The following audio files come from a larger group of 280 for the week. Double or ctrl-click individual highlighted links, below, to get single podcasts. A zip file of all 59 podcasts converted to 1.5x speed will download here for four months. Older groups of podcasts are discussed at the end of this episode. Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Aging and Memory 18 mins – “Columbia University neurologist Scott Small uses fMRI imaging on mice to research our aging brains. Turns out, you’ve got some control over how sharp you stay.” At the link find the title, “Forget Me Not, March 13, 2009,” right-click “031309small.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alcatel-Lucent 13 mins – “…Many regular listeners to this podcast will know of Alcatel-Lucent, the sprawling multinational telecommunications company. As well as providing much of the wired and wireless networking infrastructure that supports the Internet… But despite its major role in keeping the modern world spinning along, Alcatel-Lucent is not well known outside the world of high tech. This inspired a nonprofit organization known as Writers in Residence to seek out a writer who could spend months visiting Alcatel-Lucent facilities around the world and reflect deeply on what he saw… The resulting book, called Kitten Clone: Inside Alcatel-Lucent, …tries to find out what it means to have a global company of 60,000 people single-mindedly dedicated to making it easier, cheaper, and faster for anyone or anything to communicate with another.” At the link right-click “Download Podcast” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alimentary Canal 24 mins – “Gulp [starts at 4:25] Bestselling author, Mary Roach has been billed as American’s funniest science writer. In “Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal“ she takes readers on a journey through the alimentary canal, extolling the marvels of spit on the beginning end, then moving on to the man who had a hole in his stomach that allowed a doctor to observe his digestion… Roach even interviews a prison inmate about “rectal smuggling” (including cell phones).” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Animal Sex 21 mins –“Think sex for animals is all about mating? You’re wrong. Learn about the diversity and biology behind the sex lives of animals at the Museum of Sex’s new exhibit. Warning: Explicit Content.” At the link find the title, “The Sex Lives of Animals, August 22, 2008,” right-click “082208animalsex.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bicycle Trends 51 mins – “According to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association, there has been a 16 percent increase in bikers killed in motor vehicle crashes in recent years. This comes after years of steady decline. But many groups say these numbers are misleading, and a more important takeaway is the rising use of bikes in urban areas, with cities like New York and Washington, D.C. putting millions into bike infrastructure projects. But all parties agree: there is much to be done to safely incorporate cyclists onto our roadways, from adding bike lanes with physical protective barriers to stricter enforcement of traffic laws across the board. We take a look at sharing the road with bikes.” [5 guests] At the link you can listen, but not download: however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Biological Networks 42 mins – “NYU scientist Richard Bonneau delves into the complex interactions in biological systems – using the genome as his map.” At the link find the title, “The Circuits of Life’s Program, May 01, 2009,” right-click “050109bonneau.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blood Pressure Drugs P1 27 mins – “Vasoactive is an umbrella term for any drug that makes your heart rate and/or blood pressure go up or down. Vasopressor, on the other hand, is a term for a drug that makes your blood pressure goes up by the process of vasoconstriction (squeeze). A positive inotrope is different from a vasopressor in that an inotrope affects cardiac contractility in a positive way- e.g. it makes your heart pump stronger. So a positive inotrope increases the strength of the muscular contraction and a negative inotrope weakens the strength of the muscular contraction. Some drugs act as both a vasopressor and an inotrope. Drugs can also affect chronotropy which simply means a change in heart rate. Positive chronotropy means an increase in heart rate and negative chronotropy means a decrease in heart rate…” Drugs discussed: epinephrine, eosynephrine/phenylephrine, norepinephrine/Levophed, and Epineprine/Adrenalin. At the link find the title, “The post Vasoactives and Low Blood Pressure Part I,” right-click “Media files Vasoactives_Part_1.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blood Pressure Drugs P2 24 mins – “Dopamine is used with septic shock and cardiogenic shock…Dobutamine is used for severe heart failure that is refractory to other medical treatments. It is also used in cardiogenic shock (e.g. a patient who has had a severe myocardial infarction)….Vasopressin is synthetic ADH (anti-diuretic hormone)… In high drip concentrations, Vasopressin causes increased peripheral vascular resistance through arterial vasoconstriction- which hopefully aids in the increase of blood pressure. This is easy to remember because Vasopressin sounds just like vasopressor… Basically, the goal with hanging Vasopressin is to help wean down other vasoactive drips.” At the link find the title, “Vasoactives and Low Blood Pressure Part II,” right-click “Media files Vasoactives_Part_2.mp3,” and click on “Save File As” from the pop-up menu.
