The following audio files come from a larger group of 154 for this week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 33 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
Adjunct Professors 51 mins – “For a number of years American colleges and universities have increasingly relied on adjunct professors. As full professors retire, they’re often replaced with part timers – who typically earn less, receive no benefits and have little say in academic affairs. Today part-time instructors account for about half of all faculty at the nation’s public and private higher education institutions. Administrators defend the trend as a necessary cost-cutting measure amid rising expenses and reduced revenues. But many adjuncts have begun to fight for better pay and benefits. Guest host Susan Page and a panel of experts talk about the growing reliance on adjunct professors.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the zip collection noted in this episode’s introduction contains a copy of the audio file.
Adult First Seizure Management 30 mins – “First seizure covers a wide range of manifestations, but picking up the minor events can prevent a patient from experiencing a major event, so early diagnosis is key. Heather Angus-Leppan, consultant neurologist and epilepsy lead at the Royal Free Hospital in London, talks to Navjoyt Ladher about how to manage the first seizure in an adult.” At the link click “Download” and select “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
American Injustice 46 mins – “Muckraking journalist Matt Taibbi makes us look at what we might want to avoid, ignore. And he does it with a rage that compels us to keep looking. He’s gone after the lords of Wall Street as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity.” This time out, he’s going after a great skewing, he says, of American justice. In an age of great inequality, says Taibbi, our rule of law has been subverted. Divided into two tiers. Free passes for the rich. Criminalization for the poor. This hour On Point: Matt Taibbi on separate and unequal American justice in the age of inequality.” At the link right-click “Download this story.” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Arab Nationalism 27 mins – “Tracing the history of the modern Arab world through some of the great political dreams that have shaped it, from the 19th Century to the Arab Spring. In part two of The Making of the Arab World, Egyptian author Tarek Osman explores the rise and fall of Arab nationalism.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Rise and Fall of Arab Nationalism,” right-click “Media files docarchive_20140416-0335a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Biosensors 67 mins – “Vincent Racaniello, Elio Schaechter, Michael Schmidt and Michelle Swanson discuss the use of bacteria to build a genetic sensor for heavy metals [arsenic], and how host sugars help enteric pathogens to expand after antibiotic treatment.” Also the fifty-cent DIY microscope. At the link right-click “TWIM#76” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin Panel 69 mins – “Panelists talked about the impact of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies on the future of financial and political systems. Bitcoin is a decentralized Internet-based system for conducting financial transactions.” You can listen at the link, download the podcast for $.99 from C-Span, or get it in the zip file of this episode’s podcasts.
Boko Haram 12mins – “Africa’s most populous country is continuing its fight against Boko Haram. That’s an extremist group whose name means Western education is forbidden. On Monday during rush-hour, an explosion at a busy bus station outside the capital of Abuja killed at least 70 people. Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, who visited the scene placed the blame squarely on Boko Haram’s shoulders. And fingers are again pointed at the group after heavily armed men reportedly kidnapped more than 100 girls from a remote boarding school in the northeastern state of Borno. That’s one of three states that have been under emergency rule for almost a year….” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Broadband Start-up Help 21 mins – “The Community Broadband Bits podcast this week focuses on what people can do to start building a grassroots effort for a network in their community. John St Julien of Lafayette, Louisiana, returns to the show to discuss what they did and ideas for others to follow. John was last on the show for episode 19, where we focused more on the specific approach used in Lafayette” At the link right-click “…download this mP3…”and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate Change Report 5 mins – “…The 33-page summary for policymakers was released in Berlin over the weekend. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists say greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 40 to 70 percent from 2010 levels in the next 30-40 years. Among the report’s 235 authors is Sivan Kartha, a senior scientist with the Stockholm Environment Institute’s US Center in Somerville, Massachusetts. “There’s no single techno-fix, there’s no silver bullet, but there is ‘silver birdshot’ — what we can do in industry, what we can do in buildings, what we can do in transport,” Kartha says. …“ one of the really important points is that business as usual just isn’t an option — doing nothing just isn’t an option. The ability of societies to change when it really becomes necessary has been proven to be pretty phenomenal and even inspiring.” At the link find the title, “In the latest UN climate change report, scientists offer us a glimmer of hope — if we act fast,” right-click “Media files 041420145.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Coco for Health 2 mins – “Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes: two more reasons to indulge in a bit of chocolate…” At the link find the title, Episode 355 – April 17 2014,” right-click “Media files ScienceElements April17_2014.mp3 ” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
