Exercise your ears: the 163 podcasts shown below present the best ideas, information and stories from a larger group of 582 for the week, to hear while your hands and eyes are busy. Get all the files as a group for the next four months here, or double or ctrl-click individual titles to get single podcasts and explore the source. A collection of 17,000 podcasts, listed alphabetically and grouped by topic, can be downloaded piecemeal, with files A-B at this link, files C-E link, and the remainder here. You’ll be limited to a 4GB maximum per download at the last place, so multiple group downloads will be needed to get all files, which total over 86GB and may take a few hours. The first entry in the collection is a text file with just titles for quicker reference. A collection of abstracts for all the podcasts is available at this link and updated quarterly. Get even the discarded material using a podcast aggregator loaded with this opml file of the 400 sources. Exercise your ears and relax the rest.
ACLU and Technology 36 mins – “Snowden’s Legal Counsel: Forget About Orwell, Worry About Kafka” At the link find the title, “Moyers_and Company 310 Podcast.mp3, Mar, 2014,” right-click “Media files winship-wizner-podcast-MP3-for-Audio-Podcasting.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Adult Guardianship 57 mins – “As baby boomers age, and the opioid crisis continues to ravage the state, there is a rising need for guardians of people older than 18. But taking on someone else’s financial and/or healthcare needs can be costly and emotionally taxing. We’ll find out about the process in New Hampshire.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Aging Control 32 mins – “This week, a brain-inspired computer, the brain’s control of ageing, and Al Gore the climate communicator.” At the link find the title, “Nature Podcast: Jul 2017,” right-click “Media files” and select ”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
AI and Agriculture 24 mins – “If you’re looking for the impact of deep learning, look to the end of your fork. We spoke with Blue River Technology co-founder and CTO Lee Redden about how the startup put deep learning to work tending 10% of the lettuce produced in the United States, and how deep learning promises to unleash a new agricultural revolution.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Archeology 17 mins – “University of Kentucky Computer Science Professor Brent Seales caused a worldwide sensation when he and his team were able to use non-invasive scans to unlock writings on the ancient En-Gedi scroll to reveal the earliest copy of a Pentateuchal book — Leviticus — ever found in a Holy Ark. Now he’s turning his expertise to more ancient texts, this time from the lost Roman city of Herculaneum.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Autonomous Vehicles 16 mins – “If you want to bring autonomous vehicles to the mainstream, fast, first you’ve got to go fast. We spoke with Jonathan Cooke, chief marketing officer of Roborace, the first ever driverless electric racing championship, who wants to turn autonomous racing into a spectator sport that will spark the creation of more powerful, capable automotive AI.” At thelinkfind the title, “Ep. 10: Turning AI Loose on the Track with Roborace, Feb, 2017,” right-click “Media files 309094666-theaipodcast-ep-10-turning-ai-loose-on-the-track-with-roborace.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
AI and Brain Tumors 27 mins – “We talk with Dr. Bradley Erickson, a Mayo Clinic neuroradiologist, who uses AI to predict tumor genomics using MRIs. His method could give doctors easier access to invaluable genetic information. Information that could predict how quickly a tumor will progress, and if it will respond to specific drugs and other treatments.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and City Planning 40 mins – “Deep learning promises to do more than just reshape city streets. We talked to Lynn Richards, president and CEO of the Congress for New Urbanism and Charles Marohn, president and co-founder of Strong Towns, about how. AI will do much more than automate driving. It promises to help create more liveable cities. And help put expensive infrastructure where we need it most.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Cybersecurity 23 mins – “Cybersecurity is a cat-and-mouse game where the mouse always has long had the upper hand because it’s so easy for new malware to go undetected. Dr. Eli David, an expert in computational intelligence and CTO of Deep Instinct, wants to use AI to change that, bringing the GPU-powered deep learning techniques underpinning modern speech and image recognition to the vexing world of cybersecurity.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Flavor 21 mins – “Whether brewing hearty stouts or crisp lagers, flavor is a fickle thing. Not only is it hard to create consistently good brew, as humans our ability to identify – and remember – flavors is flawed. Yet brands worth billions rely on creating consistent flavors. We talk to Jason Cohen, founder of Gastrograph, who is using AI to help businesses that create beer, chocolate, wine, coffee, and spirits better understand flavor.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Food Delivery 23 mins – “We spoke with the team at Marble, which has turned AI loose on the streets of San Francisco delivering food in San Francisco’s vibrant Mission District.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and Medical Treatment 24 mins – “Medicine — particularly radiology and pathology — have become more data-driven. The Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Clinical Data Science — led by Mark Michalski — promises to accelerate that, using AI technologies to spot patterns that can improve the detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI and VR 8 mins – “Are AI and VR the peanut butter and chocolate of computing? Are they a match made in heaven? We spoke with Michael Ludden, who heads up IBM Watson’s AI and VR labs, about how these two technologies intersect at this week’s GPU Technology Conference.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI Biases 21 mins – “We spoke with Princeton researcher Aylin Caliskan, co-author of a headline-grabbing paper published in Science magazine earlier this month. Her paper details how learning machines can sometimes learn all too well, picking up our biases as well as our brilliance.” At the link click the box with three dots, then double click “Download” and select”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
AI Biases 31 mins – “It’s easy to think of AI as cold, unbiased, objective. Not quite, suggests Narrative Science Chief Scientist Kris Hammond explains, because we never know when AI will repeat our biases back to us.” At the link click the box with three dots, then double click “Download” and select ”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
AI Bird Tracking 24 mins – “We speak with Matthew McKown, CEO of Conservation Metrics, about how deep learning techniques helped rediscover a bird that was once thought extinct, and how GPU-powered AI now helps biologists crunch vast quantities of data to spot trends that would have been impossible to detect before.” At the link click the square with three dots, then double click “download” and select”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
AI Fundamentals 35 mins – “Think of our inaugural episode of The AI Podcast as a guide for the perplexed. Host Michael Copeland speaks with NVIDIA’s Will Ramey about the history behind today’s AI boom and the key concepts you need to know to get your head around a technology that’s reshaping the world.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI Impact 31 mins – “Purple shirts, haircuts, and cats. How are these three all related? According to deep learning pioneer Andrew Ng, they all played a part in AI’s growing presence in our lives. Ng, formerly of Google and Baidu, and the founder of his new company, Deeplearning.ai, joined this week’s episode of the AI Podcast to share his thoughts on AI being the new electricity.” At the link click the square with three dots and click “Download” to get the audio file.
AI in Finance 22 mins – “In recent years hedge funds have taken the lead in algorithmic investing – or robo-trading as it’s sometimes called. But there’s no reason the hedge fund world should have all the good stuff. In this episode of the AI Podcast, we speak with Gaurav Chakravorty, co-founder of qplum, a startup that’s working to bring that same machine learning investing approach to the rest of us.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI in Games 14 mins – “Over the last few years data intensive machine learning solutions have supplanted rule-based software systems at many technology-based companies. Think about Amazon, Netflix, and Uber. But the gaming world hasn’t exactly followed suit, at least not as quickly. Most games are still a delicate mix of hard-wired behavior in the form of traditional code, and somewhat more responsive behavior in the form of large collections of rules. Our guest, Danny Lange, VP of AI and Machine Learning at Unity Technologies, is taking a different tack, using deep learning to help with game creation, that subtle combination of art, story, and software.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
AI Voice Systems 24 mins – “We spoke with Xuchen Yao, co-founder of Kitt.ai, a startup using AI to build better chat experiences, about how voice and chat are turning into rich, interactive interfaces for a new generation of AI-powered services.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” to get the audio file.