Body Toxins 18 mins – “’Experimental Man” David Ewing Duncan and toxicologist Matt Bogdanffy delve into the dangers (and myths) of toxins in our everyday environment.” At the link find the title, “Our Toxic World? April 03, 2009,” right-click “040309toxic.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Book Market 76 mins – “eReaders have many advantages over paperbacks and although Amazon would have you believe that eBooks are leading the way, the paperback is far from dead and we look at both sides of the debate.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cancer and Obesity 26 mins – “You’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: the U.S. has a big problem with obesity. But did you know that there are demonstrated links between obesity and all kinds of serious health problems—including cancer? In this episode, Science & the City explores the obesity-cancer connection.” At the link find the title, “Unraveling the Obesity-Cancer Connection, March 26, 2012,” right-click “03282012_ObesityCancerConnection.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cancer Research Process 17 mins – “Visit the lab of Hunter College’s Jill Bargonetti, a biologist researching cancer. Her team studies P53, a natural tumor-suppressor protein found in our bodies with a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality.” At the link find the title, “Looking for the Key in P53, October 16, 2009,” right-click “101609cancer.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Car Trends 27 mins – “Car crashes kill 1.2 million SciA: 30 Oct 14: Driverless Cars Special people globally, each year. Could robots be better than human drivers?” At the link find the title, “SciA: 30 Oct 14: Driverless Cars Special,” right-click “scia_20141030-2030a.mp3” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cocoa and Memory 21 mins – “Neuromyths in the classroom, how the brain keeps time, and a compound found in cocoa staves off memory decline in older adults.” The cocoa segments starts at 7 mins and lasts 7 mins. Inexpensive and low calorie cocoa powder that is not alkalinized (Dutch style) should contain 6% of flavanols that enhance memory, so a tablespoon should exceed the amount of 800mg used in the reported research. At the link find the title, “The NeuroPod: October 2014,” right-click “Media files neuropod-2014-10-30.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Commodore 64 Stories 121 mins – Bil Herd was a key player in the development of the C64 in the 1980’s. Here he tells how an early nerd came to join Commodore International and what it was like to work in a high-pressure seat-of-the-pants engineering department with some less elegant solutions to problems that got the job done. At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. Numerous links are also listed at the site in the notes concerning ideas, parts, and systems and products discussed in the podcast
Diabetes Gum Disease 13 mins – “Good oral hygiene helps prevent tooth decay and gum disease, but the health of your mouth may have a big impact on the rest of your body too—especially if you have diabetes. Find out more in this special edition podcast from The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.” At the link find the title, “The Diabetes-Gum Disease Connection, April 14, 2011,” right-click “04142011_DiabetesGumDisease.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Ebola Hype 11 mins – “Panic over the Ebola virus in the U.S. has dominated headlines and cable news. So, we put together a template to help the discerning news consumer see through the media’s over-the-top coverage. It’s our Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook: Infectious Disease Edition.