The following audio files come from a larger group of 206 for this week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 41 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
Africa’s Future 46 mins – “The body of Nelson Mandela lies in state today in Pretoria. Three more days of public honor before the great man’s funeral on Sunday. But all around in his native South Africa and across the continent of Africa, Mandela’s passing frames the past and future. Africa – sub-Saharan Africa – is once again seen as a great frontier. Not the old-time colonial frontier of brute exploitation. But, with some luck and lots of effort, a frontier of African rise. Africa’s economy is now growing faster than any other continent’s. This hour On Point: Africa after Mandela.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Apps By Kids 17 mins – “Tell Me More’s social storytelling series is happening online using #NPRBlacksinTech. Since December 2nd, black tech innovators from all over the country have spent a day tweeting about their lives. The social media series is creating new storytelling opportunities that run parallel to what Tell Me More does every day on the radio. “NPR is in the business of telling stories that start conversations, increase understanding and enrich lives and enliven minds,” says Jewell Sparks, CEO and Founder of BiTHouse, a minority tech consulting company in San Francisco. “The @TellMeMoreNPR #NPRBlacksinTech Twitter chats are doing just that, starting conversations that must be had.” The conversations are unfolding in a compelling and innate way: each tweet tells a story, every link is a further exploration.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Art Theft 52 mins – “Germany recently published details about more than 100 artworks, including pieces by Picasso and Cézanne, discovered in Munich as part of a huge stash of suspected Nazi loot. Diane and her [4] guests discuss why so little has been done to return stolen goods to Holocaust victims and their families and what this incident means for institutions and collectors in the U.S.” 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.
Bezos 52 mins – “According to journalist Brad Stone, Santa Claus and Amazon.com share a few things in common: they both know what you want for Christmas and they have armies of menial laborers working in remote warehouses to fulfill your desires. In a new book, Stone chronicles the rise of Amazon from a small-fry bookseller to the pinnacle of Internet retail. The story’s also about Jeff Bezos, the company’s innovative and demanding founder. Stone joins us Thursday to profile an online juggernaut that has changed the way we shop and read… Brad Stone has covered Amazon and technology in Silicon Valley for fifteen years. He’s a senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, and his new book is called The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon….” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Brain Blebs 2 mins – Dr. Norbert Herzog and Dr. David Niesel describe brain micro blebs caused by aorta inflexibility that occur in 5% of us and can be detected using “central blood pressure.” This pressure is found by comparing two pressures, one close to the heart and the second one farthest from the heart. At the link find the title, “Another Reason for Senior Moments, 11/30/1,” and right-click “Media files 11-29-2013 Another Reason for Senior Moments.mp3” to download the audio file.
Broadband on the Res 19 mins – “When it comes to building a community owned wireless network, few have more experience than Matthew Rantanen, our guest for the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Rantanen has an impressive list of titles, two of which are Director of Technology for the Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association (SCTCA) and Director of the Tribal Digital Village Initiative. We discuss the need for better network access on reservations generally and how several reservations in southern California were able to build their own wireless networks using unlicensed spectrum and the power of the sun. This success has inspired others, including in Idaho, to take similar approaches to ensure modern connectivity.” At the link right-click “download this MP3 file directly as…” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Canada’s Start-up Program 14 mins – “Three tech entrepreneurs want permanent resident status in Canada, and have applied to the brand new Start-Up Visa program.” At the link find the title, “Startup Visa Panel,” right-click “Media files spark 20131129_27128.mp3” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
China’s Ten Year Plan 46 mins – “Latest poll numbers show a third of Americans are optimistic about their economic outlook. In Spain, it’s four percent. In Greece it’s one percent. In China, 88 percent say they’re optimistic about the economic path ahead. This month, China’s leadership is laying out its big vision for the next ten years. The ten-year plan. Hard to imagine such a thing in the USA. China’s leaders say they’ll end the one-child policy. End labor camps for “re-education.” Further privilege market forces. But keep the central authority, the Communist Party, right in charge. This hour On Point: China’s ten-year plan.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Degrowth Movement 54 mins -“Degrowthers believe we need a more modest and sane alternative to the constant pressures of expansion that are destroying the ecological basis of our existence. Richard Swift explores the degrowth alternative, in theory and in practice.” At the link find the title, “The Degrowth Paradigm ,” right-click “Download The Degrowth Paradigm” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Dementia Prevention 27 mins – “The steps you can take to significantly reduce your risk of dementia; Sending elderly relatives to care homes abroad; Why eating nuts regularly means you are less likely to die.” At the link find the title, “HealthC: Exercise & dementia; Care homes abroad; Nuts & mortality 11 Dec 13,” right-click it or “Media files
healthc 20131211-2000a.mp3” right-click the title or “Media” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Detroit Pensions 46 mins – “If you have a public pension, perhaps you felt a chill last week. Big pension cuts were approved in Detroit and Illinois. A once sacred social contract with workers now teetering. Blown up. With millions of retirees, owed trillions of dollars now facing a dicey retirement and very uncertain financial future. The whole country is watching this play out. Pension holders and Baby Boomers wonder where the cuts will come next. What’s the solution if the money just isn’t there anymore? Can these promises really be broken? This hour On Point: Unpacking America’s pension pandemic.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Ethanol Issues 52 mins – “A decade ago plant-based fuels held tremendous promise in the U.S. The hope was that they would reduce reliance on foreign oil and cut greenhouse gases caused by burning fossil fuels. Ethanol made from corn took off, helped by a government mandate requiring billions of gallons of corn ethanol to be added to gasoline and diesel. But last month the Obama administration signaled it is rethinking the biofuel mandate. This has corn growers and developers of advanced biofuels up in arms. On the other side is the oil industry and environmental groups. For this month’s Environmental Outlook: the battle over ethanol policy and the future of biofuels.” Four guests. 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.
