The following audio files come from a larger group of 182 for the week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 60 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode.
Abortion Rights 24 mins – “…Bill Moyers talks about the politics of reproductive freedom with Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. For nearly a century, Planned Parenthood has been the leading advocate for reproductive health care in the United States, with 69 affiliates nationwide, operating more than 700 health centers….” At the link find the title, “Full Show: The Crusade Against Reproductive Rights,” right-click “Media files Moyers and Company 328 Podcast.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Adenosine Triphosphate 6 mins – “…Variously referred to as the currency of life, the universal energy carrier and the universal currency of biological systems, adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, has a lot of names to live up to. If you hadn’t heard of it before, you’d wonder what on Earth it could have done to have earned such monikers….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Aereo Decision 47 mins – “Looking at what the recent Aereo ruling represents for copyright-holders and TV viewers alike, attorney Lois Wasoff reviews the SCOTUS decision and the legal framework within which the case was decided, including the old Supreme Court CATV cases, Sony and Cablevision, and specific provisions of the Copyright Act, especially the Transmit Clause.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Affordable Care in Kentucky 27 mins – “Claire Bolderson reports from Kentucky on how the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is changing lives. But can the doubters be won over?” At the link find the title, “Docs: Kentucky learns to love Obamacare – 17 July 2014,” right-click “Media files docarchive 20140717-0330a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alberta Tar Sands 99 mins – “…the history of the Alberta tar sands, arguably one of the most significant contemporary Canadian environmental issues. This episode featured a panel of speakers from the 2013 American Society for Environmental History who participated on a plenary titled, “The Fossil Fuel Dilemma: Vision, Values, and Technoscience in the Alberta Oil Sands.” We also interviewed Dr. Andrew Weaver, a climatologist from University of Victoria, member of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a Green Party of BC Member of the Legislative Assembly.” At the link (or here) right-click “Nature’s Past Episode 38: Histories of Canadian Environmental Issues, Part VIII – Tar Sands” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alcoholism Treatment 51 mins “For more than 80 years, 12- step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous have helped millions give up drinking for good. But today, more and more experts are calling for a change in how doctors and specialists approach the treatment of alcohol addiction. They say for some alcoholics, the cold-turkey just isn’t the answer. Many programs now advocate lifelong moderate drinking in combination with other treatments. At the same time, scientists are hot on the trail of brand-new drugs that could help those dependent on drinking. Rethinking the abstinence-only approach and a look at the changing perspectives on the treatment of alcohol addiction.” At the link you can’t download the file, but it’s included in this blog’s archive.
Audiophile Vinyl 71 mins – “Host Scott Wilkinson and Michael Fremer chat about high-res audio and vinyl LPs.” At the link right-click “Audio”beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Black Capt America 5 mins – “Step aside Steve Rogers, the Falcon is the new Capt. America. Anthony Mackie plays Falcon in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and he talks to about the character’s cultural significance.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Book World Changes 82 mins – “On Marketing Mavericks Tonya Hall talks with Andy Weir, Dan Gerstein, and Geoffrey Colon about how technology has changed the way people read and write books, self-publishing, how to market content, ghost writing, and more.” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu
Broke in a Mercedes 12 mins – “Darlena Cunha sparked a heated debate online when she wrote about driving a luxury car to pick up her WIC benefits. Host Michel Martin talks to Cunha about her piece and the reaction to it.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bubble Wrap 3 mins – “…Turns out, three-dimensional wallpaper was a flop. And its second planned use — as a greenhouse insulator — also failed to take off. But the new product, made from a material that was increasingly important in American manufacturing, did end up making it into houses eventually, albeit in a totally different way. One day, while on a plane, Chavannes noticed the soft, cushioning clouds outside his window. And he started to think about a new use for his wallpaper. A use that even helped to distribute the first personal computers…” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow at the end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Campaign Technology 12 mins – “With the 2014 and 2016 elections looming, techies are hard at work on how to change our votes. Teddy Goff, Digital Director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign, talks about the experiments we’ll all be part of.”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.
