The following audio files come from a larger group of 257 for the week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 49 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
AirBnB 46 mins – “Summertime, with a little luck, is vacation time at some point. Pack the car. Hit the road, the skies. Head for the hills, the lake, the beach, the city of your dreams. And when you get there? Well, things are changing. Maybe there’s a little cabin or motel or grand hotel you’ve always loved. A house you’ve always rented. And suddenly, everybody’s hopping online and sharing. Snagging houses and apartments and cottages on Airbnb that take them right out of hotel lobbies and into, well, maybe your neighborhood. This hour On Point: summer vacations in the age of the sharing economy and Airbnb.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alaska 52 mins – “Interior Alaska can be a forbidding place. The region is largely wilderness, covered with expansive stretches of tundra and towering mountain ranges. Winters are long and dark, with just a few hours of sunlight on the shortest days and temperatures that often plunge to -50F. Because of its isolation and climate, the region has long attracted people drawn to the challenges and opportunities of a wild, remote place. In this episode of SOTRU [State of the Re Union], we’ll meet a number of athletes, journalists, scientists, and activists who embody the spirit of Interior Alaska through their grit, determination, and iconoclasm.” At the link find the title, “Interior Alaska,” right-click “Alaska_Podcast.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Albumin 5 mins – “Albumin – the protein with an i – should not be confused with albumen with an e. Historically albumen with an e referred to any water soluble protein and is still used to refer to things like egg white. Albumin with an i refers to a specific protein found in blood plasma….” At the link right-click (or here) “Download: CIIE_Albumin.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
American Red Light District 61 mins – “The history of the American red light district is quite brief –- from railroad signal lights to hotel bathroom selfies -– and clouded in myth. Soon it may be lost. In this talk, Melissa Gira Grant — freelance journalist and author of “Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work” (Verso, 2014) — reconsiders how communication technologies shape sex-for-sale, proposes that sex work has merged with the network, and discusses what we can learn from how sex workers have remained a step ahead.” At the link (or here) right-click “Download the MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Antibiotic Impact on Health 51 mins – “The development of antibiotics in the 1940s ushered in a golden age of medicine. Bacterial infections and illnesses that were commonly fatal became treatable. But researchers now say the overuse of antibiotics has disturbed the natural balance of beneficial bacteria in our bodies. New studies indicate that some diseases – including obesity, childhood diabetes and asthma – may be on the rise because we have upset the delicate equilibrium of microbes in our gut and on our skin. In the next hour, Diane Rehm talks with two leading medical experts about this new research.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy is in the blog archive.
Asphalt Sealers 3 mins – “Pavement sealant ban lessens environmental risks.” At the link find the title, “Episode 389 – July 07, 2014,” right-click “direct link” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bakelite 5 mins – “When early humans first began to produce tools and other artefacts, they were limited to stone and living matter – whether wood, plant material or animal-based – as the basis for their manufacturing. With time, the ability to heat materials and process them added metals, glass and ceramics like pottery to that line up. But for a good two thousand years there was nothing else available. In the early 1900s a sixth type of substance, the first truly artificial manufacturing material, joined the original five. It was called Bakelite….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Behavior Rewards 12 mins – “Congestion on city streets or mass-transit systems would be much less of a problem if more commuters were willing to shift their travel to off-peak times. Some cities, such as London, have tried to address this problem by charging drivers a congestion fee during busy times. But Balaji Prabhakar, a professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science at Stanford University, believes that rewarding drivers for good behavior gets better results than punishing them for bad behavior. To this end, he has created a so-called nudge engine….” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blind Dining 20 mins – “Red Szell tests the new and much-talked about SmartGlasses being developed by Oxford University, and are you self-conscious about eating out?” At the link find the title, “SmartGlasses; Eating Out,” right-click (here or there) “Download 9MB ” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Boko Haram 27 mins – “Yalda Hakim hears from residents deep in Boko Haram territory, in northern Nigeria, who are caught between the Islamist militant group and the Nigerian military.” At the link find the title, “Docs: Nigeria Undercover,” right-click “Media files docarchive_20140710-0330a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bubble Gum 6 mins – “Our story begins in 1928. Walter E. Diemer, an accountant in a food company, liked to spend his spare time fiddling with recipes for new products. Generally, his experiments yielded duds. But one day, he hit on a magic formula – and also happened to find some pink dye lying around the factory. What did Walter Diemer create?” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