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow under the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Eco Examples 30 mins – “This week we re-visit conversations with two innovators making everyday items greener. First, we hear from Eben Bayer, one of the founders of Ecovative, a company that has developed a mushroom-based alternative to Styrofoam. Bayer tells us how Ecovative’s biologically-based material is replacing packaging, insulation and maybe soon food storage containers that were previously the exclusive domain of polluting, non-biodegradable stuff. Then, we hear from Geoff Larson, co-founder of Alaskan Brewing Company, a craft brewer that’s just as committed to environmental stewardship as it is to making a tasty libation. Larson and his team are at the cutting edge of what they call beer-powered beer, using technological advances to make beer without a drop of energy wasted.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Engineering Needs 74 mins – “James Trevelyan speaks with us about the skills and talents of expert engineers, and how those of us who have not yet achieved “expert” status can improve our ability to complete engineering projects on time and within budget… Our guest is James Trevelyan, a professor of Mechatronics Engineering at The University of Western Australia. Some of our listeners may remember Dr. Trevelyan from Episode 19. (Yes, Jeff said Episode 17 during the podcast, but he was wrong!) Dr. Trevelyan has recently published a book, The Making of an Expert Engineer.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Epidemiology 52 mins (2 parts) – “In this first section, the panel considers the evolution of viruses, the spillover of pathogens from animals to humans, and some cultural practices that increase the rate of this phenomenon. The discussion is moderated by award-winning author David Quammen. The panelists are Dr. Ian Lipkin, Captain Daniel B. Jernigan, and author Maryn McKenna. In [part 2]…the panelists discuss factors involved in preventing outbreaks from reaching pandemic scales. The SARS virus and SARS-like virus that appeared earlier this year in Saudi Arabia provide interesting case studies for considering containment policy.” At the link find two titles, “Wrath Goes Viral: Part 1 [and Part2],” right-click “20121128_WrathGoesViralPart1.mp3” and “20121205WrathPart2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” for each from the pop-up menu.
Evolution 53 mins – “Richard Dawkins launches his newest book in the third S&C Provocative Thinkers in Science event. He argues evolution is an indisputable fact, despite nearly half of Americans believing the opposite.”At the linkfind the title, “The Greatest Show on Earth, October 22, 2009,” right-click “102309dawkins.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Grocery Deliveries 47 mins – “The Digitized, Home-Delivered Future Of Our Food Supply: Will going to the grocery store be history? How the online order and delivery business is reshaping our food economy.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Histotripsy 4 mins – “Surgery is moving more and more toward minimally‐invasive procedures — using laparoscopic approaches with instruments inserted through tiny incisions or catheters placed in blood vessels through puncture sites. These techniques minimize the risks to the patient such as bleeding complications or infection during surgery. Taken a step further, high‐intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) can provide a tool to accomplish many of the same procedures without any incision at all….” At the link you can view the video portion, but nothing can be downloaded; however, a copy of the audio portion is in the blog archive.
Home Ownership 47 mins – “Home ownership rates are at a 20-year low. Millennials and more aren’t buying. We’ll look at what American’s think now about owning a home.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the poop-up menu.