Financial Reform Law 52 mins – “The so-called “Volcker Rule” is aimed at reining in risky trading by banks. Details on the new rule and whether it’s tough enough to prevent another financial crisis.” (with four guests)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.
First Lady Rosalynn Carter 92 mins – “C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Rosalynn Carter.” At the link for a short time in the “Podcast of the Week” section find and right-click “Rosalynn Carter” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu.
First Lady Betty Ford 92 mins – “C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association are co-producing a two-season feature series on the First Ladies, examining their private lives and the public roles they played in the White House. This week: Betty Ford.” At the link for a short time in the “Podcast of the Week” section find and right-click “Betty Ford” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Gays in India 9 mins – “India’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that gay sex is illegal, four years after the ban was struck down by a lower court. For more on the ruling and how Indians are reacting, host Michel Martin checks in with journalist and LGBT commentator Sandip Roy.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
High-Tech Hiring 42 mins – “Old-school hiring and promotion could boil down to some pretty basic stereotypes. A firm handshake and a go-getter attitude. New-school hiring and promotion looks a lot more like baseball’s Moneyball approach. Show me the stats. Never mind the handshake, maybe even the job interview. Show me the data. The proof of performance. The statistical indicators that this person will succeed at the job. Big data is all around us now. We understand it and its consequences in the realm of credit scores. You may soon have a number on your “hirability.” This hour On Point: the data-driven hire.” At the link right-click “Download this story.” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Human On a Chip 13 mins – “It’s relatively easy to imagine a new medicine, a better cure for some disease. The hard part, though, is testing it, and that can delay promising new cures for years. In this well-explained talk, Geraldine Hamilton shows how her lab [CellzDirect] creates organs and body parts on a chip, simple structures with all the pieces essential to testing new medications — even custom cures for one specific person.” left-click “Download,” then right-click “Download to Desktop” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Hydrogen Production 29 mins – Dr Dennis L. Lichtenberger discusses the revolutionary use of photoelectron spectroscopy in chemical engineering of photoelectric cells and improved hydrogen production. At the link right-click the windows icon to the right of the “Electrons” topic and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu to download the audio file.
Incompetency 55 mins – “Recent research in psychology suggests that our confidence often exceeds our competence. Our brains take shortcuts and jump to conclusions that flatter us. Can we accurately assess what we know, or are we all subject to the fool’s dilemma?” At the link find the title, ” The Fool’s Dilemma,” right-click “Download The Fool’s Dilemma” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Infectious Diseases 32 mins – Discussion by Dr Mark Crislip, an infectious disease specialist, about treatments, trends, issues and concerns found in current medical literature. Thirty-three references he cites during the talk are found here. At the link find the title, ” Nov 15 to 30, 2013,” right-click “Download” (the second one) and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Internet Science 28 mins – “Professor Dame Wendy Hall, one of the pioneers of the world wide web and “hypermedia”, talks to Jim Al Khalili about a life spent at the forefront of Web Science.” At the link find the title, “Wendy Hall 08 Oct 13,” right-click “Download” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Internet Slander 27 mins – “When a group of young Texan women found naked pictures of themselves online, they wanted justice, but their critics accused them of trampling on freedom of speech.” At the link find the title, “Docs: The Revenge Porn Avengers 12 Dec,” right-click “Download 13MB” and select “Save Link/Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Jefferson’s Qu’ran 46 mins “Back in the founding days of this nation, ideas were big. The rights of Man. Democracy, and citizenship. And of course, freedom of religion. But the religious debates were mostly among Protestants. Catholics and Jews were the outliers. Muslims? Well they were beyond the pale. The Ottoman, the Barbary pirate. And, lest we forget, the American slave. But a new book says Thomas Jefferson thought about Islam and could see a day when Muslims would be a part of the fabric of American democracy. This hour On Point: Thomas Jefferson, his Koran and Islam in American history.