Alexis deToqueville Revisited 54 mins – “Nearly 200 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville travelled the United States trying to understand its strengths and weaknesses. Less than a month before Americans go to the polls, Paul Kennedy considers the ongoing relevance of Tocqueville’s observations.” At the link find the title, “Tocqueville’s America Revisited, Part 2 (Encore October 21, 2016),” right-click “Media files ideas_20170711_66240.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Algorithms to Live By 49 mins – “Julia chats with the authors of “Algorithms to Live By“, about how to apply key algorithms from computer science to our real life problems. For example, deciding which apartment to rent, planning your career, and prioritizing your projects. In the process, they discuss the assumptions that underlie those algorithms (and what to do about the fact that those assumptions are inevitably violated by the messy real world), and why procrastination might actually be the right algorithm for the wrong problem.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Alternative Fuels 16 mins “Two researchers talk to Science and the City about petroleum dependence and the future of the automobile in the 21st century – from the new electric car to advanced biofuels. In episode of our podcast, two researchers tell Science and the City about petroleum dependence and the future of the automobile in the 21st century. First, Ann Schlenker, section leader of the Vehicle Systems Group at Argonne National Laboratory, talks about the new electric car. Then, Dr. Bruce Bunting of the Fuels, Engines and Emissions Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, takes over and tells us how advanced biofuels could help wean the US off of its petroleum habit.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow under the play button and select ‘Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Animal Rescue 5 mins – “It’s been a busy summer for the Seacoast Science Center’s marine mammal rescue team. There’s been a surge of late in the number of beached seals in need of rescue along New Hampshire’s coast. Ashley Stokes manages the marine mammal rescue team, and she joined NHPR’s Morning Edition.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Animal Stress 72 mins – “Understanding animal stress is important for many reasons. If we know how the animal brain responds to change it helps us understand habitat destruction and climate effects on population dynamics, and can provide important information about human impacts, adaptation, and animal conservation. Understanding the animal neurological and physiological response to stress in models translates well to other animals, including humans. This week’s podcast is a discussion with Dr. Christine Lattin, a postdoctoral researcher in the Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Center at Yale University. Dr. Lattin examines stress responses in house sparrows using live imaging so that birds can be studied over and over through time.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Antibiotic Uses 58 mins “Why do we choose the antibiotics that we do? How long do we continue the course of therapy? Should we use some antibiotics together? These topics are covered in the episode.” At the link fight-click “Direct download: ABXTX.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Antibiotics in Agriculture 29 mins – “This week a head to head article asks: “Does adding routine antibiotics to animal feed pose a serious risk to human health? The authors David Wallinga, a physician member of the steering committee of Keep Antibiotics Working: the Campaign to End Antibiotic Overuse in Animal Agriculture, and David Burch, a veterinarian and consultant on antibiotic use in agriculture from Octagon Services, argue their sides. Also this week, a BMJ investigation looks at changes in rationing patterns in the new NHS in England. News editor Annabel Ferriman talks Gareth Iacobucci, who carried out the investigation, about the squeeze on access to hospital care.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Autism Treatment 30 mins – “NICE has published now guidelines on the treatment of children with autism. Mabel Chew BMJ practice editor talks to Tim Kendall, director of the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, who helped draw up the guidelines. Mabel also talks to Declan P O’Regan, consultant radiologist at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre in London, and an author of our rational imaging article on investigating stable chest pain.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Balance Problems 4 mins – “…More recently we have also used another technique based on magnetic fields called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which is a noninvasive way to stimulate a tiny part of the brain through the intact skull and temporarily inhibit its function. We have attacked the problem of the disturbed, disabling and distressing perceptions about whether they are upright or tilted which patients with inner ear labyrinthine and more central brain disorders can have and the consequent imbalance they experience. TMS allows us to stimulate a focal part of the brain, transiently inhibit its function and see how this influences higher-level integration of sensations that normally allow us to create a stable perception of the world. We measure the influence of these mini transient interruptions on one’s ability to decide what is upright by having the subject report on how upright a line looks. Our results so far indicate that a very small area of the brain is crucial for this and in particular this area functions most when we are faced with conflicting information about where we are (for example if our head it titled but our body is not). We call this making the correct coordinate transformations to achieve the necessary coherence amongst information from our eyes, our neck muscles and joints and our inner ears. We hope to develop this technique as a diagnostic test for patients with complicated perceptual problems and to give clues as to how we might rehabilitate them (for example with Tai Chi or Qi Gong exercises)….” At the link find the title, “The Science of Vertigo, Nov, 2012,” right-click “Media files BRAINTALK005ZEE112212.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin and Abra 56 mins – “Bill is the CEO and Founder of Abra. What is Abra? Think of it as the “WhatsApp of Money.” A single app available in 200 cities that enables you to send money from your phone to any other phone, anywhere in the world. Bill has co-founded a long list of Tech startups. He’s also worked for NASA, Goldman Sachs, and was a Senior Director for Netscape – the first commercially successful web browser. In this episode, Bill and I discuss: Why traditional remittance companies like PayPal, Western Union and Venmo are quickly becoming obsolete; Abra’s secret hedging strategies; And why the irrational exuberance we’ve seen with ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), may result in buyer’s remorse ” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
Bitcoin Background 69 mins – “This week, we talk with “HumanHacker” Chris Hadnagy about the aspects of social engineering regarding privacy and security. Plus, we answer listener questions and a present a new investigation technique in the OSINT segment.” At the link find the title, “027-Social Engineering with Chris Hadnagy, Apr, 2017,” right-click “Media files 317210922-user-98066669-027-social-engineering-with-chris-hadnagy.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin Beginning 50 mins – “Last November, journalist Morgen Peck showed up at her friend Molly Webster’s apartment in Brooklyn, told her to take her battery out of her phone, and began to tell her about The Ceremony, a moment last fall when a group of, well, let’s just call them wizards, came together in an undisclosed location to launch a new currency. It’s an undertaking that involves some of the most elaborate security and cryptography ever done (so we’ve been told). And math. Lots of math. It was all going great until, in the middle of it, something started to behave a little…strangely.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin Investing 52 mins – “Brock is a serial entrepreneur, digital currency visionary, and Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation. Often referred to as the father of digital currency, he made millions in the internet gaming industry, where he was involved in trading virtual video game currencies. He founded Blockchain Capital with two other partners, and they have become one of the leading venture capital firms investing in Blockchain. In this episode, we talk about how Blockchain Capital is using tokens sales/ICOs to disrupt the VC industry, how they created the world’s first Digital Liquid Venture Fund, and the most critical factor they consider when deciding on which company to invest in.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
Bitcoin News 69 mins – “This week, we meet up at Sudo headquarters in Salt Lake City to catch up on the latest privacy threats.” At the link find the title, “016-Catching Up from SLC, Jan, 2017,” right-click “Media files 305432730-user-98066669-016-catching-up-from-slc.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bladder Leakage 21 mins – “This week we’re concentrating on the problem of an overactive bladder, the subject of a cluster of articles in this week’s BMJ. Practice editor Mabel Chew is joined by Linda Cardozo, professor of urogynaecology, and Dudley Robinson, consultant urogynaecologist, both from King’s College Hospital, London.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blockchain and Autonomous Vehicles – “Toyota’s Breakthrough with Blockchain and Autonomous Cars with Chris Ballinger – Chris Ballinger is the CFO and Head of Mobility Services at Toyota. Specifically, within the Toyota Research Institute (TRI) which leads Toyota’s efforts around autonomous vehicle technology – self-driving cars. Chris previously worked at the White House and was a Senior Vice President at Bank of America. He is also a formally trained monetary economist (which made for quite an interesting conversation). In this episode, we discuss: How Toyota plans on using Blockchain, AI, and Machine Learning to make its vision of fully autonomous vehicles, a reality; The different functional areas where Blockchain would play a pivotal role; How Nick Szabo’s 1998 paper on smart contracts, was the perfect primer for Chris” At the link double-click the down-pointing arrow under the sound bar to download the audio file.