ICU Assessment 42 mins – “Every ICU has a slightly different requirement as far as what you are assessing as the RN. Even though every patient is unique, there is a general ICU assessment that will work for most. In this audio only version, we will go through a basic ICU assessment and cover Neuro, Cardiac, Respiratory, GI/GU, Skin, and other miscellaneous items that will help you form a plan and help you attempt to form your own assessment “flow”.” For us lay people this discussion demonstrates what we can check when we visit someone in an ICU! At the link right-click “The ICU Assessment,” right-click “Media files Assessment.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Immigrant Legal Services 93 mins – “The last several years have witnessed extraordinary developments related to the adjudication and representation of persons facing possible removal from the United States. This panel from the 11th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference—organized in October 2014 by the Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the Center for Migration Studies, and Georgetown University Law Center—highlights innovative new legal service-delivery programs, including government-funded counsel in New York City, the Immigrant Justice Corps fellowship program, the Justice Americorps Program, nongovernmental organization initiatives to represent the growing numbers of unaccompanied child migrants (UACs) and others. It also discusses challenges related to the accelerated adjudication of proceedings for minors, the expansion in non-court removals, legal representation of persons apprehended near the U.S.-Mexico border, and an economic analysis of government-funded legal counsel in immigration proceedings.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Immigration Reform – State and Local 84 mins – “As federal immigration legislation continues to languish, state and municipal governments across the country are forging ahead and taking decisive action to integrate immigrants into their communities. This panel from the 11th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference—organized in October 2014 by the Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the Center for Migration Studies, and Georgetown University Law Center—examines different approaches to advancing immigrant laws and policies at the state and local levels. Panelists discuss recent measures adopted by city and state governments to expand immigrants’ access to education and health care, limit local involvement in immigration enforcement, and enhance immigrants’ ability to participate in civic life and revitalize local economies. The panelists are: Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; the Hon. Ricardo Lara, Senator, 33rd District, California State Senate; and Steve Tobocman, Director, Global Detroit.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Industrial Internet 27 mins – “The Industrial Revolution had a profound effect on manufacturing — will the industrial Internet’s effect be as significant? In this podcast episode, Nate Oostendorp, co-founder and CTO of Sight Machine, says yes — where mechanization ruled the Industrial Revolution, data-driven automation will rule this next revolution:…” 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.
Islam in America 55 mins – “The fastest growing major religion in the world today, Islam has some 1.6 billion followers practicing a wide array of religious traditions and speaking hundreds of different languages. And yet, even as more and more Americans convert to the faith and foreigners emigrate to the U.S. from all over the Islamic world, Muslims are still often caricatured in the American imagination. This time on BackStory, we look at the longer history of America’s relationship with Islam, from the Barbary Wars and the narratives of Muslim slaves in the New World, to the Nation of Islam and the Black Power movement of the 1960s. What has it meant to be Muslim in America — and how has the idea of Islam in the U.S. changed over time?” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow at the ring end of the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
IV Bags 29 mins – “Ever wondered what kind of fluids are hanging in your IV bag and why? Hopefully, this audio podcast will answer all of your questions about: Crystalloids; Isotonic Solutions: Normal Saline, Lactated Ringers, D5W; Hypotonic Solutions: D51/2 NS, .45% NS, D5W; Hypertonic Solutions: D5NS, D5LR, 3% NS, 10%NS; Colloids: Hetastarch, Albumin, Mannitol, Dextran” At the link find the title, “What’s in your IV bag?” right-click “Media files IVFluids.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Jerry Lee Lewis 49 mins – “Jerry Lee Lewis. A rock and roll pioneer. “The Killer” on the piano. Friend to Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins. Notorious womanizer. Married seven times, including to his 13-year-old cousin. Addicted to pills and alcohol. Survived the deaths of wives and children. Now he’s shared it all with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rick Bragg.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Medicaid Aid Issues 19 mins – “Nina Owcharenko, Heritage Foundation Director of the Center for Health Policy Studies and Preston A. Wells, Jr. Fellow, sat down with our state team to discuss her chapter on the state side of Medicaid reform in Mercatus’ recent book, The Economics of Medicaid. In under 19 minutes, Owcharenko describes Medicaid funding, how states constrain ballooning costs, quality of care, and the waiver process and private option.” At the link right-click “Download the MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Meditation Health 44 mins – “Can meditation have long-term beneficial effects on the plasticity of our brains? Bon meditation practitioner Alejandro Chaoul and oncologist Lorenzo Cohen evaluate the healing potential of meditation in a discussion from the Rubin Museum of Art’s Brainwave Festival.” At the link find the title, “Meditating Health, Friday, March 12, 2010,” right-click “031210meditation.