manage events in Yemen without becoming entangled in another costly ground war? What more can be done to prevent al Qaeda’s influence from spreading further throughout the Arabian Peninsula?” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As.”
Over 120 feeds used to prepare this weekly blog are harvested with Feedreader3. The feeds are available in this opm file. A PDF of feeds is also available. Free Commander is used each week to compare old with new downloads and remove any duplicates. MP3SpeedChanger is applied to podcast batches to change playback speed to 1.5x. 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 can be downloaded in five segments. A similar list and downloads for 362 podcasts for Jan-Jun 2012 is here. Podcasts are grouped into zipped files for easier downloading and segmented due to a 300MB limit on file uploads. A similar group for the last half of 2012 will be available in Jan 2013. A comm-enter recommended this $1.99 iPhone/iPad app for mobile devices; leave a comment if you try it. Please comment on any problems with the links and downloads.
Thanks for visiting.
Media Mining Digest 
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