Blockchain Background 78 mins – “Erik Voorhees is an American / Panamanian startup founder. He is co-founder of the bitcoin company Coinapult, worked as Director of Marketing at BitInstant, and was founder and partial owner of the bitcoin gambling website Satoshi Dice. He is also the creator and CEO of the instant bitcoin and altcoin exchange ShapeShift.io, having founded and operated it under the alias Beorn Gonthier, until revealing his true involvement with the company, as part of a seed funding announcement, in March 2015.[5] Later in the episode, Steve describes the difference between hard and soft forks in Bitcoin and Ethereum. As usual, Sarah and Ethan try to keep up. Special thanks to ToneMeister for transitional music and Andrew Pouch for intro and outro music.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blockchain Database 52 mins – “Bruce is the CEO and Co-Founder of BigchainDB. He comes from an Engineering, Management, Innovation, and Technology background. Before co-founding BigchainDB, Bruce worked in some of the world’s largest corporations and also founded a successful consultancy firm. In this episode, he explains why the world needs a scalable blockchain database, the emergence of a decentralized technology stack, and the one quality that differentiates humans from machines.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow below the sound bar and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Blockchain in Canada 46 mins – “Steve interviews Kevin Hobbs of Vanbex Group and etherparty “ At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bone Fractures as We Age 57 mins – “Orthopedic clinical specialist Wendy Katzman looks at avoiding fractures in older age with a focus on skeletal health. Recorded on 05/30/2017. (#32392)“ At the link right-click “Audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Brain Drain 21 mins – “How much does it cost sub-Saharan countries to train all the doctors who end up working in the UK, US, Canada, and Australia? Edward Mills from the University of Ottawa explains his economic analysis of healthcare migration. Also Hungarian health minister Miklós Szócska talks about his country’s challenges and plans when it comes to improving health outcomes, currently among the worst in Europe.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Breast Cancer Screening Review 17 mins – “Controversy rages over the relative benefits or harms of screening for breast cancer, with evidence suggesting that in younger women at least it does more harm than good. Now a new paper on bmj.com reports the results of 25 years of follow up of women who have taken part in a breast cancer screening trial in Canada, and suggests that annual screening does not cut breast cancer deaths.” At the link click the box with three dots, then click “Download” to get the audio file.
Broadband Technology 37 mins – ““Innovating with a purpose,” is something you might hear often. What does that really mean? Phil McKinney and Kym McNicholas touch on the upcoming technologies the cable industry and specifically CableLab are stirring up for the future — for the better. CableLabs is the research and development arm for the cable industry. The role that broadband now plays in the world is truly remarkable. The question is — how can they get broadband to those who don’t have it. It’s not longer a “nice-to-have” but rather, a “must-have.” At the CableLab annual conference, the team showed a video that emphasized their vision for the future of healthcare. Virtual doctors and other technologies show promise in the future of medicine. In fact, technologies such as these could cut nearly one trillion dollars in health care costs. You need to question society. What innovation do I need to create to address this societal challenge? It is all about how you define moments of need and connect them.” At the link click the square with three dots then click “Download” to get the audio file.
BS Detector for Science 12 mins – “Adam Russell, an anthropologist and program manager at the Department of Defense’s mad-science division Darpa, laughs at the suggestion that he is trying to build a real, live, bullshit detector. But he doesn’t really seem to think it’s funny. The quite serious call for proposals Russell just sent out on Darpa stationery asks people—anyone! Even you!—for ways to determine what findings from the social and behavioral sciences are actually, you know, true.” At the link find the title, “Darpa Wants to Build a BS Detector for Science, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-9e0cf4a9-ac52-44d6-9622-0eec7e5c1e76-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Calories and Sources 22 mins – “Are all calories equal? Thermodynamics would say that energy is energy, be it derived from carbohydrate, fat, or protein. But things get more complicated when appetite is taken into consideration , says Robert Lustig, professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. Also this week, life expectancy in Europe is increasing, but at the same time health inequalities are widening. Claudia Stein, director of the Division of Information, Evidence, Research, and Innovation at the World Health Organization’s regional office for Europe, talks about a new report that highlights both the good and the bad of Europe’s health.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Capitalism Myths 46 mins – “Guest Joseph Heath, author of “Economics Without Illusions: Debunking the Myths of Modern Capitalism,” joins us as we turn our skeptical eyes toward the treacherous dual terrain of economics and politics. We discuss the ways in which, with his book, he attempts to raise our economic literacy and empower us with new ideas. In it, he draws on everyday examples to skewer the six favorite economic fallacies of the right, followed by impaling the six favorite fallacies of the left. Heath leaves no sacred cows untipped as he breaks down complex arguments and shows how the world really works. Joseph Heath is the Director of the Centre for Ethics and Professor of Philosophy and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. In addition to his academic publications, he is the author of other popular books, among them, “The Rebel Sell : Why the Culture Can’t Be Jammed” and “Efficient Society: Why Canada is as Close to Utopia as It Gets” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cellphone Security 60 mins – “This week Mike Dowd stops in to tell us what cell phone companies know and store about us.” At the link find the title, “039-What Cell Companies Know About Us, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files 336608916-user-98066669-039-what-cell-companies-know-about-us.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate and Evolution Deniers 46 mins – “Our guest Eugenie C. Scott joins us to talk about a new initiative of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) to tackle denialism of global warming. Both evolution and global warming are “controversial issues” in the public sphere, but are not controversial in the world of science. There is some overlap between the two issues, but far more people are climate change deniers than evolution deniers. What is interesting to skeptics, however, is the similarity in the techniques that are used by both camps to promote their views. The scientific issues are presented as “not being settled,” or that there is considerable debate among scientists over the validity of claims.“ At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate Change Denial 56 mins – “Our guest Eugenie C. Scott joins us to talk about a new initiative of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) to tackle denialism of global warming. Both evolution and global warming are “controversial issues” in the public sphere, but are not controversial in the world of science. There is some overlap between the two issues, but far more people are climate change deniers than evolution deniers. What is interesting to skeptics, however, is the similarity in the techniques that are used by both camps to promote their views. The scientific issues are presented as “not being settled,” or that there is considerable debate among scientists over the validity of claims. Evolution and global warming opponents also demonize the opposition by accusing them of fraud or other wrong-doing. Denialists in both camps practice “anomaly mongering,” in which a small detail seemingly incompatible with either evolution or global warming is considered to undermine either evolution or climate science. Although in both cases, reputable, established science is under attack for ideological reasons, the underlying ideology differs: for creationism, the ideology of course is religious; for global warming, the ideology is political and/or economic.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate Change Science 57 mins – “In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo talk to physicist and climatologist Michael Mann about how we know the climate is getting warmer. Among other things, they cover the physical processes of climate change, the role that predictive models have played in confirming scientists’ theories about the rate of warming, and what are uncertainties in the science. Also, how optimistic we should be about technological solutions to the problem. Dr. Michael E. Mann is Distinguished Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University, with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. He is also director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center. Dr. Mann is author of more than 160 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and has published two books including Dire Predictions: “Understanding Global Warming” in 2008 and “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines“ in 2012. He is also a co-founder and avid contributor to the award-winning science website RealClimate.org.