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Lab-Grown Meat 30 mins – “Cruelty-free products abound in our 21st Century market place, from cosmetics to fake fur. But can you imagine a cruelty free filet mignon? It sounds like an oxymoron, or the stuff of a wacky sci-fi flick. But, as this week’s guest on Sea Change Radio explains, lab-grown meat is here and could hit the shelves within your lifetime. Tom Levitt, British food and farming journalist, recently chronicled the latest innovations in the lab-grown meat industry. At this point, we’re talking about a $300,000 5-ounce hamburger, which begs the question, if and when this is actually developed to scale will it be high-brow fare or protein for the poor? Is this lab-grown meat a viable solution to the significant environmental impact of the global appetite for beef? How do animal rights activists and vegetarians view this potential development? And more to the point: What does it taste like? Will people really eat it? Listen as journalist Tom Levitt tries to answer host Alex Wise‘s litany of questions and gives us a sense of whether lab-grown meat is a realistic alternative, or just a (meat) pie-in-the-sky idea.” At the link right-clcik “Download” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Migration Awards 80 mins – “The Migration Policy Institute’s 2013 E Pluribus Unum Prizes awards ceremony held in Washington, DC in December 2013 included a panel discussion with the winners of the prizes, which honor exceptional immigrant integration initiatives in the United States. Moderator Margie McHugh, who co-directs MPI’s National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, discussed immigrant integration practice and policy with the winners: Allison Kokkoros of the adult-focused Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School in Washington, DC; Eva Millona of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; Mihailo Temali of the Twin Cities-based Neighborhood Development Center; and Gayle Tang of Kaiser Permanente. The discussion also featured Felicia Escobar, Senior Policy Director for Immigration at the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Ronald G. Marlow, Assistant Secretary for Access and Opportunity, state of Massachusetts Executive Office of the Governor. For more on the E Pluribus Unum Prizes and the 2013 winners, visit integrationawards.org.” At the link right-click the “Audio MP3” icon and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Minimum Wages I 46 mins – “Low-wage America is a big country, and it’s not an easy place to live. The nation’s grown a lot richer over the decades, but retail wages have fallen by almost a third. America’s minimum wage, as a percent of average pay, is now the lowest of any OECD country but Mexico. We all know the stories of McDonalds and WalMart workers on food stamps. It can make you feel guilty just buying a burger. But what to do about it? There’s a new push on to raise the minimum wage, even if just locally. And then what? This hour On Point: America’s low wage crisis, and what to do about it.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Minimum Wages II 52 mins – “Already this year, five states have raised their minimum wage. In a speech last week, President Obama vowed to make reducing income inequality a primary focus of his final years in office. He called on Congress to raise the federal minimum wage. Senate Democrats are promoting a measure that would hike it to just above $10 an hour. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many Republicans are opposed to any increase in the wage floor. They argue it would be bad for business, impede job creation and do little to help the poorest Americans. We talk [with 3 guests] about the arguments on both sides of the issue.” 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.
Obesity Causes 107 mins tot – “Jill Eisen explores the politics, economics, and science of overeating. We’re eating, on average, 200 calories per day more than we did just 30 years ago. What happened to bring about this sudden change?” At the link find the title, “Stuffed, Part 1,” right-click “Download Stuffed, Part 1,” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu. Do the same for Part where “Jill Eisen explores the politics, economics, and science of overeating. We’re eating, on average, 200 calories per day more than we did just 30 years ago. What happened to bring about this sudden change?”
Playtime Value 57 mins – “What if your boss came into your office and told you to spend more time on…play? Play is a vital part of the human experience, essential not only in childhood but throughout adulthood as well. In a state of play, we are open to possibility and new ideas – critical capabilities for any leader. On December 9, Dr. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute for Play and author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, will draw from decades of research to illustrate the benefits of play starting in early childhood development all the way throughout the human life cycle. Dr. Brown will introduce the applications of play in the workplace and for leadership development. Together, he and Host Kate Ebner will explore the benefits of play at work, school and in the home. Tune in for a show you’ll want to share with your boss, spouse, child’s teacher, friends and more.” At the link right-click “download MP3” and select “Save Link/Target/Linked Target As” from the pop-up menu.
