The following audio files come from a larger group of 150 from last week. Double-click or ctrl-click individual highlighted links. A 162 MB zip file of 27 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed for 11 hours of listening is here for four months vs 568 MB normal speed for 16 hours of listening using topic links, below. More groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
Bank Failures 89 mins – “There is a heated debate about how to handle banks that are too big or otherwise too important for governments to allow them to fail in a crisis. Some call for the largest banks to be broken up, or for them to divest all or part of their investment banking operations, in the spirit of the old days of the Glass-Steagall Act. Others suggest forcing banks to be funded with much more shareholder money to try to make failure very unlikely. Still others assert that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and global regulatory reforms have reduced the problem so much that major structural reforms such as these are unnecessary.” At the link click “Audio” tab, then right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Calibrating TV’s 23 mins – “If you own a TV, you should watch this episode. Today you’ll know how to calibrate your TV!” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate Politics 52mins – “The warning wasn’t a surprise. The International Energy Agency says carbon dioxide emissions from energy use are rising rapidly — too much to limit the increase in average global temperature to two degrees Celsius. That’s a commonly cited benchmark to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. The I.E.A. urged governments to swiftly pass energy policies that would keep climate goals without harming economic growth. Some say political will is shifting as we recognize the impact of climate change in storm surges, heat waves, and drought. But others argue the cure for reducing carbon dioxide emissions will do more harm than good. Diane and her [4] guests discuss the economic impact of climate change policy.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the file is included in the zip collection noted in the introduction to this episode.
Climate Science 54 mins – “The evidence is described as colossal. The carbon dioxide produced from burning fossil fuels is causing the Earth to get hotter. But still there are those who dispute the increasing mountain of evidence and the call for urgent action. The challenge for scientists is to get the climate message beyond party politics. How can this be achieved? This panel discussion took place April 2013 and was organised by the Faculty of Science UNSW.” At the link right-click “download audio” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Clinical Guidelines Bias 19 mins – “Despite repeated calls to prohibit or limit conflicts of interests among authors and sponsors of clinical guidelines, the problem persists…..”as it applies to TPA for strokes, statins, anemia and dialysis. That’s the first half of the program. The second half asks “…is giving birth at home as safe for the mother as giving birth in hospital? New research from the Netherlands suggests that it is….” At the link find the title, “Bias in clinical guidelines, and giving birth at home,” then right-click “Media files bmj podcast bias clinical guidelines.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crowdfunding 65 mins – “We discuss how crowdfunding might influence the future of scientific research in this episode of The Engineering Commons.” Resources mentioned in the podcast are well-documented in the excellent show notes. At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Deindustrialization 52 mins – “Thursday, the journalist George Packer joins us to talk about his new book, The Unwinding. It tells the story of America’s economic transformation since the 1970s through the stories of four average citizens and one average city. It also profiles famous Americans who built their own false empires by selling us promises of prosperity, fame and convenience. All the while, Packer says the structures that shored up the middle class were eroded, only to be replaced by a society of organized money where “winners win bigger than ever…and losers have a long way to go before hitting bottom.'” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Fish Depletion 54 mins – “We are all well aware by now of how the seas have become fished out. But reports of overfishing go back to the Middle Ages. Historian and mariner W. Jeffrey Bolster takes us on a centuries old tour of a very modern problem.” At the link find the title, “The Mortal Sea,” right-click “Download The Mortal Sea” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
GDP Issues 15 mins – “People talk about GDP as if it means something solid, as if it’s a mathematically derived and agreed upon fact. But in conversations we’ve had in the last few weeks, we’ve become more convinced that GDP is a wobbly fact. It’s malleable, and it’s mushy. GDP can change in a day. And when it does — even when it’s a statistical illusion — that illusion can still have a major impact on millions of lives. On today’s show, Nigeria is about to change the way it calculates its GDP. The change will likely make Nigeria the leading economy in Africa, and it could be a big boost for the Nigerian entrepreneurs behind Pledge 51, a mobile app company based in Lagos. The guys behind Pledge 51 have found success with mobile apps like Danfo, a game which lets players pretend to drive the notoriously wild buses in Lagos. But to take their company to the next level, they want foreign investment. A boost to their country’s GDP could bring in exactly the type of foreign investors they are hoping for….” At the link find the title, “#464: When A Poor Country Gets A Lot Richer,” right-click “Media files npr_190354666.