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Climate History 45 mins – “On this week’s episode, Nathan, Brian and Ed, talk about how Americans have interacted, dealt with, and tried to actively change the North American climate.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Clostridium difficile Colitis 19 mins – “Clostridium difficile colitis is a problematic complication of antibiotic therapy in hospitalized and critically ill patients. It is increasing in frequency and can be lethal.” At the link right-click “Direct download: CDC.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Color Use in Nature 10 mins – “Animals are living color. Wasps buzz with painted warnings. Birds shimmer their iridescent desires. Fish hide from predators with body colors that dapple like light across a rippling pond. And all this color on all these creatures happened because other creatures could see it. The natural world is so showy, it’s no wonder scientists have been fascinated with animal color for centuries. Even today, the questions how animals see, create, and use color are among the most compelling in biology.” At the link find the title, “How Color Vision Came to the Animals, Aug, 2017, 8:12 AM,” right-click “Media files audio-d688b7ed-ee96-448f-b7b4-f2acff157403-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Complexity Scientists 51 mins – “As the technology we rely on every day becomes increasingly sophisticated, it’s getting to the point where it’s too complicated to understand — not just for individual users, but for any human at all. In this episode, Julia talks with complexity scientist Samuel Arbesman, about his new book Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension, why these unprecedented levels of complexity might be dangerous, and what we should do about it.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Con Artists 49 mins – “You’ve probably heard about victims of con artists — like the people who hand over their life savings to sketchy gurus or psychics, or the people who wire thousands of dollars to a “Nigerian prince” who just needs some help getting his far bigger fortune to you. And you’ve probably thought to yourself, “What a sucker. I’d never fall for something like that.” But are you sure? In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia interviews Maria Konnikova, science journalist and author of “The Confidence Game: Why we fall for it… Every time,” who explains why con artists are so effective that even the best of us are vulnerable. Along the way, they explore questions like: Why do people refuse to believe they’ve been conned? Are con artists getting more sophisticated over time? And how do con artists view themselves — do they rationalize their actions, or are they impassive sociopaths?” At the link right-click “Download the MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Concussion Detector 41 mins – “Concussions have cast a major shadow over contact sports, from youth leagues to the pros. But entrepreneur Anthony Gonzales thinks he can fix it by putting a gadget in the mouths of athletes. Now he just has to convince investors to put their dollars behind his idea.” At the link find the title, “BONUS — Check Out The Pitch, Jul, 2017,” right-click “Media files GLT4083076800.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cool Tools Pen 27 mins – “Our guest on the Cool Tools Show podcast this week is Adam Rubin. Adam is the New York Times best-selling author of Dragons Love Tacos, Robo-Sauce, and half a dozen other critically-acclaimed picture books. He is also a world-renowned inventor of illusions and was recently named Director of Puzzles and Games for ArtofPlay.com. …So, this pen is not actually marketed as a disappearing ink pen. It’s marketed as a Frixion Pen, and its intention is to be an erasable pen — it’s a normal-looking pen and on the back of the pen is this sort of rubber or plastic nib. And if you write with the pen and you rub the nib over the ink, the ink goes away. But, the true nature of the pen is that it’s heat activated….” 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.
Counterfeit Medicines 18 mins – “Last year 125 people died in Pakistan after taking contaminated cardiac medication. The disaster is one example of the dangers of counterfeit and substandard medicines, an issue the WHO is struggling to control. In this podcast we hear from Amir Attaran, Canada research chair in law, population health, and global development policy at the University of Ottawa, on the international wrangling he sees at the political level. And Sania Nishtar, president of Heartfile, an independent think tank based in India, discusses what went wrong in Pakistan, and how to prevent it happening again.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crowd Wisdom 51 mins – “What do Linux, Netflix, and the Oxford English Dictionary have in common? They’ve all benefited from the power of crowdsourcing, in which a task is outsourced to a group of hundreds or thousands of disparate people. In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia and Massimo discuss the phenomena of crowdsourcing, and ask: What makes it work? Is it ever unethical? And what are the limits to the wisdom of crowds?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crush Injury Discussion 39 mins – “Crush syndrome is a common cause of death following earth quakes, mine and building collapses. Traumatic rhabdomyolysis may also be seen following electrical injury or severe trauma.” At the link right-click “Direct download: CRUSH.mp3 POD_Crush.mp3 “ and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crush Injury Syndrome 17 mins – “Earthquakes are horrible natural events causing loss of lives in the thousands. Following earthquakes, building collapses, and cave-ins, large number of victims will suffer from renal failure and death following crush syndrome.” At the link right-click “Direct download: CRUSH.mp3 POD_Crush.mp3 “ and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cryptocurrency Management 58 mins – “JohnnyD from Consensys chats with Sarah about ethereum at #consenses2017” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Democracy Report Card 60 mins – “In September 2014, Professor Francis Fukuyama came to the Intelligence Squared stage to square up with one of Britain’s most brilliant political thinkers, David Runciman, to assess how democracy is faring in 2014. We certainly haven’t attained the rosy future that some thought Fukuyama was predicting in his book ‘The End of History and The Last Man’ in 1992: authoritarianism is entrenched in Russia and China, in the last decade the developed democracies have experienced severe financial crises and rising inequality, and Islamic State militants are wreaking havoc in Iraq and Syria. Is religion becoming the new politics? How will the technological revolution continue to impact our politics? And in the West are we in danger of becoming complacent about the challenges to democracy that we face?” At the link find the title, “Francis Fukuyama with David Runciman – Democracy: Even the Best Ideas Can Fail, Jul, 2017,” right-click “Media files media.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Democratic Flaws 52 mins – “Churchill famously called democracy “the worst system of government, except for all the others that have been tried.” Could we do better? On this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia chats with professor Jason Brennan, author of the book “Against Democracy,” about his case for why democracy is flawed — philosophically, morally, and empirically.” At the link right-click “Download audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Diet to Treat Seizures 4 mins – “Diets are one of 4 major treatments for epilepsy (besides medication, neurostimulation and surgery). They are becoming very popular in 2013. The 2 major diets are the classic ketogenic diet (created 1921) and the modified Atkins diet (2003). Both these diets are similar – they are very high fat and low carbohydrate. For children with intractable epilepsy, they reduce seizures by at least 50% after 6 months in 50-60% of those who try it.” At the link find the title, “The Growing Popularity of Diet Therapy to Treat Seizures, Sept, 2013,” right-click “Media files BT_045_Kossoff_082913.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Disruption Benefits 26 mins – “Many of us spend lots of time and energy trying to get organized. We tell our kids to clean their rooms, and our politicians to clean up Washington. But economist Tim Harford says maybe we should embrace the chaos. This week, as part of our You 2.0 series, we bring you our November 2016 conversation with Harford.” At the link find the title, “You 2.0: Embrace the Chaos, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files 20170808_hiddenbrain_53.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Doctors in Combat Zones 16 mins – “A recent study compared cost efficiency of different healthcare systems around the world. We hear from Colin Pritchard, from Bournemouth University, about how the NHS came out near the top. Also this week, the International Committee of the Red Cross has a mandate under the Geneva convention to protect the victims of both international and internal armed conflict. Head of mission Geoff Loane explains why they’re finding that increasingly difficult to do.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” to get the audio file.