Cancer Options 69 mins – “D.G. Myers, literary critic and cancer patient, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the lessons he has learned from receiving a cancer diagnosis six years ago. Myers emphasizes the importance of dealing with cancer honestly and using it as a way to focus attention on what matters in life. The conversation illuminates the essence of opportunity cost and the importance of allocating our time, perhaps our scarcest resource, wisely. The last part of the conversation discusses a number of literary issues including the role of English literature and creative writing in American universities.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
China’s Revolution Addiction 15 mins – “…It is a main theme in much of Yu Hua’s work and our conversation that China is hooked for a century now on something like an addiction to Revolution. And a revolution, he reminds me with heavy irony, quoting Chairman Mao, is not a dinner party. It’s an insurrection, an act of violence. The market revolution, he’s saying, is more like than unlike the notorious upheavals that preceded it: the war of “liberation” that brought the Communist Party to power in 1949; Mao’s Great Leap Forward in the 50s, a headlong rush to industrialize that ended in famine and death for 20-million or more; then the know-nothing Cultural Revolution of the 60s into the 70s. The problem with all the endless revolutions is that they’ve been run by political monopolies. They’re invariably violent, mobilized by propaganda, not participation. And they’re generally heedless of long-term results – even in the market revolution that has made so many Chinese people rich….” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Chloral Hydrate 7 mins – “…It was the hypnotic application of chloral hydrate, typically in an alcohol solution, that got it the reputation of being a safe and reliable form of knockout drops – the infamous Mickey Finn. In reality it was neither safe nor reliable. There is no simple mechanism, whether it involves a cosh or a chemical, that can render someone unconscious safely. Anaesthesia is a complex business that needs careful monitoring. Although chloral hydrate certainly can be used to knock someone out – and was sometimes employed this way medically before better replacements were introduced – it needs a carefully handled dosage for the individual. Getting it wrong could result in nothing more than drowsiness or, at the extreme of an overdose, in nausea, convulsions and coma….” At the link (or here) right-click “Download: CIIE_ChloralHydrate.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Computer Repair Business 69 mins -Jeff Halash from TechNutPC.com talks to computer repair technician Matthew Rodela from JiffyPC.com, YFNCG.com and The Computer Business Podcast about starting such a business, tips and trends. At the link right-click “Download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Consciousness Science 37 mins – “This week we revisit a classic edition of the podcast recorded in February 2012. Former Science Weekly presenter Alok Jha interviewed three specialists investigating the “hard problem”, human consciousness: Dr Anil Seth, co-director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science at Sussex University; Professor Chris Frith, professor emeritus at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London; and Professor Barry Smith, director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study, University of London.” At the link right-click “Download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Diabetes Definition 15 mins – “Pre-diabetes is an umbrella term and the most widely used phrase to describe a blood concentration of glucose or glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) that lies above normal but below that defined for diabetes. John S Yudkin, emeritus professor of diabetes at University College London, thinks this is over-medicalisation and will only increase the burden…” At the link find the title, “Pre-diabetes – epidemic or emperor’s new clothes?” right-click “Media files
159119998-bmjgroup-pre-diabetes-epidemic-or-emperors-new-clothes.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Dietary Supplements 51 mins – “It’s been 20 years since lawmakers first butted heads over the regulation of dietary supplements. The question was: should vitamins, minerals and other naturally derived nutritional products be regulated like a food or like a pharmaceutical? The answer was: like a food. That set the stage for what critics call a “wild west” environment in which companies make health claims and bring products to market without proof of safety or effectiveness. Yet, those concerns have not slowed growth. Sixty-eight percent of American adults use dietary supplements, while annual sales have ballooned to $32 billion a year. Still, the debate over safety and regulation continues. Diane and her guests discuss concerns about the safety and regulation of the supplement industry.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Digital Learning 28 mins – “Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart: How Digital Learning Is Changing the World, talked by video link from Seattle about digital learning and the future of U.S. schools as they incorporated the Internet into education.” At the link you can listen but a download costs $.99; however, a coy is included in the blog archive.