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Gun Permits 12 mins – “Although physicians can complete checklists about physical or mental health diagnoses, it’s unclear whether they can reliably prognosticate about the safety of a patient’s decision to carry a concealed weapon, a critical issue for assessing competency. For instance, since 2005, more than 150 people who received permits to carry concealed weapons in Michigan have committed suicide. In North Carolina, over a 5-year period, more than 2400 permit holders were convicted of crimes, including 900 drunk-driving offenses and more than 200 felonies. Given the number of patients with at least one condition that might affect their physical or mental function, it’s difficult to see how physicians can assess safety in the absence of comprehensive standards. Instead, physicians may choose whether to sign off on such permits guided as much by their own views about gun ownership as by any standard.” At the link right-click “Download” beneath the speaker’s photo and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Hacktivists 12 mins – “NSA leaker Eric Snowden and the people behind Wikileaks are being called ‘hacktivists’ for their activities. Host Michel Martin speaks with digital activism expert Gabriella Coleman, and Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen about ‘hacktivists.'” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Home Ownership History 52 mins – “In 1931, Herbert Hoover called the idea of owning one’s own home “a sentiment deep in the heart of our race and of American life.” In this episode, the History Guys search for the roots of that sentiment, and consider how it has played out over time. The image of a deed to a home with a yard and picket fence is at the core of the American Dream, but for many, the housing reality has looked more like a pile of rent receipts and back mortgage payments. Why has the ideal of home ownership been so difficult for so many generations of Americans to attain? Was there ever a Golden Age of home ownership, anyway?” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Homicide Watch 70 mins – “Improvisation theories, drawn mostly from jazz, have increasingly been applied to entrepreneurship, new product development, and other fields, but rarely, if ever, to journalism. Yet journalism is an industry built on improvisation, from the actions of reporters out in the field, to the deadline work of editors and page designers. More than that, it is an industry that needs a new framework in order to survive. Laura Amico — a Nieman-Berkman fellow in journalism innovation and founder of Homicide Watch — presents her preliminary ideas on improvisation theory and jazz in news development, arguing for a journalism framework that builds new culture out of improvisation.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Income Happiness 36 mins – “Can money buy happiness? We ask Michael Norton of Harvard Business School and Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia, authors of “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending.’” At the link click “Download” then right-click “Download this episode” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Investing Options 17 mins – “Paul admits to being excited about the release of the annual DALBAR report [$99] that compares what funds report returns vs. the actual real-time return investors receive. This report shows the impact of pairing emotional investors with high-cost funds. Paul promises that some of the results are hard to believe, but there is no question that investors can do better with a little education.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Mobile Technology 61 mins – “In 2013, the number of active smartphones worldwide leapt to more than 1 billion. Given mobile’s immense growth and popularity as a modern-day necessity, how should policymakers respond to the accelerating speed of the mobile revolution, particularly increasing demand for broadband spectrum? How can the public and private sectors stimulate further innovations and investment in mobile technology? What policy steps must be taken to further public and private investment and advances in mobile technology in the United States?” At the link click the audio tab, then right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Myanmar Catches Up 18 mins – “After decades of isolation, Myanmar is reconnecting with the rest of the world. On today’s show, we meet two people who are trying to take advantage of the changes going on there. One is launching a tiny startup. The other works for Coca-Cola — a company that left Myanmar decades ago, and only returned to the country last year. ” At the link find the title, “#465: Myanmar Opens Up,” right-click “Media files npr_190814711.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Podcasting Roundtables 53 mins – “Hangouts On-Air (HOA) have been a great experiment for my newest podcast, Podcasters’ Roundtable. …HOA’s have been remarkably effective in getting people to actually show up and participate. The most interesting revelation about this is the live-streams tend to get scheduled only 24 hours in advance of going live and are rarely based on a regular schedule… Perhaps the most powerful aspect of HOA’s is the ability to create an “Event” page via Google Plus and associate it with your up coming live-stream. This allows people to RSVP and most importantly it sends whoever signs up for the event a reminder before the actual live-stream.” At the link right-click “download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Population Expansion 14 mins – “Famed physicist Michio Kaku, author of “The Physics of the Future,” discusses the population crisis and tackles the question: how many are too many?” At the link click “Download” then right-click “Download this episode” and select “Save This Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Power Issues 63mins – “Bruce Schneier, author and security guru, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about power and the internet. Schneier argues that the internet enhances the power of the powerless but it also enhances the power of the powerful. He argues that we should be worried about both corporate and government uses of the internet to enhance their power. Recorded before news of the PRISM system and the use of Verizon’s customer information by the NSA (National Security Agency), Schneier presciently worries about government surveillance that we are not aware of and explains how governments–democratic and totalitarian–can use the internet to oppress their citizens. The conversation closes with a discussion of terrorism and the costs of the current system for reducing the probability of a terrorist attack.” At the link find the title, “Schneier on Power, the Internet, and Security,” right-click “Media files Schneierpower.