CarShare 29 mins – “Shared mobility – it’s a concept that might be a little foreign to the millions of Americans who get in their cars by themselves everyday and embark on a solo, carbon-intensive oh-so-individual drive to wherever they need to go. But there are new converts to the shared mobility model every day. City CarShare is a San Francisco Bay Area-based non-profit that provides its members with temporary cars. The organization’s mission is actually to take cars off the road by allowing more city-dwellers to eschew car ownership altogether.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cholesterol 6 mins – “Most people who know anything about Dorothy Hodgkin know that she solved the 3D structure of insulin. This was what she was most famous for – this and the technique she used: x-ray diffraction. But insulin’s fiendishly difficult structure took her three decades to crack – she began on it before the outbreak of the second world war and finished it in the year of the moon landing – and in the meantime she turned her attention to other important biological structures. In fact, she received her Nobel prize before the work for which she is best remembered was completed. By 1964, when the prize was awarded, she had already published the 3D crystallographic structures of penicillin and vitamin B12. But she is also credited with nailing the first 3D structure of a complex bio-organic molecule. And that molecule was cholesterol….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Chosing to Die 51 mins – “The aid in dying movement is growing. Montana, Oregon and Washington already have laws permitting right-to-die options. In January, a New Mexico district court authorized physicians to provide lethal prescriptions to mentally competent terminally ill adults. And last year, Vermont passed a law permitting patients to choose what advocates call “death with dignity.” Public support of assisted dying has expanded in recent years as baby boomers deal with the death of their parents, many of whom are living into their 80s and 90s and suffering from diseases linked to longevity, such as dementia and many types of cancer. Diane and her [4] guests discuss the aid in dying movement and what is driving its growth.” At the link you can listen to the audio but not download; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
College Voters 9 mins – “College students in North Carolina say the state’s new voter ID law violates their right to vote based on age. They’re challenging the law in court. Host Michel Martin learns more about the case.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cosmos Series 45 mins – “…Fox’s and National Geographic’s new Cosmos series set a new milestone in television history. According to National Geographic, it was the largest global rollout of a TV series ever, appearing on 220 channels in 181 countries, and 45 languages… At the center of the show is the “heir apparent” to legendary science popularizer and original Cosmos host Carl Sagan: astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who we interview on this week’s episode about what it’s like to fill Sagan’s shoes. Tyson discusses topics ranging from what we know now about the Cosmos that Sagan didn’t to why science seems to have gotten so supercool again. This episode also features a discussion of whether bringing extinct species back to life is a good idea, and of new research suggesting that climate change led to the rise of Genghis Khan.” At the link click “Download” and “OK” with “Save File” on the pop-up menu.
Education Trends 16 mins – “Technology theorist Clay Shirky has been studying the Internet since before most of us had email. In the first part of our interview, he says that the media need to shape up, or prepare for extinction.” 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.
Experts and Research 55 mins – “Remember “Climategate”? It was the 2009 non-scandal scandal in which a trove of climate scientists’ emails, pilfered from the University of East Anglia in the UK, were used to call all of modern climate research into question. .. Suddenly, these “experts” looked more like ordinary human beings who speak their minds, who sometimes have emotions and rivalries with one another, and (shocker) don’t really like people who question the validity of their knowledge… On the show this week we talked to Collins about why scientific expertise matters—especially in a world where more and more people are getting their answers from Google searches. At the link click “Download,” then “OK” and “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
FCC Internet Rules 29 mins – “Kevin Werbach, Matt Wood, and Randolph May talked about the Federal Communications Commission’s proposed rules that could allow Internet service providers to charge content companies for faster delivery, and what the proposals mean for net neutrality and the future of the Internet.” At the link you can listen /watch, but an audio download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in the bog archive.