College Financial Aid 46 mins – “It’s the season of decision for American families and their young high school near-graduates looking to head off to college. Where will they go? And what will it cost? The two are all mixed up together. The cost of college is truly daunting for most families in this country now. And figuring out real costs, financial aid and the bottom line is a challenge. Colleges can be anything but transparent. Financial aid letters are marketing documents. “Need” and “aid” can mean all kinds of things. This hour On Point: paying for college, and college financial aid. How it really works. Who gets what, and why.” At the link right-click “Download this story.” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Comcast Monopoly 28 mins – “Senator Al Franken (D-MN) criticized the proposed Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s April 9, 2014, hearing about the merger and its potential impact on consumers. Senator Franken participated by remote video.” You can listen at the link, download the podcast for $.99 from C-Span, or get it in the zip file of this episode’s podcasts.
Consciousness 60 mins – “In his new book “Consciousness and the Social Brain” neuroscientist Michael Graziano proposes that the same circuitry our brain uses to attribute awareness to others is used to create our own sense of awareness. Episode 108 is an interview with Dr. Graziano about this novel approach to the mystery of consciousness.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Conservation Dogs 5 mins – “The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is East Africa’s largest black rhino sanctuary. And it’s a regular target for poachers. So the rangers at Ol Pejeta are always looking for ways to get an upper hand on the poachers. Their latest weapon? Anti-poaching dogs. Dogs are not a new concept in Africa in the war against poaching, but the use of multi-role dogs is new.“They search, and they can track and they can attack,” said ex-British Army Veterinary Corps Military Dog Instructor Daryll Pleasants. Pleasants voluteered to train dogs to protect animals from poachers in Ol Pejeta. Rhino poaching can be a lucrative business, so the stakes are high. Rhino horn can sell for up to $30,000 a pound — more than gold or even cocaine. “What these dogs will do is they will search for a carcass or associated items and bring the anti-poaching team in on the carcass. From the point of the carcass, they will then track after the intruders or the poachers and then, should they need to, can apprehend the intruder as well,” Pleasants added.” At the link right-click the tiny down-pointing arrow at the right end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Corporate Goals 30 mins – “When we think of resiliency, we usually think of a gritty, comeback story, or a resilient economy – but can a company be resilient too? If you consider that, of the world’s 100 largest economies in terms of revenue, 37 of them are corporations, making companies more resilient starts to make more sense. This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio, Andrew Winston is a sustainability consultant and author who is working to make big corporations understand that they have just as much of an obligation to the planet and community as they do to their shareholders.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Domestic Terrorism History 52 mins – “On September 16th, 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street as workers took their lunch break. The explosion killed 38 people and injured hundreds. The targets? What today we’d call “the one percent”—powerful financiers who ran J.P. Morgan & Co. The Wall Street attack remained the deadliest terrorist bombing in the U.S. until Oklahoma City in 1995. But at the time, people saw it as just one more bombing in a long string of anarchist attacks. So what are the origins of domestic terrorism in the United States? And what kinds of people and movements have been identified as “terrorists”?” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow on the right end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Durham Lacrosse Case 51 mins -“Eight years ago, the campus of Duke University was engulfed in scandal. A black woman, who was not a Duke student, accused three white members of the lacrosse team of sexually assaulting her. The story brought to the fore the thorny issues of race, class and gender, and a media firestorm ensued. But it didn’t stop there—the scandal involved prosecutorial misconduct and a divisive debate on campus over the culture at Duke. In his new book, “The Price of Silence”, journalist and Duke alumnus William Cohan re-examines the complex events of the case. And he asks what it says about the power of sports at our nation’s colleges and universities.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the zip collection noted in this episode’s introduction contains a copy of the audio file.