Dimethylmercury 7 mins – “…The most toxic mercury compounds are organometallics, containing mercury-carbon bonds. The first of these were made in 1852; Sir Edward Frankland found that if you left a mixture of methyl iodide with metallic mercury in sunlight, it formed crystals of methylmercury iodide. Many similar compounds followed. In the early 20th century, people started using them as fungicides on seed grains. They killed fungi, and people, too. Some people made bread direct from the grain, instead of planting it; mercury poisoning epidemics resulted. In Iraq in 1971-2, people ignored warnings on sacks of treated grain because they were in Spanish. Hundreds of people died. And when a Japanese chemical company discharged mercury wastes into the sea, anaerobic bacteria converted it into methylmercury, which was absorbed by plankton and passed up the food chain through fish to humans. The result was the poisoning of thousands of people at Minamata….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Drought in California 51 mins – “California supplies a sizable majority of the fruits, vegetables and nuts in the U.S. But the state is suffering through the third year of a devastating drought. Coping with the water scarcity could cost California more than two billion dollars this year alone. Farmers struggle to adapt, as hundreds of thousands of acres now lay fallow. With no drought relief in sight, questions persist about how the crisis could impact the cost of produce. What the continued drought in California could mean for our food and our wallets.” At the link you can listen, but not download the podcast; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Ear Grit 5 mins – “Experts who treat dizziness estimate that about 20 percent of all dizziness is due to loose crystals — or ear rocks — in the inner ear. The condition, known as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is usually treated with a series of simple head movements aimed at putting dislodged ear rocks back where they came from so they can be cleared away by the immune system. BPPV can be triggered by a head injury or a virus. The condition is more common in older adults.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Edible Packaging 13 mins – “Many of the foods we eat – from cookies to cereal – are packaged in plastic. The upside? Plastic is cheap, convenient, and versatile. The downside? Chemicals from packaging may leech into food. And ton of plastic ends up in both the ocean and in landfills every year. Now, imagine walking into a grocery store where everything is wrapped in edible, grape-like skins, with no other packaging. You buy what you want, take it home, and wash it off like you would an apple, before eating it. That’s the vision of Harvard’s David Edwards, who’s working to make this futuristic scene a reality.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Export-Import Bank 51 mins – “The U.S. Export-Import Bank was created in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt to increase trade with the Soviet Union. Now an independent agency, the bank boasts a $140 billion portfolio made up of loans and guarantees to foreign companies who want to buy American products. Critics say the bank is practicing “corporate welfare” that favors big business and should be abolished. Defenders of the bank argue it enables major exports that boost the economy and makes U.S. companies competitive in world markets. Diane and [3] guests discuss the role of the Export-Import Bank, the fight in Congress over reauthorization and what it could mean for the economy.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Fundamentalism Fight 20 mins – “Karima Bennoune shares four powerful stories of real people fighting against fundamentalism in their own communities — refusing to allow the faith they love to become a tool for crime, attacks and murder. These personal stories humanize one of the most overlooked human-rights struggles in the world.” At the link click “download” then right-click “Download Audio” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Gas Pipe Lines 51 mins – ” Production of natural gas in this country has been soaring, but many of the pipelines needed to get this gas where it’s most needed have yet to be built. A recent industry- funded study estimates that more than 300,000 miles of new infrastructure including pipelines and other transmission lines are required. Although the federal government largely has the power through eminent domain to give companies the right to build pipelines across private property, some land owners are fighting back. Please join us to discuss the nation’s natural gas boom and the rights of private landowners.” At the link you can’t download the file, but it’s included in this blog’s archive.