Fire Escapes 19 mins – “When designing a commercial structure, there is one safety component that must be designed right into the building from the start: egress. ” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Forensic Research 44 mins – “As a writer, Deborah Blum says she has a “love of evil chemistry.” It seems that audiences do too: Her latest book, The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, was not only a bestseller, but was just turned into a film by PBS. The book tells the story of Charles Norris, New York City’s first medical examiner, and Alexander Gettler, his toxicologist and forensic chemist. They were a scientific and medical duo who brought real evidence and reliable forensic techniques to the pressing task of apprehending poisoners, who were running rampant at the time because there was no science capable of catching them. On the show this week we talk to Blum about this “golden age for poisoners” and the science that goes along with it. This episode also features an interview with Quartz meteorology writer Eric Holthaus about whether global warming may be producing more extreme cold weather in the mid-latitudes, just like what much of America experienced this week.” At the link click “Download,” then “OK” to “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
GMO Labeling 46 mins – “More than 60 countries around the world, and nearly all of Europe, require the labeling of genetically modified foods – GMOs. The United States does not. This spring, Vermont voted to require foods with GMO ingredients to be labeled. First state to do it. It’s a big deal. Crack the fierce industry resistance in one state, and it could spread all over. Oregon voters just submitted petitions to put GMO labeling to a popular vote in November. Monsanto and big food distributors hate it. Say we need the science and the GMO food. This hour On Point: the GMO labeling fight in America.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Graphene 6 mins – “…Graphene has since amazed and inspired researchers with its abilities. It is 200 times stronger than steel, making it one of the strongest materials ever tested. In fact, it would take an elephant, standing on a pin, to produce enough pressure to break through the single sheet of atoms. It has both the highest electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of any material at room temperature, beating silver and diamond respectively….” At the link (or here) right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Howard U 59 mins – “Wayne A.I. Frederick talked about the challenges facing Howard University and other historically black colleges, as well as the state of higher education in the United States. Mr. Frederick also spoke about his career as a surgical oncologist and his upbringing in Trinidad and Tobago, including his fight with sickle cell anemia.” At the link you can listen/watch, but an audio download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in this blog archive.
Innovation Districts 46 mins – “Every city planner wants an “innovation district” these days. That hot, hip, high-tech neighborhood where coffee shops and capital and talent churn together to turn out new businesses and economic growth. They’re in Barcelona and Berlin, Seoul and Stockholm. They’re up or coming in Boston, Seattle, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cleveland – all over. Everybody wants their own urban Silicon Valley. Well, almost everybody. There’s pushback, too. And a hot debate right now on the innovation bandwagon itself. This hour On Point: innovation districts in America.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
ISIS Defined 46 mins – “Until they came bursting into Mosul last month with black flags and pick-up trucks, ISIS was – to most Americans – just part of a chaotic jumble of fighters in Syria. The next thing we knew, they had taken over a huge swath of Iraq, declared themselves the Islamic State, and announced a new caliphate in the heart of the Middle East. This weekend the self-proclaimed caliph of the caliphate – Abu Bakr al Baghdadi – purportedly stepped out of the shadows and spoke to the world. They’re too brutal for al Qaeda. They literally crucify. And right now they rule. This hour On Point: ISIS and the Islamic State.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Jared Diamond 52 mins – “Jared Diamond, author of a suite of massive, bestselling books about the precarious state of our civilization (including the Pulitzer-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel), calls himself “cautiously optimistic” about the future of humanity. …Diamond’s first book, The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal… It’s a sweeping survey of who we humans are—evolutionarily speaking, that is—and what that says about whether we can solve the “various messes that we’re making now,” as Diamond puts it. And this month, The Third Chimpanzee has been released in a new, shortened and illustrated edition for young adults, underscoring Diamond’s sense that our entire future depends on “enabl[ing] young people to make better decisions than their parents.” …This episode also features a discussion of the science (and superstition) behind this week’s “blood moon,” and the case of K.C., the late amnesiac patient who taught us so much about the nature of human memory.” At the link click “Download,” then “OK” to “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