Domestic Violence 26 mins – “This week, the World Health Organisation called for healthcare providers to be more aware of intimate partner and sexual violence against women, calling it a “global health problem of epidemic proportions.” We look into what doctors need to know.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Doping in Sports 29 mins – “Bryan Fogel, the director and star of “Icarus,” a new documentary about doping in sports, joins Chuck to explain how he stumbled onto Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, Russia’s lead scientist for the country’s doping program.” At the link right-click “Download this Episode” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Driverless Trucks 15 mins – “We all know about driverless cars, driverless cars get all the love and all the attention, because we don’t want to drive. But we’re going to talk in this segment about autonomous trucks, how and why we need autonomous trucks in many ways just as much as we need autonomous cars. To do that, we’re talking to Xiaodi Hou the CTO and co-founder of TuSimple, a company that is bringing driverless trucks to the road.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
Driverless Vehicles 25 mins – “Autonomous vehicles will need to do much more than master object detection. Self-driving vehicles will need technology able to integrate visual computing, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing, NVIDIA’s Danny Shapiro explains.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow at the sound bar to download the audio file.
Drug Access Bioethics 51 mins – “The Division of Medical Ethics at NYU School of Medicine and the Academy bring together patients, regulators, manufacturers, journalists, and experts to debate the difficult ethical issues surrounding “compassionate use” of pre-approved medicines. Patients with life-threatening illnesses face challenges in accessing potential therapies at the cutting-edge of Research.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” to get the audio file.
Dying at Home 21 mins – “This week, we look at how to help patients have better deaths at home. BMJ assistant editor Sophie Cook talks to Emily Collis, a consultant in palliative medicine and the author of a recent clinical review about caring for dying patients in the community.BMJ columnist Des Spence, a GP in Glasgow, explains why the dying deserve better from GPs.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Email Masking 61 mins – “This week, we sit down with co-founder and CTO of the online privacy company Abine (maker of Blur) to talk about privacy masking.” At the link find the title, “013-Blur CTO Andrew Sudbury, Jan, 2017,” right-click “Media files 301875506-user-98066669-013-blur-cto-andrew-sudbury.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Email Security 45 mins – “This week we sit down with ProtonMail CEO Andy Yen to discuss secure email communications.” At the link find the title, “017-Andy Yen of ProtonMail, Feb, 2017,” right-click “Media files 306579570-user-98066669-017-andy-yen-of-protonmail.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Evidence Based Medicine 46 mins – Over the last two decades, the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) movement has transformed medical science, pushing doctors to rely less on intuition or “common wisdom” in choosing treatments, and more on evidence from studies. Sounds great — but has EBM become a victim of its own success? This episode features John Ioannidis, Stanford professor of medicine, health and policy, and statistics, and author of the famous paper, “Why Most Published Research Findings are False.” John and Julia discuss how EBM has been “hijacked,” by whom, and what do do about it.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Evidence Based Philanthropy 44 mins – “Our guest Holden Karnofsky joins us to discuss Givewell, the nonprofit organization he founded. Givewell is devoted to investigating charities and NGOs to determine how much of an impact they’re having. You could call it “evidence-based philanthropy.” He discusses how Givewell evaluates charities, and what the research has to say about various controversies as well as the conventional wisdom in the nonprofit world: Can large charities be efficient? Is the percentage of the donation that goes to expenses really a useful metric? Should we focus on problems closer to home instead of giving to foreign countries? Do microfinance NGOs like Kiva or Grameen Bank live up to their claims? And should or can charities be evaluated objectively?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
False Belief Persistence 32 mins – “Ever notice how some beliefs only seem to become stronger, even as they’re repeatedly debunked? For example, the belief that Barack Obama is a Muslim, or that Bush banned all stem cell research in the country. Brendan Nyhan tells about what he’s learned from his research studies and his experience maintaining Spinsanity, a watchdog blog monitoring political misinformation. Is there any hope of clearing up false beliefs if denials simply make the problem worse? Brendan does offer hope, but it won’t be easy. Brendan Nyhan is a a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan. He received a Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science at Duke University in May 2009. In 2011, He will join the Department of Government at Dartmouth College as an assistant professor. His research focuses on political scandal and misperceptions. He also conducts research on social networks and applied statistical methods.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Financial Literacy 44 mins – “The bad news: roughly 70 percent of Americans are financially illiterate. The good news: all the important stuff can fit on one index card. Here’s how to become your own financial superhero.” At the link click the circle with three dots, right-click “Download this Audio” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Fish Feeling Pain 57 mins – “In this episode Julia talks with philosopher of cognitive science Colin Allen about whether fish can feel pain. In the process they explore a cluster of related questions: Are fish conscious, and how could we tell? What’s the difference between pain and suffering? And are there evolutionarily adaptive reasons why animals would have the subjective experience of pain, as opposed to just instinctive reflexes to avoid potentially harmful stimuli?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Friction at Work 25 mins – “This special episode gives you a taste of eCorner’s new podcast for the summer, FRICTION. Stanford Engineering Professor Bob Sutton interviews acclaimed leadership consultant Patty McCord. The former chief talent officer of Netflix speaks bluntly about how backstabbing, passive-aggressive behavior and overall coddling of employees are all bad for businesses — and how actual grown-ups can hear and handle the truth, even when they disagree. In other words, startups may want to downplay the free food, beer and haircuts and start hiring and treating workers like the adults they need to thrive long term.” 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.
Geoengineering the Climate 9 mins – “Let’s pretend that the US didn’t recently pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. Let’s also pretend that all the other countries that scolded it for withdrawing also met their Paris pledges on deadline. Heck, let’s pretend that that everyone in the whole world did their very best to cut emissions, starting today. Even if all that make-believing came true, the world would still get very hot.” At the link find the title, “Climate Change Is Here. It’s Time to Talk About Geoengineering, Jul, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-cff9968d-bd5e-4ecb-a810-d276eee6a472-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Holocaust Deniers Playbook 49 mins – “Guest Donald Prothero joins us to discuss the common tactics and thinking of science deniers and the implications of this assault on science for our future. The denial of scientific realities in issues like global warming, creationism, vaccine safety, and AIDS, is growing in our society. Not only is our acceptance of scientific “inconvenient truths” under attack, but even scientists themselves have been threatened.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Horse Slaughter 38 mins – Kym McNicholas On Innovation describes problems with abandoned horses and efforts to save them from slaughter houses in the U.S. At the link click the square with three dots then click “Download” to get the audio file.