Grilled Meat 3 mins – “Beer marinade helps make grilled meats healthier.” At the link find the title, “Episode 353 – April 14 2014,” right-click “Media files ScienceElements April14_2014.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Innate Immune System 98 mins – “Today, we’re talking the other immunity (that both Kate and Kevin happen to study). Neglected for nearly one hundred years, the innate immune system is required for getting inflammation going, and without it, adaptive immunity wouldn’t function. We discuss a landmark paper by the late Charles Janeway that set the stage for the revolution in understanding, and a newer study that aims to use our modern understanding of the innate immune system to make better vaccines. Check back later for some graphics and explainers.” At the link right-click “Click here” for download and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Internet Domains 17 mins – “There are over 100 million websites ending in .com. But new options for website names are becoming available. Not only is there .com and .gov .edu, but now .ninja has been added. Also .bike, .plumbing and .cool. In all, over 1000 new ‘top-level domains’ as they are called will be added. Today on the show, what happens when you just create a whole bunch of real estate out of nowhere? We meet some of the new land barons with big dreams. And a guy who worries, it’s just going to be a big mess. For more, check out these web sites: Here’s a list of new top-level domains that currently exist. Here’s a list of top-level domains that have been applied for. Namestat and nTLDStats are websites that track how well each one is doing – how many web sites have registered with each.” At the link find the title, “#532: The Wild West Of The Internet,” right-click “Media files npr_303812947.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Jewish History 47 mins – “…We’re talking this hour with celebrated historian Simon Schama about the story, the history, of the Jews. And we’ll turn to the latest from Pope Francis. This hour On Point: a holy week, and the history of the Jews… [with] Simon Schama, professor of art history and history at Columbia University. Writer and presenter of “The Story of the Jews.” Author of “The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words — 1000 BC – 1942 AD.'” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
LastPass 32 mins – “Host Leo Laporte demonstrates how to create and use secure passwords with LastPass.” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Patient Records Database 51 mins – “Doctors and their patients often don’t have the information they need on the relative effectiveness of different treatments. Clinical trials provide invaluable data but can’t and don’t cover the myriad of individual circumstances in the real world of patients. As part of the Affordable Care Act, a number of hospitals, research centers, clinics, insurers and patient groups are working to create a massive database of medical records – stripped of personally identifiable data. The idea is to allow scientists to study the relative effectiveness of any number of different drugs, devices and treatment plans, but questions about privacy persist. Please join us to talk about big data and medicine.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the zip collection noted in this episode’s introduction contains a copy of the audio file.
Rwanda Genocide 9 mins – “Creators of the new documentary “Coexist” spoke to Rwandan genocide survivors about forgiveness and reconciliation. Now they’re bringing those lessons to American students….” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Shameful Acts 40 mins – “This week, stories of people being threatened and punished with public shame. Including the story of someone who was literally tarred and feathered…” The second story is about a man’s reputation destroyed (temporarily) by a ‘troll’. The last is about a pre-teen pedophile’s effort to get help. You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the zip collection noted in this episode’s introduction contains a copy of the audio file.
