The following audio files come from a larger group of 144 for this week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 37 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
AAAS Conference 56 mins – “Do scientists resort to propaganda to defend climate change? How do we deal with evolution unbelievers? How do we decide what to fund?” At the link at the title, “Naked at the AAAS,” right-click “MP3” below the nearby thumbnail photo and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. That link, for the Naked Scientist program, contains thirty rss feeds for a rich variety of scientific digests grouped by topic (astronomy, materials, genetics) and location (Africa).
Amygdala and Thalamus 69 mins – “Episode 106 of the Brain Science Podcast is an interview with Luiz Pessoa, author of “The Cognitive-Emotional Brain: From Interactions to Integration.” We explore the evidence that cognition and emotion are deeply intertwined at all levels of the brain with a focus on the evidence that the amygdala and thalamus do more than has been traditionally assumed. Although this episode is somewhat technical, the key ideas are accessible to listeners of all backgrounds.” At the link right-click “106-BSP-Pessoa.mp3” at “Direct download:” and select “Save Link/Content As” from the pop-up menu.
Aphid Control Research 78 mins – “The TWiV [This Week in Virology] team describes aphid control by using a viral capsid protein to deliver a spider toxin to plants, and a human endogenous retrovirus that enhances expression of a neuronal gene.” Eleven links are provided and five weekly science picks at the web site. At the site right-click “TWIV 272” beside “download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Broadband in Idaho 26 mins – “Ammon, a town of 14,000 in southeast Idaho, has been incrementally building an open access, fiber optic network that has connected community anchor institutions and is starting to become available to local businesses. Ammon Technology Director Bruce Patterson joins us to explain how the community has moved forward with its model for improving Internet access.” At the link right-click (here or there) “download this Mp3 file directly from here” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cancer Research 54 mins – ” Despite billions of dollars being spent, and the world’s best brains hard at work, cancer has not been beaten. Perhaps a different approach is required. Paul Davies has assembled a team of top thinkers to start again on cancer. Paul tells the tale of how he, a cosmologist and theoretical physicist with an interest in astrobiology, was approached to rethink the problem from the ground up. In this presentation recorded at the Adelaide Festival of Ideas October 2013 he describes which way the thinking is going.” At the link right-click “Download audio” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cascade Effect 4 mins – “All science eventually snares us in epistemology — the question of how we know things to be true. Most of us have some notion of scientific method — the means by which scientists arrive at new knowledge of our world. But almost all of what you and I know of that world is given to us. It’s knowledge we have not, ourselves, obtained by scientific means.” At the link right-click “Click here for audio…..” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
China and Japan 100 mins (2 parts) – “They are Asia’s economic giants – yet the historical record of Japan and China continues to cause tensions. China’s leaders accuse Japan of failing to apologise for its wartime aggression – while Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, talks of rewriting the country’s pacifist Constitution. Tensions are rising in the South China seas. Japanese journalist Mariko Oi and Chinese journalist Haining Liu, visit each other’s country to explore the intertwineed histories of their two nations and what they mean today. In programme two, Japanese journalist Mariko Oi and Chinese journalist Haining Liu, travel around China, including the city of Nanjing, where Japanese forces committed rapes and mass killings during the war. How are events like these remembered in modern China? And, why can young Chinese consume Japanese pop culture while demonstrating against Japan’s historical record? The pair discover that, despite the deep cultural links between their nations, history remains a barrier.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Missing Histories: China and Japan,” right-click “Media files docarchive 20140215-0906a.mp3” and “Media files docarchive 20140222-0910a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Chinese Internet 72 mins – “When we read about the Chinese internet in the Western press, we usually hear stories about censorship, political repression, and instability. But Chinese youth are actually sharing information and socializing with strangers online much more than those in the West suspect, finding ways to semi-anonymously connect to each other and establish a web of casual trust that extends beyond particularistic guanxi ties and authoritarian institutions.” At the link right-click “MP3” beside “Download the audio mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Coding 101 29 mins – “Join Father Robert Ballecer and Shannon Morse on Coding 101, a weekly instructional, project-oriented programming show with appeal for beginning to intermediate programmers. Using a combination of classroom-style teaching, guest programmers, and special interest segments, Coding 101 will offer beginner, intermediate and “applied” programming topics within several interchangeable modules. Learn programming languages such as Java, C++, Visual Basic, and more!” Five episodes have been created and watching them is the only way to follow the material. At the link right-click the blue down-pointing arrow next to “Audio” or “Video” format and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu to download files.