Human Balance 66 mins – “UCSF Physical Therapists explore the how the inner ear works with the brain in an effort to help patients with perception, balance and movement. Recorded on 05/02/2017.“ At the link right-click “Audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu. (#32388)“ At the link right-click “Audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Human Diagnosis Project 9 mins – “Inside a red-bricked building on the north side of Washington DC, internist Shantanu Nundy rushes from one examining room to the next, trying to see all 30 patients on his schedule. Most days, five of them will need to follow up with some kind of specialist. And odds are they never will. Year-long waits, hundred-mile drives, and huge out of pocket costs mean 90 percent of America’s most needy citizens can’t follow through on a specialist referral from their primary care doc. But Nundy’s patients are different. They have access to something most people don’t: a digital braintrust of more than 6,000 doctors, with expert insights neatly collected, curated, and delivered back to Nundy through an artificial intelligence platform. The online system, known as the Human Diagnosis Project, allows primary care doctors to plug into a collective medical superintelligence, helping them order tests or prescribe medications they’d otherwise have to outsource. Which means most of the time, Nundy’s patients wait days, not months, to get answers and get on with their lives….” At the link find the title, “Want a Diagnosis Tomorrow, Not Next Year? Turn to AI, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-513e0539-3a55-4946-a9d9-8706dc554fa5-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Hyperledger 58 mins – “Brian Behlendorf is a legend in the open software movement. He is one of the creators of Apache – server software that powers most websites on the internet. He currently serves as Executive Director of Hyperledger – one of the most prominent Blockchain consortiums in the world. His list of accomplishments in the tech industry is beyond impressive: Technology Advisor – White House & 2008 Obama Presidential Campaign; President – Apache Software Foundation; CTO – World Economic Forum; Managing Director – Mithril Capital Management (venture capital firm); Board member – Mozilla Foundation, Benetech, Electronic Frontier Foundation. In this episode, Brian and I discuss the history of Hyperledger, the 8 projects under the Hyperledger banner (including several interesting use cases3), and what Brian really thinks about the current ICO and cryptocurrency craze.” At the link double click the down-pointing arrow under the sound bar to get the audio file.
Income Divide Widens 52 mins – “The scholar Richard Reeves was raised in the U.K., and he hates the sense of class consciousness he says pervades there. That was part of the appeal in becoming an American citizen. In his latest book though, Reeves describes a growing chasm between the upper middle class and the 80% of Americans whose opportunities have stagnated. Reeves joins Doug Thursday to talk about the ways this “favored fifth” is pulling away from the rest of the nation, and what it means for the American dream. Richard Reeves is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution. He’s also co-director of their Center on Children and Families. His book is called Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class is Leaving Everyone Else in the Dust, Why That is a Problem, and What to Do About it.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Indian Malnutrition 18 mins – “Tessa Richards (BMJ’s analysis editor) and Duncan Jarvies (BMJ’s multimedia producer) talk to Veena Rao (adviser at Karnataka Nutrition Mission, India) about the issue of undernutrion in the country. And David Payne (BMJ’s web editor) gives us a run-down of the new bmj.com.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Internet Improves Research 52 mins – “This episode features mathematician and social entrepreneur Spencer Greenberg, talking about how he’s taking advantage of the Internet to improve the research process. Spencer and Julia explore topics such as: how the meaning of your research can change dramatically when you ask people *why* they gave the answers they did on your survey, how the sheer speed of online research can help us solve the p-hacking problem, and how to incentivize scientists to share their data and methods.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Islamic Politics 42 mins – “Recorded on July 12, 2017 Ayaan Hirsi Ali joins Peter Robinson to discuss her new book, The Challenge of Dawa: Political Islam as Ideology and Movement and How to Contain It, and her views on the challenges facing Western civilization in regards to political Islam. She argues that Islam needs to be separated into two different parts, one part of religion and the other part, political philosophy. She concedes that many aspects of the religious part of Islam are peaceful but argues that the political side is much more concerning due to its focus on Dawa, which means “to plead or to call non-Muslims to Islam.” This call to convert people to Islam is what she argues was a driving force behind the spread of Islam throughout history. …She argues that just as Western civilizations have defeated dangerous ideologies in the past, she is optimistic that Western civilization will succeed against political Islam for, as she says, “[Jihadis] can’t destroy us without permission.” She says if we take the fight to the “battlefield of ideas” we can defeat radical Islamic ideologies with Western beliefs. ….Ayaan Hirsi Ali was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” of 2005, one of the Glamour Heroes of 2005, and Reader’s Digest’s European of the Year for 2005. She is the best-selling author of Infidel (2007) and Heretic: Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now (2015).” At the link find the title, “Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the West, Dawa, and Islam, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files 20170801-hirsi.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Jury Nullification 52 mins – “Today, a hidden power that is either the cornerstone of our democracy or a trapdoor to anarchy. Should a juror be able to ignore the law? From a Quaker prayer meeting in the streets of London, to riots in the streets of LA, we trace the history of a quiet act of rebellion and struggle with how much power “we the people” should really have.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Liberian War Correspondent 50 mins – “James just wanted to film the war in Liberia. But bloody conflicts dirty even the cleanest of hands. Jonathan discovered he had a secret talent that people would pay for. If someone wanted breakup with their significant other, but couldn’t — Jonathan would handle the dirty work.” At the link click the circle with three dots, right-click “Download this audio” and select “save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Linguicide 56 mins – “Lorena Fontaine is completing her PhD at the University of Manitoba and is battling to revive aboriginal languages. She argues that Canadian indigenous communities have a legal right to the survival of language.” At the link find the title, “Undoing Linguicide: The legal right to the survival of Indigenous languages (Encore Apr 8, 2016), Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files ideas_20170731_89255.mp3” and select ‘Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Marijuana in Cars 16 mins – “Journalist Karen McColl interviews Wendell Potter, US health industry lobbying guru turned critic. Mark Ashbridge, an associate professor at Dalhousie University, explains how cannabis intoxication is an increasingly important factor in motor vehicle collisions.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Material Obsession 51 mins – “Try to imagine 18 tons of clothes. It’s the image journalist and author Elizabeth Cline said surprised her the most while researching her book about the way Americans dress. That’s because that pile represented three-days of donations to one thrift store in one U.S. city. And what’s the impact of the cheap fashion we buy and toss on such a regular basis? Cline is coming to Utah, and Monday she joins Doug to explain what it means for our economy, our environment, and for our culture.” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Medical Controversies 48 mins – “We like to think of doctors as experts, whose recommendations are backed up by solid evidence. So why does it keep happening that a widely used medical intervention — like estrogen replacement therapy, or heart stents — turns out to be useless, or even harmful? This episode features Dr. Vinay Prasad, author of “Ending Medical Reversal: Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives,” who talks with Julia about why medical research is so often fatally flawed, and what we can do about it.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Medical Tricorder 53 mins – “Imagine a portable, wireless device in the palm of your hand that monitors and diagnoses your health conditions. That is the technology envisioned by this XPRIZE competition, inspired by Star Trek, and it will allow unprecedented access to personal health metrics. Today we talk with Grant Campany and Rick Valencia about how the XPRIZE process from inspiration to the awarding of the prize and what they hope to achieve with through these grand endeavors. Tricorder.xprize.org” At the link find the title, “HTT 44: Healthcare Trek Talk-Building the Medical Tricorder with XPRIZE! Jul, 2015,” right-click “Media files HTT_Episode_44.mp3” and select “Save Link As from the pop-up menu.