George Will 59 mins – “George Will talked about his latest book, A Nice Little Place on the North Side: Wrigley Field at 100, which examines the story of the Chicago Cubs. He also talked about his career as a syndicated columnist and the controversy surrounding one of his columns regarding sexual assault on college campuses, in which he argued that the Obama administration’s statistics were not grounded in fact and that due process for those accused of assault was endangered. Mr. Will was dropped by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch over this column and addressed this in the interview.” At the link you can listen, but a download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Heavy Water 7 mins – “…The name ‘heavy water’ conjures up vivid images of an amazing, super-dense liquid with workers struggling to lift tiny quantities. I was therefore a little disappointed to discover that it is not actually that heavy after all – in fact only about 10% more dense than normal water. Yet it was this small difference in densities that first led to the discovery of the isotope of hydrogen by Harold Urey in 1933….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
HIV Diagnosis 30 mins – “HIV testing is now being routinely offered in increasingly diverse health settings, including primary care. In this podcast we talk to HIV consultant Mike Rayment, from Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, and Paul, a patient diagnosed with HIV infection 4 years ago.” At the link find the title, “Newly diagnosed HIV,” right-click “Play Now” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-menu.
Immigrant Submariners 12 mins – “In ‘Underwater Dreams,’ Robotics Team Puts Lens On Immigration Debate: The new documentary, produced by Jeb Bush Jr., explores the topic of immigration reform through the lives of undocumented students who win an underwater robotics competition.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
International Dollar 20 mins – “As World War 2 was ending, world leaders realized they had a problem. Countries no longer knew how to trade with each other. Their economies were devastated. So representatives from 44 nations gathered in the small town of Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to come up with the solution. It came down to two different plans put forward by two very different men. One was the most famous economist in the world. A British aristocrat. The other was an American that no one remembers. But it was the American that won the day and put the U.S. dollar right in the middle of world trade. Today on the show, how the US won. The story involves a carefully laid trap, late night dancing and copious amounts of alcohol.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Kenya Indians 27 mins – “In 1896 the British sent thousands of labourers from India to Kenya, to build the Uganda Railway from Mombasa on Kenya’s coast to Lake Victoria in Uganda. During the ’60s and ’70s, facing uncertainty in an independent Kenya, many used their link with Britain to settle in the UK, causing alarm among the government and public. Neil Kanwal explores their experiences of empire, identity, discrimination and migration.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Three Continents, Three Generations,” right-click “Media files
docarchive_20140716-0332b.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Kevlar 7 mins – “When American chemistry major Stephanie Kwolek went looking for a job to fund her way through medical school in the 1940s, she could hardly have imagined that the temporary job she’d pick up would last over 40 years. Although she’d never make it to med school, she still saved lives, and thousands of them, by discovering a new material that would revolutionise almost every aspect of the modern world….” At the link right-click “Download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Las Vegas Wyn Resorts 24 mins “Wynn Resorts owner Steve Wynn on the Las Vegas hotel and casino business – Part 1” At the link find the title, “Wynn Resorts…,” right-click “Media files 20140717.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Latino Media 51 mins – “An exploration of Hispanic media today, including the remaking of popular American shows into Spanish, a conversation with Hispanic TV’s star newscaster, and a challenge to Bob and Brooke to discuss it all without sucking.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow below the wound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Life Coaches 47 mins – “Maybe it’s the final “Oprah-fication” of America. Suddenly it seems “life coaches” are all over the place. Lost in your career? Get a life coach. Lost touch with your mojo? Life coach. Want a big turn or tune-up? Life coach. You put down the cash and the life coach goes to work. Teasing out your dreams, your desires. Getting you on track to get there. The challenge may be at work, may be at home. Maybe both. Some therapists worry life coaches are getting into their terrain. There used to be a stigma. Maybe not now. This hour On Point: we’re looking at the boom in life coaching.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. Many conflicting comments are at the link, but not one mentions What Color Is Your Parachute.