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Rooting Androids 28 mins – “Iyaz puts his personal phone on the line. We’ll back up then try to root a Samsung Galaxy S3. We’re going to root our phone for a longer term project. First we’re going to back up our device in case of catastrophe. We’ll use Helium. It can backup your entire device without root.” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Singapore Health Program 64 mins – “…Dr. William A. Haseltine, author of Affordable Excellence: The Singapore Health Care System (Brookings Press, 2013)[free PDF from here] argued that there are alternative models to the current health care system in the United States… He noted that the country should look around the world at other health care systems in order to make sense of the best practices and efficient allocation of finances to adopt for the U.S. system. Singapore was one nation that particularly stood out in Haseltine’s research. …while the United States should not strive to adopt a health care system identical to Singapore’s, Americans can learn from its model. In Singapore, health care consists of both public and private systems. Multispecialty care is often delivered in public hospitals, while primary care is delivered by private sector physicians….” At the link click the audio tab, then right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Snowden 52 mins – “The House Intelligence Committee met yesterday behind closed doors with FBI, NSA and Justice Department officials. The agenda included an update on the recent public disclosures of the government’s enormous telephone and internet tracking operations. A former CIA employee identified himself as the source of these disclosures; his whereabouts are unknown. To some he’s a hero, but others say he is likely to be criminally prosecuted for leaking classified information and could face decades in jail. Understanding the distinction between whistle-blowers who deserve protection and leakers who should face charges.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the file is included in the zip collection noted in the introduction to this edition.
Solitary Confinement 27 mins – “Solitary confinement is a form of torture that undermines identity and mental health. Claudia Hammond reveals advice for those living in such dehumanising conditions.”At the link find the title, “The Truth About Mental Health: 3/6 Four Walls,” right-click “Media files healthc_20130614 1500b.mp3″and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
War Victims 18 mins – “Children are the innocent victims of war and conflict and it’s a myth that they’re resilient and always bounce back. Claudia Hammond investigates what does help to alleviate their suffering.” At the link find the title “The Truth About Mental Health: 2/6 Children and War,” right-click “Media files healthc_20130607-1500a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up media.
Wind Turbine Bird Kills 23 mins – “One to two million additional bird deaths per year. Wind is the most rapidly growing energy source in the US, but are environmental protections keeping pace? Tuesday on How On Earth, Kelly Fuller, the American Bird Conservancy’s Wind Campaign Coordinator, talks with Jim Pullen about the impact of big wind on birds.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
ZDoggMD 44 mins – “Dr. Zubin Damania, a.k.a. ZDoggMD, is a hospitalist, healthcare visionary and internet personality. He was grateful enough to sit down and talk with me for a little while about his path to medicine, some of his struggles with his career and the exciting stuff he is doing with the Downtown Project in Las Vegas, NV. Dr. Damania grew up in a dual physician household, and went into medicine just to “spite” his parents. He followed this path into medicine because he liked science, was good at taking tests and had an aptitude for taking tests – which he now says are not good reasons for going into medicine.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sixty-four podcasts for 2010 and earlier at 1.5x are listed alphabetically in this PDF and can be downloaded in two 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 as five segments. A similar list and downloads for 362 podcasts for Jan-Jun 2012 is here, and 591 for Jul-Dec here. Podcasts are zipped for easier downloading and segmented due to a 300MB limit on file uploads. (Dead links in old episodes are due to updating; try a current episode.) Over 170 feeds used to prepare this weekly blog are harvested with Feedreader3. The feeds are available in this opml file which Feedreader can import. A PDF list of feeds is here. Free Commander is used to compare old with new downloads to remove duplicates. MP3 Speed Changer is used to boost playback speed to 1.5x. A speed listening background article is here. A commenter recommended this $1.99 iPhone/iPad app for mobile devices; leave a comment if you try it. Another is xSpeedChanger. Please comment on any problems with the links and downloads.
Thanks for visiting.
Media Mining Digest 