Comcast Growth 46 mins – “When the two biggest cable companies in the country get the urge to merge, everybody pays attention. Cable is, for many, how we connect now. To television, yes, but also through broadband connections to everything on the Internet. Last week, giant Comcast announced a $45 billion deal to acquire giant Time Warner Cable. There is protest all over that the deal would cost consumers, cut competition, concentrate power and slow innovation at the heart of the economy. But Comcast argues just the opposite, and Comcast has clout. This hour On Point: should the federal government greenlight this mega-merger in cable?” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crowdfunding Science 24 mins – “This month, we spoke to Dr Lee Stanish, a research associate from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Lee is using crowdfunding – an internet-based donation system – to fund her latest project, which will investigate whether microbes can be used to trace methane contamination from natural gas ‘fracking’ in well water. We talked to Lee about the project, her experiences with crowdfunding and her thoughts on its future as a funding stream.” [Experiment.com/methane is Stanish’s site.] At the link right-click “Download episode” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Dollar Trap 35 mins – “What we discuss in this episode: • Is the dollar still the world’s safest currency, even after the financial crisis? • What does it mean that the US is $17 trillion in debt? Is debt bad? • At what point does the United States have to pay back its debt? • How does the euro compare to the dollar? • Is China a safe place to invest?” At the link right-click “download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. Dollar Trap is a book.
Drug Outsourcing 51 mins – “The head of the Food and Drug Administration just wrapped up a trip to India. This unusual visit abroad was to address growing concerns at the regulatory agency about the safety of prescription drugs made in India. In the last few months, the FDA has banned the importation of several popular drugs made there, like Accutane and Cipro. The U.S. has come to rely on medicine made overseas. Today, 80 percent of prescription drugs consumed in the U.S. originate in India and China. This has lowered costs, but raised new questions on safety. Diane and her [5] guests discuss prescription drugs made outside 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.
Epidemics History 53 mins – “…In this episode, we trace the shifting role of the state when it comes to coping with epidemics. Where do we draw the line between promoting the public good and protecting individual rights? And how did people understand the causes and experience of disease in their own time?…” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow at the right end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Female Engineers 71 mins – “In a conversation with electrical engineer Cherish Bauer-Reich, we consider factors that encourage or dissuade women from entering the engineering profession…Our guest …specializes in electromagnetics, antennas, and RFID systems. Cherish authors a blog titled, “Faraday’s Cage is where you put Schroedinger’s Cat….’ ” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Financial Systems in US and Canada 77 mins – “Charles Calomiris of Columbia University and Stephen Haber of Stanford University, co-authors of Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit, talk with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about their book. The conversation focuses on how politics and economics interact to give some countries such as Canada a remarkably stable financial system while others such as the United States have a much less stable system. [The United States has had twelve systemic banking crises since 1840, while Canada has had none.] The two authors discuss the political forces that explain the persistence of seemingly bad financial regulation. The conversation includes a discussion of the financial crisis of 2008.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Ice Stories 108 mins (2 parts) “As glaciers shrink, and ice vanishes from the polar seas, Richard Longley takes us back to our icy roots, rekindling wonder for this alluring frozen water.” At the link find the titles, “In Praise of Ice, Part 1” and “…Part 2,” right-click (here or there) “Download In Praise of Ice, Part 1” and “Download In Praise of Ice, Part 2,” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Jobs for Boomers 41 mins – “In this episode, we explore entrepreneurship as a career move for Boomers. This is an interview with Marc Miller, who is himself a Baby Boomer… Marc has a business, Career Pivot, that specializes in helping Baby Boomers make an effective career move — which goes beyond just “getting a job” — to enhance a Boomer’s life and next career. We focus in this episode on making a career move to become an Entrepreneur. As you will hear in this audio episode, we get Marc Miller’s perspective about 5 types of Entrepreneurs:- the Want-re-Preneur; – the Necessity-Preneur; – the Vetrepreneur; – the Hobby-Preneur; and – the Successfully planned career move to become an Entrepreneur — especially a Solo-preneur.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Law and Technology 103 mins – Host Denise Howell discusses the “Silk Road” of information, the Time-Warner and Comcast merger, “Dumb Starbucks”, and more with guests Anupam Chander, Nicolas Christin, and Kevin Thompson. At the link right-click the blue down-pointing arrow beside “Audio” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Loud Music Mistrial 12 mins – “A Florida jury declared a mistrial on the first degree murder charge against Michael Dunn. He shot a teenager during an argument over loud music, but Dunn claims he acted in self defense. Host Michel Martin talks with Corey Dade of The Root and Larry Hannan of The Florida Times-Union about reaction to the verdict and Florida’s self defense laws.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Loud Music Case 51 mins – “On Saturday, a Florida jury convicted Michael Dunn of attempted murder for shooting into a car full of African-American teens playing loud music. But the jury failed to reach a verdict on the most serious charge of first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Jordan Davis. Critics blame Florida’s expansive self-defense law for the hung jury, which contains the controversial stand-your-ground provision. And the verdict comes just six months after another Florida jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the death of Trayvon Martin. Diane and her [5] guests discuss renewed debate over the jury’s verdict in the “loud music” trial and stand-your-ground laws across the country.” 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.