Litterati.org 30 mins – “…Anyone who is on social media knows how often you can be inundated with picayune details of your friends’ daily lives. But what if all that over-sharing could be turned into something productive and beneficial? What if, instead of just being a source of information on what your high school friend had for lunch today, or how great your niece’s new shoes look, social media could work to create a buzz around something really important, like picking up litter?…” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Luminol 6 mins – “…This use of luminol was first devised by the German forensic scientist Walter Specht in 1937, though it had been known that blood would trigger the reaction for about ten years. Specht discovered that the older the stain, the longer and brighter the light-producing reaction. Because the blood is only acting as a catalyst, small traces that are invisible to the eye are sufficient to trigger the reaction, so luminol can be used to detect blood spatter and pools even after cleaning. …An experienced investigator can tell the difference between blood and bleach because of different speeds of reaction, but it still makes it difficult to discover a bloodstain in some circumstances. And while spraying with luminol leaves the blood intact for further tests, it can remove other evidence, so its use is usually a lot more controlled than the free and easy spraying seen on TV forensic crime shows. Luminol, then, is not a universal solution for the detection of blood traces, but it is often effective. It’s not just a matter of detecting the presence of blood as, for instance, a hidden blood spatter pattern can provide valuable evidence about the direction of an attack or the weapon used….” At the link (or here), right-click “Download: CIIE_Luminol.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Malala Yousafzai follow up 13 mins – “The global icon traveled to Nigeria to visit with schoolgirls who escaped from Boko Haram militants. In this encore broadcast, she talks about what drives her activism to change the lives of women.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Middle East Borders 49 mins – “…The borders that divide up our modern world hinge, sometimes, on decisions that have stopped making sense. The Middle East is still suffering from unhealed wounds resulting from the boundaries established a hundred years ago in secret by two men, Mark Sykes and Francois Georges Picot, that carved the former Ottoman empire into today’s Middle East. As geopolitics changes around the world, why don’t those political maps?…” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Minimum Wage 51 mins – “The debate over income inequality might just be the hottest development in economics in decades. Take French economist Thomas Piketty’s recent book on wealth and inequality. After flying off the shelves in France, it became a best-seller in the U.S. this spring. Politico magazine ran a piece on income inequality by Seattle-based entrepreneur Nick Hanauer two weeks ago. It quickly became one of the most shared stories in Politico’s history. Hanauer is a passionate advocate for raising the minimum wage. He warns that mega-millionaires like him must help close the gap between America’s haves and have nots. If they don’t, everyone will lose. A conversation with Nick Hanauer.” At the link you can listen, but not download the podcast; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Minority Programs 57 mins – “Jason Riley talked about his book, Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make it Harder for Blacks to Succeed, in which he argues that government assistance programs designed to help African Americans rise from poverty are ineffectual. He said that programs intended to help poor minorities frequently and unintentionally hinder minority progress. He discussed his findings with American Urban Radio’s April Ryan.” At the link you can listen, but a download costs $.99; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Napalm 6 mins – “…By the 7th century AD, the inhabitants of Byzantium (Constantinople), had developed a fearsome substance that became known as Greek fire. Crude oil had been discovered in the Near East long before that, and it was widely used as a source of naphtha, an ingredient in flaming projectiles. The Byzantines added further refinements. Today, the ingredients are a lost secret, but it looks as if they used naphtha, pine resin and other chemicals including sulfur, projecting it long distances by forcing it through a nozzle under pressure: the original flamethrower. High-boiling chemicals like pine resin would enable the mixture to burn for longer and reach higher temperatures than one purely based on petrol-like molecules, and would also cause the burning mixture to adhere to any surface – or person – unlucky enough to be in its way. This was used twice successfully to fight off the Muslim navy besieging Constantinople. So chemical warfare is nothing new….” At the link (or here) right-click “Download: CIIE_Napalm.