Jazz in India 27 mins – ” Sarfraz Manzoor charts the extraordinary story of jazz in India when some of the world’s most accomplished musicians including Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong brought their talents to the east and mixed with performers such as Chic Chocolate, Micky Correa, Teddy Weatherford and Frank Fernand – all regarded in India today as jazz legends.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Bombay Jazz,” right-click “Media files docarchive 20140709-0332a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Language and Technology 11 mins – “To the annoyance of teachers everywhere, students now turn in papers with abbreviations they learned from texting, sentences with lower-case “i”s, and other grammatical taboos. Frustrating, yes, but do these tiny shifts really change language itself? “People notice the novelties, the sudden inventiveness that people do when they get this new technology and they think ‘oh dear, oh dear the entire language is changing.’ But in actual fact, only small bits of the language are changing,” says David Crystal, a British linguist and author of over 100 books, including “How Language Works” and “Language and the Internet.'” At the link right-click on the down-pointing arrow on the right end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Libertarian Manifesto 59 mins – “Matt Kibbe talked about his book, Don’t Hurt People and Don’t Take Their Stuff: A Libertarian Manifesto, in which he argues that the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to self-determination, but politicians and corporate leaders have been steadily eroding that right for decades. In his book, Mr. Kibbe provides what he believes is a foolproof plan to restore Constitutional liberties. He talked with Tim Carney, director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Culture of Competition Project.” At the link you can listen/watch, but a download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in this blog’s archive.
Media Trends 16 mins – “Technology theorist Clay Shirky has been studying the Internet since before most of us had email. In the first part of our interview, he says that the media need to shape up, or prepare for extinction.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow on the right end of the top sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Online Learning Research 78 mins – “Millions of learners on platforms like edX and Coursera are generating terabytes of data tracking their activity in real time. Online learning platforms capture extraordinarily detailed records of student behavior, and now the challenge for researchers is to explore how these new datasets can be used to advance the science of learning. In this edX co-sponsored talk Justin Reich — educational researcher, co-founder of EdTechTeacher, and Berkman Fellow — examines current trends and future directions in research into online learning in large-scale settings.” At the link (or here) right-click ” Download the MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Opsins 7 mins – “Of all the complex compounds that make the human body work, it’s hard not to have a particular fondness for the opsins, sometimes called retinylidene proteins. These tangled molecules, formed of a bundle of seven helixes, change their signalling pathways in response to being hit by light. They are the compounds that give us sight. Animals aren’t alone in making use of opsins – some bacteria use different members of the opsin family to produce energy from light – but it is the opsins in animal eyes that make such a difference in their sensory environment….” At the link right-click (or here) “Download: CIIE_Opsins.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Petrol 7 mins – “…A good way to get a feel for just how much energy petrol packs in is to compare it with the explosive TNT. Petrol has 15 times the energy per unit weight of TNT. The reason we think of TNT as packing such a punch is that it releases its energy so quickly – but a kilogram of petrol has much more oomph than a kilogram of TNT. Another useful comparison that illustrates the effectiveness of petrol is that it enables us to drive cars with, say, 100 horsepower. That’s around 75 kilowatts. To get that kind of power from current solar panels would require about 500 square metres – that’s a lot of solar panels on top of your car….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Population Growth and Climate Change 44 mins – “This week, Chris Mooney talks to environmental journalist Alan Weisman, who explains why, following on his 2007 New York Times bestseller, The World Without Us, he decided to centrally take on the issue of human population. For his just-published book Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?, Weisman traveled to 21 countries—from Israel to Mexico, and from Pakistan to Niger—to report on how different cultures are responding to booming populations and the strain this is putting on their governments and resources…This episode of Inquiring Minds also features a discussion of the latest myths circulating on global warming, and the brave new world of gene therapy that we’re entering—where being rich might be your key ticket to the finest health care.” At the link click “Download,” then “OK” to “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
Post Doc Surplus 54 mins – “… According to Brandeis University biochemist Dr. Gregory Petsko, who recently chaired a National Academy of Sciences committee on the postdoctoral experience in the US, less than 20 percent of aspiring postdocs today get highly coveted jobs in academia. That’s less than one in five. Naturally, many more end up in industry, in government, and in many other sectors—but not the one they were trained for or probably hoping for… This episode also features a story about the upcoming release of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report on global warming impacts, and a discussion about the difficult question of when screening for disease conditions is (and isn’t) a good idea.” At the link click “Download” then “OK” to “Save File” from the pop-up menu.