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Mexico Student Massacre 46 mins –“If you thought mass graves and torture were just Islamic State issues these days – far away and unthinkable – look closer to home. To Mexico. Last month, just a hundred miles south of Mexico City, 43 young college students from the countryside were rounded up and “disappeared” in a town where officials and drug lords are all wrapped up together. All kinds of bodies have now been found. Burned. Face peeled. Eyes torn out. Even for Mexico, this is too much. Too far. The country is in uproar.” Program guests include Tracy Wilkinson, Mexico bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Andrew Selee, executive vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Author of “Decentralization, Democratization, and Informal Power in Mexico.” Co-editor of “Mexico and the United States” and “Mexico’s Democratic Challenges.” And Anabel Hernandez, Mexican investigative journalist. Author of the book, “Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers.” Contributor to Reporte Indigo.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Micronutrients 30 mins -In this first of a two-part series, experts from various sectors explore the available options to reduce “hidden hunger”—micronutrient deficiencies in a population. In this podcast series, the many partners of The Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science offer perspective on their work to better understand human nutrition, and to find new and better ways of feeding the world. For this episode, experts from DSM, DuPont, Pepsico, Nestlé, Pfizer, the Food Fortification Initiative, the Mathile Institute, and Ajinomoto discuss the many ways people are solving the problem of supplying people everywhere with adequate vitamins and minerals.” At the link find the title, “Micronutrients: Supplementation, Fortification, and Beyond,” right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Middle East Research 25 mins – “A geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey discusses the challenges he’s faced when doing science in the Middle East, and his research on the Dead Sea basin.” At the link find the title, “Science in the Middle East, June 19, 2008,” right-click “Mideast.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Migrant Children 92 mins – “Children from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have been coming to the United States without a parent or guardian for many years. In 2008, Congress enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to provide special protections for this vulnerable population. In recent years, the number of unaccompanied child migrants (UACs) from these countries has increased significantly, culminating in much larger numbers arriving at US borders in 2014. This panel, from the 11th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference organized in October 2014 by the Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the Center for Migration Studies, and Georgetown University Law Center, considers several key issues that have arisen with respect to U.S. and regional responses to the cross-border movements of these children, in particular with respect to due process, enforcement actions in the United States and Mexico, and Central American government plans to address the violence affecting these children in their home communities.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Migration Policy and Politics 94 mins – “This panel from the 11th annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference—organized in October 2014 by the Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., the Center for Migration Studies, and Georgetown University Law Center—examines the use of executive action in implementing immigration policy, the numbers of those who may potentially be affected by such action, underlying legal issues, and any challenges in implementation. The panelists—Ana Navarro, a Republican political contributor to CNN, CNN en Español, and ABC News; Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute; Simon Rosenberg, President and Founder, New Democrat Network (NDN); and Marc R. Rosenblum, Deputy Director, U.S. Immigration Policy Program, Migration Policy Institute—discussed the possible political ramifications for future immigration reform policy during a conversation moderated by MPI Senior Fellow Doris Meissner.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
MS Story 52 mins – “Jason DaSilva was 25 when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. As a filmmaker, he eventually decided to try and make sense of the disease through his art form. So, he set out to capture what he calls the transformative experience of becoming disabled. DaSilva let the camera run as he dealt with his loss of vision, muscle control, and many other complications. Next week, we’re screening When I Walk as part of the Through the Lens documentary series.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Myth Busters 36 mins – “Adam Savage – Live on Stage in San Francisco On the show this week Indre talks to Adam Savage about the future of science communication (and why it’s terrifying TV networks), why he’s worried Elon Musk might become a Marvel supervillain, and why it’s so important to him that women be better represented in his field. Indre also talks to host of The Story Collider, Ben Lillie, about the Antares Rocket explosion, flavonols, and Ben explains why he’s fascinated by institutional review boards.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Obesity Battle 13 mins – “Obesity rates in Canada have tripled over the past thirty years. Now an editorial just published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is calling for tough action to deal with obesity. Dr. Brian Goldman explains.” At the link find the title, “White Coat Mini Podcast – Obesity,” right-click “Download White Coat Mini Podcast – Obesity” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Predictive Coding 33 mins – “Discovery, as all lawyers know, is the process of collecting and exchanging information about the court case to prepare for the trial. Traditionally, this was done by many lawyers over countless billable hours in which every page of potential evidence was examined for important information. Because of this, the more information existed in reference to a case, the more expensive the case was. As technology developed, law firms began using computers to do keyword searches and conceptual searches. Unfortunately, there were problems including picking the right keywords or concepts, misspelled words, how to structure the items, and that these searches only yielded 20% of important data. Recently, technology has advanced to predictive coding, or teaching a computer program to think like a lawyer would. But how cost effective and practical is predictive coding, and how well does it actually work?” 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.