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Natto Science 30 mins – “In a rebroadcast from June 20, 2010, Keith talks with UTEP alumnus Dr Ralph E. Holsworth, Jr., DO. Dr Holsworth is a former student of Keith’s. Dr Holsworth has been studying nattokinase, an enzyme derived from an ancient Japanese food shown to break up blood clots. Holsworth also tells us the difference between a DO (Doctor of Oteopathy) and an MD. Dr Holsworth is currently working as a family practitioner at the Tahoma Clinic in Seattle WA. http://www.tahomaclinic.com/dr-holsworth/” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Post Partum Depression 51 mins – “A growing body of research indicates that postpartum mental disorders that afflict new mothers are more common and include more symptoms than previously thought. As many as one in seven women develop a wide-range of problems including depression, anxiety, and bi-polar disorder in the year after they give birth. In several countries, suicide is one of the leading causes of death of new moms. Scientists say a complex interaction of genes, stress and hormones is to blame. Diane and a panel of [4] guests will discuss the latest findings on risk factors and treatment options for women with postpartum depression and anxiety.” At the link you can listen but not download this podcast; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Poverty Project 12 mins – “A 25-year-long Baltimore study finds that low-income whites were more able to move up than low-income African-Americans. Researcher Karl Alexander and writer D. Watkins explain.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Research Fraud 14 mins – “Research fraud, the deliberate falsification of research data, undermines science and can lead to horrible outcomes, as exemplified by Andrew Wakefield and the MMR/Autism scandal. A new Head to Head in The BMJ sets out the case for and against making research fraud a crime. Arguing yes is Prof. Zulfiqar Bhutta, from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, who says that criminal sanctions are necessary to deter growing deliberate research misconduct, which can ultimately harm patients. Prof. Julian Crane, from the University of Otago Wellington, disagrees: he doubts that sanctions will have any deterrent effect and worries that criminalisation would undermine trust.” At the link click “Download” then “OK” for “Save File” on the pop-up menu.
Spanish Fly 6 mins – “If you’ve ever been tempted to eat frogs’ legs here’s a story that might make you think again. In Nigeria in 1869, a group of French troops visited their physician, Dr J. Meynier, suffering from the same symptoms. Their stomachs ached, their mouths were dry, and they all felt weak and nauseous. Meynier might have had trouble diagnosing their condition based on these symptoms alone until his patients admitted to one further problem: they were all suffering from persistent erections… Spanish fly is one of the oldest, most legendary aphrodisiacs. It’s made from the crushed bodies of insects, which oddly enough aren’t flies and don’t come from Spain but are beetles in the family Meloidae, called blister beetles that live worldwide. The French soldiers denied using Spanish fly but did admit to supplementing their military rations eating frogs from a local stream… The smart doctor went to the water’s edge and found frogs busily devouring a swarm of emerald colored beetles. He surmised that whatever noxious substance is found inside these ‘Spanish flies”’ also hung around inside the frogs giving the troops more than they bargained for….” At the link (or here) right-click “Download: CIIE_SpanishFly.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tamoxifin 4 mins – “… Tamoxifen is a prodrug, a molecule that is converted into its active form when absorbed into the body. In this case, it is converted by the liver into hydroxytamoxifen. This product is then able to act like oestrogen and bind into the same receptor, but with one important difference: unlike oestrogen, the ER does not then go on to activate the genes that stimulate the cells to divide and grow. Therefore, it works much like a broken key in a lock, blocking the actual key from unlocking the door, or in this case, stopping the genes from switching on. Compared to very broad-acting alternative treatments like chemotherapy, a drug like tamoxifen has the major advantage that it is much more targeted to the cancer that is being treated. This means we can avoid the side effects associated with the treatment of cancer by chemotherapy….” At the link (or here) right-click “Download: CIIE_Tamoxifen.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Teaching Tactics 58 mins – “Show # 215 — Carl Oechsner on elementary school teaching and mentorship… I have the privilege of posting my interview with Carl Oechsner of Croton Friends of History, and my middle school social studies teacher, mentor and inspiration, on children, teaching and technology….” At the link find and right-click (here or there) “Show # 215, July 2” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tech Shops 44 mins – Leo Laporte interviews Jim Newton about “TechShop , a chain of member-based workshops that lets people of all skill levels come in and use industrial tools and equipment to build their own projects, with locations in California, Arizona, Virginia, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania.” At the link right-click “Audio” beside the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Transcranial Direct Stimulation 42 mins – “Marom Bikson of Soterix Medical and CUNY – DIY tDCS Podcast Episode #3: Marom Bikson is CEO of Soterix Medical and Associate Professor at City College of New York in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Marom is a distinguished tDCS scientist and prominent in the development of HD-tDCS. Download the interview here (zipped mp3).” The Soterix link includes a link to a number of clinical trials.