Loud Music Case Perspectives 17 mins – “Michael Dunn fired into an SUV back in 2012, killing one of the teens inside: Jordan Davis. Host Michel Martin hears more perspectives on the “loud music” case from three different writers.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Middle East Unrest 51 mins ” Each day the headlines from the Arab world get worse: bombings in Egypt where the army is jailing journalists and secular activists … Al-Qaida takes control of cities in Iraq … Militant Islamists aided by foreign fighters join the civil war in Syria. What’s going on? Marwan Muasher, a veteran diplomat and scholar, says the Middle East is a highly diverse region with Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds, Christians and various tribes. He argues in a new book that the only way the political uprisings in Arab nations will result in positive change is if governments tolerate dissent and embrace different sectarian strains.” 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 Law Suit 46 mins – ” In the 1990s, the American tobacco industry was reined in and made to pay, big-time, for the health consequences of cigarettes and more. An epic quarter trillion-dollar legal settlement in a suit brought by states to make Big Tobacco pay. Now there’s a push on to do the same with Big Food. To make the American food industry pay for the devastating health consequences of soaring American obesity. To sue Big Food. Opinions are all over the map on whether it’s justified. Whether it can or should be done. This hour On Point: the push to sue Big Food for American fat.” At the link right-click “Download this story.” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Organ Donation 20 mins – “A 30-year old woman finds out she has a viral infection attacking her heart that will kill her unless she has a transplant. Four years later she gets a new heart and goes on to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro. Inspiring story right? Will it move you to become an organ donor? Not necessarily. And that’s a problem for the 120 thousand people waiting for organs in the United States. Behavior change is hard. That’s something that organ donor advocates know firsthand. Polls indicate most Americans support organ donations, but less than half are actually registered as donors. So how do you get people to make the leap from thought to action? In today’s show, the story of one woman who believes she is close to an answer by partnering with one of the more hated American institutions.” At the link find the title, “#518: How To Bore Someone Into Donating An Organ,” right-click “Media files npr_279797139.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Paleo Diet 51 mins – “…Followers of the Paleo diet say we should eat what our ancestors ate 10,000 years ago, when our genes were perfectly in synch with the environment. We investigate the reasoning behind going paleo with the movement’s pioneer, as well as with an evolutionary biologist. Is it true that our genes haven’t changed much since our hunter-gatherer days? Plus, a surprising dental discovery is nothing for cavemen to smile about. And another fad diet that has a historical root: the monastic tradition of 5:2 – five days of eating and two days of fasting.” At the link right-click “Download file” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Passenger Pigeons 53 mins – ” This year marks the hundredth anniversary of the death of Martha, the last passenger pigeon. Her species was native to North America, and in the 1800s the birds numbered in the billions. Their vast airborne flocks reportedly blotted out the sun and took days to pass overhead. But in just a few decades, they were gone. Naturalist Joel Greenberg has written a new book about the passenger pigeon’s natural history and its speedy flight to extinction, and he joins us Tuesday to examine what the bird’s demise reveals about our relationship to the natural world.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up window.
POW Life 60 mins – “Former Air Force pilot and Vietnam POW Lee Ellis discusses his book, Leading With Honor: Leadership Lessons from the Hanoi Hilton. Detained for “five years, four months, and two weeks,” Ellis recollects heroic deeds performed by his fellow prisoners.” At the link in the “Q and A” section find the title, “Q&A with Lee Ellis..,” right-click it and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Solar Farm Arrives 46 mins – “A gigantic solar farm, biggest of its kind in the world, opened last week in the California desert. Three-hundred and fifty thousand huge mirrors reflecting sunlight on 40-story towers — to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit up there — making steam, turning turbines, generating clean electricity. And we not build another one like it. Solar and other renewable energies are up against an era of cheap, fracked natural gas. Environmentalists say cut back fossil fuel consumption, or climate change will croak us. The market’s saying here’s cheap gas. This hour On Point: solar and renewable energy in the age of fracking.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Stem Cell Discussion 28 mins – “Crocodiles climb, and use tools, while alligators make video by Ian Woolf, Michael Morris spoke with Ian Woolf about investigating the basic science of embryology to find out how embryonic stem cells become all other cells.” The five-min. mark starts the stem cell part. At the link right-click “download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sugar Threat 50 mins (3 parts) “Put down that low-fat yogurt! Dr. Robert Lustig says that sugar – not fat – may be the real culprit behind America’s obesity epidemic. Part I of II.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. Do the same for Part II at the same link, then do the same for “Sweet Product, Sour History”.
Tesla Book Review 10 mins – “Nikola Tesla was an inventor, engineer and physicist best known for his contributions to the development of alternating current and the AC motor. He designed generators using water from Niagara Falls, producing electricity for a nearby town. He dreamt of a new world, transformed by new systems of telecommunications. Sarah Carman reviews a recent biography of Tesla which describes the challenges in Telsa’s life, including battles to have his work recognised, and debilitating neurological illness in his later years.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Twitter Creation 59 mins – This Week in Technology host, Leo Laporte, interviews Nick Bilton, columnist and reporter for The New York Times about his book, “Hatching Twitter”.” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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An alphabetic encyclopedia of about 2500 hyperlinked descriptions in PDF format is here and updated quarterly. Jan-Jun 2013 files in 18 zip segments (832 podcasts) here, and a pdf list here; Jul-Jul Dec 2013 files in 13 zip segments (720 podcasts) here, and a list here; Jan-Jun 2012 files in 8 segments (360 podcasts) and a pdf list are here, and 593 in 13 parts 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 180 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.
Thank you for visiting.
Media Mining Digest 