Protein Production 33 mins – “Experts discuss innovations in food science and programming that are aimed at sustainably producing adequate protein for the global population. Population growth and changes in dietary practices globally have led to a tremendous rise in the demand for animal-source foods. While consuming the required amount of protein is fundamental to human health, supplying protein to meet increasing worldwide needs can lead to environmental and health problems. This podcast is brought to you by the Sackler Institute for Nutrition Science.” At the link find the title, “The Problem with Protein, May 28, 2014,” right-click “ProblemwithProtein.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Public Lands Controversy 47 mins – “If you saw Cliven Bundy and his armed supporters on horseback this spring in Nevada, you saw one face of a movement to get the federal government’s hand off of vast lands in the American West. The suit-and-tie version of that movement wants control handed over to the states. And we’re talking a lot of land. Eighty-one percent of Nevada – federal-controlled. Sixty-seven percent of Utah. Forty-eight percent of California, Wyoming. Critics say the new Sagebrush Rebellion is about oil and gas and development. Supporters say “states’ rights.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Quarantine History 46 mins – “The history of quarantines, from the Spanish Flu to polio to Ebola and the challenge of fighting an epidemic and fear of the epidemic. Quarantines –isolating the sick —have a long history, from the bubonic plague to polio. And now, quarantines are back as governors try to stop Ebola and public panic. But the first official effort to quarantine a nurse just back from Africa backfired. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie started out this past weekend playing it tough. By the end, he was backpedaling furiously after one angry nurse stood up to his quarantine order. She had a whole lot of science and the American medical establishment backing her up.” At the link right-click “Download this story” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sight Science 29 mins – “See What You’ve Been Missing: Christof Koch and Apollo Robbins – There’s a lot more to vision than first meets the eye. An ex-magician and cognitive neuroscientist team and tackle the science of sight.” At the link find the title, “See What You’ve Been Missing, January 23, 2009, “right-click “012309vision.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Silk Road 18 mins – “Take an anthropological tour of the Silk Road exhibit at the AMNH with its curator, Mark Norell. The 4,600-mile trail was the most important trade route in the Eastern world for more than 3,000 years.” At the link find the title, “The Silk Road, Friday, January 22, 2010,” right-click “012210silkroad.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Small Arms Technology P1 8 mins –“In the first installment of this podcast, series editors Benjamin King and Glenn McDonald talk to us about the need for arms control policies that take these developments into account, with a detailed discussion of new polymers and additive manufacturing…. The Small Arms Survey has drafted a series of discussion papers to be presented at the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2014. These papers, which are due for public release later in the year as chapters in an Occasional Paper, cover a range of subjects: the additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) of small arms; the use of new polymers; modular weapons design; smart technologies; and the conversion of replica firearms to fully functioning firearms.” At the link find the title, “New Technologies, New Control Challenges, Part 1: Polymers, 3D printing, and appropriate policies,” right-click “Media files SAS-Podcast-26-New-Technologies-New-Control-Challenges-Part-1.mp3” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Small Arms Technology P2 8 mins – “Benjamin King and Glenn McDonald explain how the modular design of weapons systems complicates weapons marking, record -keeping, and tracing. They also examine the issues raised by the conversion of replica firearms into viable weapons; and they consider how new weapons technology presents opportunities for improved stockpile management….” At the link find the title, “New Technologies, New Control Challenges, Part 2: Modular weapons, conversion, and smart technologies,” right-click “Media Files SAS-Podcast-27-New-Technologies-New-Control-Challenges-Part-2.mp3”