Power and Leadership 68 mins – “Michael Lindsay, co-author of View from the Top: An Inside Look at How People in Power See and Shape the World, talked about the results of his ten-year study on power and leadership in America. Mr. Lindsay said that a few thousand people in the U.S. make decisions that impact the rest of us. He and his team conducted in-depth interviews with 550 government and business leaders to find out how they operated. After his remarks he was joined by his co-author, M.G. Hager, to answer questions from members of the audience….” At the link you can listen/watch, but an audio download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in the this blog’s archive.
Power Grid Future 11 mins – “…What will the power grid look like 50 years from now? More importantly, what do we want it to look like, and how will we supply reliable, affordable, and sustainable electricity to a global population that may reach 10 billion by midcentury? IEEE Spectrum considered those important questions as part of its recent special report “The Future We Deserve.” Clark Gellings is one of the world’s leading experts on the electricity system. He’s a Fellow of the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, and also a Life Fellow of the IEEE. During the course of his 46-year career, his ideas, his writing, and his testimony have really helped propel the electricity industry toward greater energy efficiency, more widespread adoption of the smart grid, and more integration of renewable energy and other clean technologies….” At the link right-click “download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Racism Struggle 27 mins – “Baroness Oona King, former British Labour MP, discovers her American family’s role in the fight for equality. Her grandfather and uncles worked with Martin Luther King in The Albany Movement, a campaign that tried to desegregate their home town in Georgia. Oona travelled to Albany to speak to members of the movement on the 50th anniversary of the passing of The Civil Rights Act.” At the link find the title, “My Family’s Fight for Civil Rights,” right-click ” Media files docarchive_20140702-0332a.mp3″ and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Radioactive Waste 30 mins – “…Edward H. Kraus Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan talks about how to keep materials from losing their structures when irradiated. He also explains how biological species are capable of storing radioactive material.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Real Estate Trends 46 mins – “…The American real estate market is not the same since the Great Recession. Private equity firms buying up tons of houses. Mortgage rates low, but mortgages still hard to snag. And then there are the foreign home buyers. More than ever. From all over the world. Looking at the US and seeing a great place to own. To, in effect, stash money. And sometimes to launder it. When you hear “all-cash purchase,” that cash may well be from abroad. They’re buying $90 million condos in New York, and maybe something on your block. This hour On Point: foreign buyers, American real estate.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Religion and Beliefs 54 mins – “Public discussion of religion tends to polarize between two extremes. But much of what people actually believe falls somewhere in between. David Cayley speaks to five thinkers whose books have charted new paths for religion. Part 4: James Carse.” At the link find the title, “After Atheism: New Perspectives on God and Religion, Part 4 (Encore May 3, 2012),” right click (there or here) “Download After Atheism: New Perspectives on God and Religion, Part 4 (Encore May 3, 2012)” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Religion and the State 54 mins – “Public discussion of religion tends to polarize between two extremes. But much of what people actually believe falls somewhere in between. David Cayley speaks to five thinkers whose books have charted new paths for religion. Part 3: William Cavanaugh.” At the link find the title, “After Atheism: New Perspectives on God and Religion, Part 3 (Encore May 2, 2012) ,” right click (there or here) “Download After Atheism: New Perspectives on God and Religion, Part 3 (Encore May 2, 2012)” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Salvarsan 7 mins – “A black and white movie; the scene is a doctor’s office. A young man is slumped dejectedly in his chair, head in hands, while the doctor impotently attempts consolation. ‘You mustn’t be disheartened,’ he offers, ‘there are many as badly off as you.’ …this is the opening sequence of a film made in 1940 and the scene itself is set over 100 years before today. The diagnosis is in fact syphilis and the film is Dr Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet: a biopic of Paul Ehrlich and the story of the first chemotherapeutic drug: Salvarsan, also known as arsphenamine. Syphilis was the 19th century version of today’s Aids epidemic – … no treatment existed that could successfully halt its progress through the stages of infection, ultimately leading to tumorous, necrotic growths, damage to the brain and heart, and eventually death….” At the link right-click (or here) “Download: CIIE_Salvarsan.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sharing Economy 63 mins – “Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the sharing economy–companies like Uber, AirBnB, FlightApp, and DogVacay that let people share their houses, cars, or other assets with strangers in exchange for money. These companies dramatically increase the use of resources that would otherwise be idle and disrupt existing services such as hotels and taxis. Topics discussed include the regulatory response to these companies, the politics of that response, and the significance of these new products. The conversation closes with the potential impact of Uber combining with driverless cars to change the automobile industry and cities. ” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Squalene 5 mins – “…it is true that if sharks don’t keep swimming they will sink. The reason is that they don’t have a gas-filled balloon, known as a swim bladder, like most bony fish do. Instead sharks have evolved large, oil-rich livers that help boost their buoyancy, although not as much as if they carried around a bubble of air inside them. A major component of that shark liver oil is an organic molecule called squalene. …it is less dense than saltwater, which is why it helps to keep sharks buoyant in the water column. Another property of this molecule is being harnessed by people, after researchers discovered that it helps to make vaccines more effective – in particular the flu vaccine. Squalene is used as what’s known as an adjuvant, an effect originally discovered in the 1920s by French researcher Gaston Ramon. He found that adding certain substances to vaccines produced a stronger immune response and he called them …. At the link right-click ( or here) “Download: CIIE_Squalene.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Taxi Drivers 27 mins – “Meet New York’s rookie cabbies – fledgling taxi-drivers trying to earn a living in the most stressful city in the world. Most are immigrants, already grappling with the challenges of a new language and a new culture. Now they have to deal with long hours, short fares, and grumpy passengers in the back.” At the link find thte title, “DocArchive: Yellow Cab Blues,” right click “Media files
docarchive_20140708-0332a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Uber and Lyft 20 mins – “…Senior Research Fellow Matthew Mitchell and Associate Director of State Relations Michael Leland discuss taxi regulations that create barriers to entry for ridesharing applications and keep innovators from competing to create the best services available to consumers. Matt discusses red tape holding back taxi companies and how state regulators can move forward in a way that encourages innovation and is fair to existing firms.” At the link right-click “Download MP3″ and select”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Whales vs Sonar 51 mins – “Whales ruled the oceans for tens of millions of years. Until man came along. Like other great creatures on Earth, they may have met their match in modern-day weapons and technology. A new book tells the story of a fight for survival that pits whales against the U.S. Navy. It has been described as an eco-thriller, except it’s non-fiction. It begins in the Bahamas with a mass stranding of whales. A researcher passionate about marine mammals teams up with a relentless environmental lawyer, and together, they seek to prove that Navy sonar is harming whales. We discuss their battle as it goes to the U.S. Supreme Court – and continues today.” At the link you can listen to the audio but not download; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
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An alphabetic encyclopedia of 3600 of these hyperlinked descriptions is here and updated quarterly. A file of the podcasts is here , added to weekly, and can be downloaded as a 20+ GB zipped file or individually. A separate folder of C-Span, Diane Rehm, et. al. files that aren’t available at their sites is there too, and can also be downloaded as a zip file or individually. Over 180 feeds used to prepare this blog are harvested with Feedreader3 and Juice. The feeds are available in this opml file which Feedreader and Juice 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 