Transgender Issues 51 mins – “Throughout history, there have always been people who defied gender norms. In the nineteen-fifties, Americans met Christine Jorgensen, a soldier who was born a man but was determined to live her life as a woman. In the decades that followed, a transformation in understanding and defining transgender people has taken place. Last year, psychiatry’s diagnostic manual replaced gender identity disorder with gender dysphoria. Medicare now covers sex-change surgery. And a new California law requires schools to allow students to use facilities and join sports teams that match their gender identity. Understanding transgender people and their struggle for civil rights and acceptance in American society.” At the link you can’t download the file, but it’s included in this blog’s archive.
Trayvon Follow-up 16 mins – “It’s been one year since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Michel Martin asks a roundtable of commentators for their reflections on the anniversary.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tumeric – “…Turmeric is made from the roots of a plant in the ginger family, Curcuma longa. It gets its name from the Sanskrit word for yellow. It is native to India, where it has been used for 4000 years as a spice in cooking and also for its medicinal properties. Of course, it is also a colourant, and its colour is pH sensitive – it is yellow under acid conditions, but it turns much redder in alkali. So keep it off your apron when cooking, else you’ll get a nasty shock in the wash on Monday… In the past, turmeric had a role in Asian medicine for various reasons – it was a treatment for digestive problems and was also applied to wounds and to the skin as an anti-inflammatory. But now scientists are suggesting a lot more things that turmeric, and curcumin in particular, can do. It is being studied in connection with various cancers, such as oesophageal cancer and bowel cancer. Some of these trials are in association with established drugs like taxol. In trials related to colonic cancer, curcumin has been shown to inhibit an enzyme that promotes tumours, and it looks as if curcumin may interfere with various signalling pathways implicated in cancers….” At the link (or here), right-click “Download: CIIE_Curcumin.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Urea 6 mins – “…The human body produces urea from ammonia and excess amino acids… Even though urea is a major component of urine, it is actually colourless and odourless. However, it readily decomposes back to ammonia, which is what gives urine its characteristic smell. This is also why stale urine smells more strongly than fresh urine. Industrially, 100 million tons of urea is synthesised every year… Urea is popular because it has the highest percentage nitrogen content of solid fertilisers, which means less weight is required and so it is cheaper to transport… The ammonia can also be oxidised by bacteria in the soil, creating nitrates. Nitrates are readily absorbed by plants, but can easily be carried away in rain water, running off into nearby lakes and rivers. This is becoming a growing problem because it encourages the growth of plants in the water, which can disrupt the local ecosystem….” At the link right-click “MP3 Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Variable Pricing 17 mins – “The price of tickets for lots of things — baseball games, many Broadway musicals, plane trips — rises and falls based on how much demand there is. But when you go to the movies, a ticket to the empty theater playing a bomb is exactly the same price as a ticket to the sold-out blockbuster.
On today’s the show, we try to find out why.” At the link right-click “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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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 