Spinal Cord Repair 20 mins – “Biologist Marie Filbin says new discoveries in spinal nerve regeneration are giving researchers hope in the race to cure spinal cord injuries.” At the link find the title, “Back Me Up, April 17, 2009,” right-click “041709spinal.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sushi 15 mins – “Danish biophysicist Ole Mouritsen also happens to be an expert on, and lover of sushi. This week, we talk to him about his new book, Sushi: Food for the Eye, the Body, and the Soul.” At the link find the title, “The Science of Sushi, January 01, 2010,” right-click “010110sushi.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Swiss Child Labor 26 mins – “Kavita Puri goes to Switzerland to hear the extraordinary stories of survivors who lived as indentured child labourers.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Switzerland: Stolen Childhoods – 30 Oct 2014,” right-click “Media files docarchive_20141030-0232c.mp3” and select “Save Link As’ from the pop-up media.
Technology Progressing or Not 45 mins – “In this episode of Uncommon Knowledge, guest Peter Thiel, one of Silicon Valley’s leading investors and thinkers, discusses his new book Zero to One [interesting site]. In it Thiel explains his theories on markets, monopolies, and the lack of new technology. Born in Germany, raised in California, Thiel is a US-ranked chess master and cofounder of PayPal and Palantir.” At the link find the title, “Peter Thiel on markets, technology, and education.” right-click “Media files 20141024.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Virtual Humanity 58 mins (2 parts) – “Online games offer immersive, three-dimensional worlds populated by thousands of characters who form intense relationships, functional economies, complex societies, and rich cultures. Often these virtual connections not only mimic real-world interactions but sometimes even supplant them. But just how far can virtual worlds take us? …Thomas M. Malaby of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Lee T. Guzofski of G2G Enterprises…[discuss]… the ways in which natural reality blends and blurs with the virtual reality of online games.” At the link find the titles, “Virtual Humanity – Part 1, December 15, 2011” and “…Part 2, December 26, 2011,” right-click ” 20111215_Guzofski.mp3” and “20111222_Malaby.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menus.
Vitamins 25 mins – “Scurvy was once the scourge of the seven seas, but it turned out to have a simple solution: Vitamin C. In the second installment of our nutrition series, learn all about the power of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients.” At the link find the title, “A Thought for Food: Tiny Amounts, February 27, 2012,” right-click “02292012_TinyAmounts.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Voting Issues 28 mins – “What are changes in voting laws doing to democracy in the USA? Rajini Vaidyanathan travels to North Carolina to investigate voting rights in the United States.” At the link find the title, “DocArchive: Politics at the Polling Station 28 Oct 2014,” right-click “Media files docarchive_20141028-0905a.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Worst State for Women 52 mins – “A study released last week declared Utah the “worst state for women.” According to the business media website 24/7 Wall St., women in Utah earn significantly lower wages than their male counterparts, hold relatively few management positions in business, and make up a very small percentage of our state legislature. Tuesday, we’re assembling a panelist of female guests to discuss whether the study accurately reflects life on the ground for Utah’s women, and we hope to hear from our listeners, too.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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An alphabetic encyclopedia of 4200 of these hyperlinked descriptions is here and updated quarterly. A file of the podcasts is here , updated weekly, and can be downloaded as a 21+ GB zipped file, or individually. A separate folder of C-Span, Diane Rehm, et. al. files that aren’t available at their sites is here, too, and can also be downloaded as a zip file or individually. Over 210 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.
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Media Mining Digest 