Poisoning History 46 mins – “Poison is somehow utterly captivating. Start talking “double, double toil and trouble,” and we’re all ears. Root of hemlock. Poisoned entrails. Slips of yew. Humankind has known for a long, long time that the natural world bubbles with poisons, far and wide. Poison frogs. Poisonous caterpillars. Monkshood. Wolfsbane. Castor bean. Belladonna. Oh, and arsenic of course. And a whole lot more. A new exhibit at the Museum of Natural History unfurls poison in nature, myth, murder and in medicine. This hour On Point: the power of poison.” At the link right-click “Download this story.” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Professional Immigrants79 mins – “This Migration Policy Institute panel discussion focuses on the circulation of skilled immigrant professionals and the recognition of foreign qualifications in the United States and Europe. The event brought together experts and policymakers from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss what governments can do to improve the recognition of foreign credentials — particularly in regulated occupations where time-consuming and expensive licensing processes can substantially delay access to skilled employment. The discussion highlights promising practices (including an example from Quebec), and identifies ways US policymakers can learn from European innovations in qualifications recognition and how international cooperation can help — both across the Atlantic and further afield. The event coincided with the release of the final report of a two-year research initiative funded by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States. Read the report: Skilled Immigrants in the Global Economy… At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save File As” from the pop-up menu.
Puerto Rico Economy 12 mins – ” The national unemployment rate dropped to seven percent recently – the lowest level in five years. But things are going the other way in Puerto Rico: unemployment is at nearly 15 percent. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks to Rosario Rivera, economics professor at The University of Puerto Rico, and Michael Fletcher of The Washington Post, about why Puerto Rico’s dismal economy may be a problem for everyone, especially if the Commonwealth defaults.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Racial Surgery 54 mins – “Sheetal Lodhia explores the growing phenomenon of racial targeting by the cosmetics industry: eye-lid surgeries, chemical hair-straightening and skin-bleaching are just a few of the options advertised to people of colour.” At the link find “The Business of Race,” right-click “Download The Business of Race” and select “Save Linked Content/File/Target as” from the pop-up menu.
Science Comics 33 mins – ” Dr. Dwayne Godwin contributes regularly to Scientific American in the form of neuroscience comics. With co-author Jorge Cham, Dr. Godwin makes complex issues in neuroscience accessible to a broad audience. Today we’ll discuss his creative process and goals for the series. A great way to learn about the brain! In the Audio File section right-click under “VBR MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tariffs 59 mins – “On today’s show, the Planet Money T-shirts arrive at the Port of Miami. But they’re not quite here yet. If you’ve ever waited at an airport to clear customs, you can understand where our shirts are now: waiting for permission to enter the country. Standing between our shirts and the rest of America is a 3,000 page book. The book is a powerful force that creates and destroys entire industries around the world. Squadrons of government agents use tools of violence and destruction to ensure that the rules laid out in the book are followed. Also, the book tells us how much we’ll have to pay in taxes to import our T-shirt into the U.S.” At the link find episode 501, right-click “Media files npr 249394688.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Technology Trends 41 mins – “Reporters, editors and designers are looking for new ways to interact with readers and with the physical world–drawing data in through sensors and expressing it through new immersive formats. In this episode of the Radar podcast, recorded at News Foo Camp in Phoenix on November 10, Jenn and I talk with three people who are working on new modes of interaction: Mark Trammell, of Sonos, previously of Obama HQ and Twitter; Rebekah Monson, of the University of Miami; Robert Hernandez, of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Used Clothing 19 mins – “Charities like Goodwill sell or give away some of the used clothes they get. But a lot of the clothes get sold, packed in bales and sent across the ocean in a container ship. The U.S. exports over a billion pounds of used clothing every year — and much of that winds up in used clothing markets in sub-Saharan Africa. On today’s show, we visit a giant used-clothing market in Nairobi, Kenya to see what happens to American clothes (including, presumably, some Planet Money T-shirts) after Americans are done with them.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Virtual Assistants “With the present affordability of media technology, Entrepreneurs now have opportunities to monetize opportunities in the area of video training and education online — thanks to Craig Cannings with his services and offerings, starting with his flagship business called VA Classroom . Although he is in Canada, the reach of the Internet with online capabilities for live training — as well as online courses that can be accessed by students at any time and any location — provides an opportunity to create a business to provide education for skill-hungry students.” At the link find the title, “218- Entrepreneur success with Online Training – Craig Cannings,” right-click “Select this link to listen to the audio episode.” and select “Save Linked Content As” from the pop-up menu.
=============================================================== ARCHIVE
Jan-Jun 2013 files in 18 zip segments (832 podcasts) and a pdf list are here. Jan-Jun 2012 files in 8 segments (362 podcasts) and a pdf list are here, and 591 for Jul-Dec here. For 2011 a list and 5 segments 184 podcasts. For 2010 and earlier 64 podcasts are listed in this PDF and are zipped here as Part 1 and Part 2. (Dead links in old episodes are due to updating; try a current episode.) Over 160 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. Please comment on any problems with the links and downloads.
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Media Mining Digest 