Skyscraper Issues 25 mins – “When it was built in 1977, Citicorp Center (later renamed Citigroup Center, now called 601 Lexington) was, at 59 stories, the seventh-tallest building in the world. You can pick it out of the New York City skyline by its 45-degree angled top. But it’s the base of the building that really makes the tower so unique. The bottom nine of its 59 stories are stilts. This thing does not look sturdy. But it has to be sturdy. Otherwise they wouldn’t have built it this way….” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Smart Taxis 4 mins -“The Chinese mega-city of Shanghai has been cracking down on popular taxi-booking apps, banning their use during rush hour. The government says apps discriminate against older people and those who don’t have smartphones. But economists and some customers see the crackdown as a small, textbook case of something much bigger: the battle between the government and market forces in the world’s second-largest economy.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Steve Gibson 80 mins – This Week in Technology host, Leo Laporte, interviews Steve Gibson, computer programmer, inventor of SpinRite, and host of Security Now! At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Surface Science 29 mins – ” Russ visits with David McIlroy of the University of Idaho’s Department of Physics. David talks about the “green” nature of nanosprings – they are efficient, inexpensive to create, and keep harmful metals from passing into the environment. Visit the McIlroy Group Homepage at http://davemcilroy.wordpress.com/mcilroy-group-homepage/.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tax Cheats 22 mins – “Millions of tax cheats never get caught. And the IRS seems powerless to stop them.This isn’t just a problem in the U.S. American taxpayers are Dudley Do-Rights compared to people in some other countries. On today’s show, we head to some of the cheating-est places on earth to bring you tales from some of the roughest, toughest tax collectors around. These guys have tricks, tax collector mind-games, that they play to get people to do the right thing.” At the link find the title, “#531: The Tough, The Sweet and the Nosy,” right-click “Media files npr_302006746.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tax Reform 51 mins – “Many Americans will be scrambling today to get their 2013 tax return to the IRS. A few can anticipate a refund, but for many wealthier Americans, the dollar amount of taxes due has been a rising number. The top 1 percent of earners pay 29.3 percent of federal tax dollars, a percentage decried, depending on your perspective, as either far too high or not nearly high enough. Most do agree, however, that the US tax code unfairly subsidizes some at the expense of others, is far too complex and is sorely in need of reform. But given today’s political climate, hopes for meaningful change are not high. Please join us to discuss the US tax code and prospects for reform.” You can listen at the link, but not download; however, the zip collection noted in this episode’s introduction contains a copy of the audio file.
Transplant Immunology 50 mins – “In this episode, we’re talking transplantation: Why is it so damned hard to transfer tumors between mice? Why do we have to go to extraordinary lengths to transplant kidneys between humans? To serve as our guide, we go through two papers – A historical paper on the emergence of MHC in the immunological field, and a recent paper describing some cool tricks that immunologists are using to more effectively transplant organs between patients – without immune suppression. Along the way, we discuss tumor transplantation in inbred mice, Tasmanian devil face cancer, transplant rejection, the legacy of the Cavendish family (think banana), and just a touch of T cell biology. Happy listening!” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Venture for America 43 mins – “Andrew Yang – Author of Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America,… is the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, an organization dedicated to connecting promising recent graduates with startups with the hope of fostering a generation of entrepreneurs who can create economic value. Modeled after Teach for America, Venture for America will provide a path for entrepreneurship to college grads who want to learn how to build companies and create jobs.The goal is that a substantial proportion of VFA Fellows will become successful entrepreneurs, preferably rooted in the communities to which they are assigned. Andrew was recently named one of the “Top 100 Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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An alphabetic encyclopedia of over 2800 of these hyperlinked descriptions is here and updated quarterly. Jan-Jun 2013 files in 18 zip segments (832 podcasts) can be downloaded here, and a list of those files here; Jul-Dec 2013 files in 13 zip segments (720 podcasts) downloaded here, and a list here; Jan-Jun 2012 files in 8 segments (360 podcasts) and a list are here, and Jul-Dec here in 13 parts (593 podcasts). For 2011 a list and 5 segments (184 podcasts). For 2010 and earlier 64 podcasts are listed here and zipped 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 list of the feeds is here. Free Commander is used to compare old with new downloads and remove duplicates. MP3 Speed Changer is used on batches of new files to boost playback speed 150%. A speed listening background article is here. Please comment on any problems with the links and downloads.
Thank you for visiting.
Media Mining Digest 