Memory Reliability 48 mins – “Do you remember when you were a kid, and you had that great day at Disneyland where you got to meet Bugs Bunny? No? Think harder. It was a sunny day… In this episode of Rationally Speaking, Julia interviews psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, whose pioneering work on human memory revealed that our memories can be contaminated by the questions people ask us, or by misinformation we encounter after the fact — even to the point of making us remember entire events that never could have happened. (Like meeting Bugs Bunny, a Warner Bros character, at Disneyland.)” At the link right-click “Download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Messy Creativity 52 mins – “In his new book, the journalist and economist Tim Harford makes an argument that’s a tough sell for a culture hooked on neatness, structure, and tidying up. Harford comes to the defense of messiness, of inconvenient situations, clutter, and difficulty. They’re not as bad as we might think, he says, and in story after story he shows how disorder can spur creativity, nurture resilience, and bring out our very best. Harford joins us to explore the messy foundations that often underlie success. Tim Harford is a visiting fellow of Nuffield College at Oxford University and senior columnist at the Financial Times and host of the BBC Radio 4 program More or Less. He’s the author of several books, including The Undercover Economist and The Logic of Life. His new book is called Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Meta Knowledge Uses 50 mins – “Has science gotten slower over the years? Does the proliferation of jargon make it harder for scientists to collaborate? What unstated assumptions — “ghost theories” — are shaping our research without us even realizing it? In this episode of Rationally Speaking Julia talks with sociologist of science James Evans, who investigates questions like these using some clever data mining.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Microfinance Controversy 43 mins – “Can we pull the world’s poor out of poverty by giving them access to financial services? This episode features a conversation with economist David Roodman, formerly a fellow at the Center for Global Development and senior advisor to the Gates Foundation, currently senior advisor to the Open Philanthropy Project, and the author of Due Diligence: An Impertinent Inquiry into Microfinance. Roodman casts a critical eye on the hype about microfinance as a panacea for global poverty. He and Julia explore why it’s hard to design a good study, even a randomized one; three different conceptions of “development,”; and why Roodman doesn’t think we should give up on microfinance altogether.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Missing Research Data 23 mins – “The problem of missing data is well known, especially in cases where drug companies conceal evidence. However pharmaceutical industry misconduct is not the only cause, and a cluster of papers in this week’s BMJ show how aspects of the culture of medical science contribute to the problem. Elizabeth Loder, BMJ’s clinical editor, talks to Harlan Krumholz (Harold H Hines Jr professor of medicine at Yale University) and Joseph Ross (assistant professor of medicine, also at Yale) about missing data from US publicly funded trials. Lisa Bero (professor at the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California) describes how adding missing data to meta-analyses of drug trials can change the results, and Richard Riley (senior lecturer in medical statistics at Birmingham University) explains why individual participant meta-analyses aren’t as balanced as we may think.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Molecular Biology Foundation 42 mins – “Today’s genomics explosion has foundations in seminal discoveries in molecular biology almost 50 years ago. Today’s guest, Sir Richard Roberts, was a pivotal figure in a number of these areas. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 as a co-discoverer of the intron, a part of many eukaryotic genes that contains no protein-coding function, yet can have important roles in a gene’s structure as well as mRNA stability and processing. He shares his memories of the methods that led to the discovery of introns and restriction enzymes. In the second part of the podcast he discusses the important role of the Nobel Laureates as agents of social change. As decorated experts, the Laureates have provided leadership in a number of social issues, including pressing for application of biotechnology application.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Moose Decline in NH 56 mins – “Climate change, which causes rising temperatures, increasingly severe weather events, and shrinking habitats, negatively impacts the moose and loon populations of New Hampshire more than any other factors — including human interference from road construction or hunting and fishing practices. That’s according to longtime wildlife observers, who joined The Exchange to deliver an update on these two beloved new Hampshire species.” At the link find the title, “Climate Change Is The Leading Cause Of Moose And Loon Population Decline In New Hampshire, Aug, 2017,” where you may be able to listen, but not download the audio file; however, a copy is included in the blog archive.
Organ Donations 45 mins – “If you’re a healthy adult, should you donate one of your kidneys to a stranger? This episode features journalist Dylan Matthews, who donated his kidney last year. He and Julia discuss the clever design of “donor chains,” how we should evaluate the science about whether kidney donation is safe, and whether we have an ethical obligation to donate.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Permaculture Farms 60 mins – “Thank you for joining us as we share with you all the updates on our Permaculture Farm! Our Podcast is divided into 3 sections: Farm Update, Living Off-Grid, and Permaculture Resources. Each week, you can see pictures, videos, and links that we mention in the show by visiting these show notes (or by going to www.SowEdible.com). Here is a summary of what we have for you in this episode.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Permaculture in Northern California 43 mins – “This week we are very happy to have our first Listener Interview with Megan and Ben Hollar from The Hollar Homestead. They are currently homesteading on their small suburban lot in California but have plans to hit the road and find their forever homestead in the near future. Be sure to check them out on their You Tube Channel The Hollar Homestead to follow them on their journey!” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Personalized Medicine Using Big Data 15 mins– “We are all unique individuals, therefore what works for one patient may not work for another. No longer is trial and error and acceptable approach to treating patients, it is time to use Big Data to help deliver the most precise medicine and most appropriate treatments to meet our patients needs. Today we talk with Paul D’Alessandro, the Global Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience Practice Leader for PwC about how Big Data is enable better healthcare. For more information, check out DoubleJump Health from PwC .” At the link find the title, “HTT 60- Big Data enabling Precision Medicine, Feb, 2017,” right-click “Media files HTT_Episode_60.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Political Books 18 mins – “Corbyn! Trump! Brexit! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting. TALKING POLITICS is the podcast that will try to make sense of it all. Each Thursday, in Cambridge, David Runciman will talk to his regular panel along with novelists, comedians, historians, philosophers – and even a few politicians – and ask them what they think is going on… Democracy is feeling the strain everywhere. What might happen next? How bad could it get? As it unfolds, TALKING POLITICS will be on it. It’s the political conversation everyone is having: please join us.” At the link find the title, “SUMMER READING 2, Jul, 2017,” right-click “Media files media.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Portuguese Drug Decriminalization 18 mins – “In 2001 Portugal abolished all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs – effectively decriminalising their use. Health journalist Nigel Hawkes talks to João Goulão, Portugal’s drug tsar, to find out how effective this policy change has been. Also, the General Medical Council is introducing revalidation for doctors. Part of that revalidation will require input from a doctor’s colleagues and patients. We hear from John Campbell, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, about possible independent factors that could affect the scores.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Andrew Jackson 45 mins – “Barbara Bair of the Library of Congress, Steve Inskeep of NPR and biographer Jon Meacham examine the violent life and leadership of Andrew Jackson: the tragedy of his personal life, the brutality of his battles and his policies against Native Americans, and the conflict that makes up a dynamic democracy.” At the link find the title, “Andrew Jackson: The violence, the fight, Feb 21, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56ca3953e4b00fea671e0e20_1351620000001-300040_t_1456093541088_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Carter 58 mins – “Longtime Carter political adviser Pat Caddell, theologian and biographer Randall Balmer, and Washington Post reporter Robert Costa examine how Jimmy Carter’s faith has shaped his leadership in and out of the White House.” At the link find the title, “Jimmy Carter: Keeping the faith, Sept, 2016,” right-click “Media files 57e7f80de4b037a240c78926_1351620000001-300030_t_1474820134335_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Franklin Roosevelt 58 mins – “Allida Black, editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt papers, along with FDR Library Director Paul Sparrow and White Ho use speechwriter Sarada Peri, examine Franklin Roosevelt’s leadership through the lens of the first lady’s own contributions to his presidency.” At the link find the title, “Franklin D. Roosevelt: Through Eleanor’s eyes, Aug, 2016,” right-click “Media files 57a7d1f2e4b0263d2031286b_1351620000001-300040_t_1470616063078_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Hoover 42 mins – “Herbert Hoover entered the White House with an array of high-profile experiences leading disaster relief. So why was his handling of the Great Depression considered a failure? Biographer Charles Rappleye guest stars.” At the link find the title, “Herbert Hoover: Dealing with disaster, Jul, 2016,” right-click “Media files 579e55bce4b0263d20311a58_1351620000001-300030_t_1469994446758_44100_160_2.mp3” and select”Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Jefferson 42 mins – “The great contradiction of Thomas Jefferson — that he wrote the famous words “all men are created equal” and yet held more than 600 slaves — sits at the heart of his complex and controversial legacy today. Experts Annette Gordon-Reed, Paul Finkelman, Jon Meacham, Julie Miller, Peter Onuf and Joe Yonan help us explore the many facets of our third U.S. president in this week’s episode of Presidential.” At the link find the title, “Thomas Jefferson: On food and freedom, Jan 24, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56a57347e4b01b3bd4c34d4b_1351620000001-300030_t_1453683568561_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu
President John Adams 32 mins – “Biographer David McCullough, Julie Miller of the Library of Congress, Philip Kennicott of The Washington Post, and Kirk Savage of the University of Pittsburgh give us the backstory on why there’s no monument to John Adams in the nation’s capital.” At the link find the title “John Adams: The case of the missing monument, Jan, 2016,” right-click “Media files 569c3bffe4b023aebdfbe48c_1351620000001-300030_t_1453079561320_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President John Quincy Adams 44 mins – “Scholars Charles Edel and Fred Kaplan, along with Washington Post journalist Katie Zezima, explore the main leadership characteristic that doomed the presidency of John Quincy Adams.” At the link find the title, “John Quincy Adams: The trait that broke a presidency, Feb 14, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56c0ead8e4b01b3bd4c37d23_1351620000001-300040_t_1455483628772_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Madison 37 mins – “Though he’s our first wartime president, James Madison is usually better remembered for his work on the constitution rather than his time as commander-in-chief while the White House went up in flames. But Madison scholar Jack Rakove says there’s a key lesson we can learn from his time in the Oval Office.” At the link find the title,”James Madison: Burning down the house, Jan, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56ae99f7e4b01b3bd4c35deb_1351620000001-300040_t_1454283273252_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President McKinley 39 mins – “Republican political strategist Karl Rove dissects what was so transformative about William McKinley’s 1896 presidential campaign. And Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig discusses how his assassination modernized the Secret Service.” At the link find the title, “William McKinley: The modern campaign, Jun, 2016,” right-click “Media files 576732dde4b05fc352851f9f_1351620000001-300030_t_1466381038129_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Monroe 39 mins – “In the latest episode of Presidential, we look at our fifth president’s knack for being present at famous moments in history–as well as the unexpected and twisted legacy of the Monroe Doctrine.” At the link find the title, “James Monroe: The Forrest Gump of presidents, Feb, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56b29bb1e4b01b3bd4c3664b_1351620000001-300040_t_1454545864365_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Polk 34 mins – “Through hard work and strategic lying, the 11th president managed to accomplish everything on his agenda. But is being effective the same as being great? We discuss Polk’s life and leadership style with historian Amy Greenberg. And musician John Linnell, of the band They Might Be Giants, makes a special appearance.” At the link find the title, “James K. Polk: Getting it done, Mar, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56eee001e4b0f9f16dbb2b13_1351620000001-300030_t_1458495508865_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Truman 36 mins – “Biographer David McCullough looks at some of the most difficult decisions President Truman made during his time in the White House, and Washington Post polling manager Scott Clement examines the biggest polling failure in presidential history.” At the link find the title, “Media files 57b13d73e4b0263d20313682_1351620000001-300040_t_1471233414722_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Van Buren 36 mins – “He may not have been a very memorable president, but Van Buren did much to create the party establishments we have today–the idea of national parties, nominating conventions and grassroots organizing. Experts Barbara Bair and Mark Cheathem, along with Washington Post reporter Chris Cillizza, examine his mark on modern politics.” At the link find the title, “Martin Van Buren: The story of our two-party system, Feb, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56d3c1e1e4b0f9f16dbafa8c_1351620000001-300040_t_1456718318981_44100_128_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Wilson 42 mins – “Racism, diplomacy, women’s rights…historian John Milton Cooper and Woodrow Wilson House executive director Robert Enholm lead us through Wilson’s complicated personal and presidential legacy.” At the link find the title, “Woodrow Wilson: A complicated legacy, Jul, 2016,” right-click “Media files 5783195fe4b0263d2030de6f_1351620000001-300030_t_1468209521931_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
President Zachary Taylor 30 mins – “In the 12th episode of the Presidential podcast, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank joins historians Catherine Clinton and Joseph Uscinski to talk about military hero Zachary Taylor and the assassination theories that swirled around his death in the White House.” At the link find the title,”Zachary Taylor: War heroes and conspiracy theory, Mar, 2016,” right-click “Media files 56f42d04e4b0f9f16dbb347f_1351620000001-300030_t_1458842900827_44100_160_2.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Privacy Software 84 mins – “We discuss the extra costs often related to living a private and secure life. Sometimes, free options come at an unknown cost.” At the link find the title, “006-The Cost of Privacy, Nov, 2016,” right-click “Media files 294159086-user-98066669-006-the-cost-of-privacy.mp3” and select “Save Link As: from the pop-up menu.
Publishing Research Early 23 mins – “Five years ago, Daniel MacArthur set out to build a massive library of human gene sequences—one of the biggest ever. The 60,706 raw sequences, collected from colleagues all over the globe, took up a petabyte of memory. It was the kind of flashy, blockbuster project that would secure MacArthur a coveted spot in one of science’s top three journals, launching his new lab at the Broad Institute into the scientific spotlight.” At the link right-click “MP3” under the title and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Radon Issues 12 mins – “Woe be to the Environmental Protection Agency. If President Trump gets his way, the federal agency will lose 31 percent of its annual budget—about $3 billion. Supporters of Trump’s 2018 budget proposal call it a “back to basics” approach, carving away what they see as the agency’s regulatory overreach. Opponents are similarly pithy: The EPA’s former director labeled Trump’s proposal a “scorched Earth budget.” At the link find the title, “Trump Wants the EPA Radon Program Cut. So Do Some Scientists, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-aca9c084-98c6-43be-957c-8a1980e0f99d-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Reality Based Economics 30 mins – “Throw out what you think you know about economics. This week, self-described “renegade economist” Kate Raworth of Oxford University, explains how to think like a reality based economist, and two eco-feminists, one from South Africa, the other Mauritius, share a chat under a tree, about Marx, feminism and life on the planet. All that and a few words from me on Venezuela and the President’s obsession with Blood. Music featured: “Democrazy” by Chaka Khan & “I.P.C.C.” by Baba Brinkman from his album The Rap Guide to Climate Chaos. Please rate and write a review wherever you get this podcast. Thanks!” At the link right-click “Download this Episode” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Renewable Energy Controversy 55 mins – “Sometimes the most heated debates are among people who almost agree. That seems to be the case with the recent Jacobson-Clack controversy, in which two groups of well-intentioned, renewable energy advocates bitterly spar over differing paths to a 100% renewable energy future. But as PCI Senior Fellow Richard Heinberg points out in his latest essay, neither side is considering one of the most crucial aspects to successfully reaching that future. Tune in to hear Richard’s take on the controversy and decide for yourself who offers the clearest path forward.” At the link right-click “Download MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
RNAi [RNA interference] 42 mins – “Back in 2012 a paper rocked the scientific community. The claim was that small RNA molecules in dietary plant products could escape digestion, move through the bloodstream, and cause regulatory changes in animal physiology. The concept was that the food we ate could change gene expression in new, unexpected ways. For those of us studying the literature this was a great breakthrough that seemed impossible– but we all desperately wanted it to be true. It would open a new area of science and great new avenues of inquiry– possibly even changing the way we approached human disease. But as time moved along our hopes faded. Papers were published suggesting that the results were artifacts, more icons of potentially sloppy lab practices than revolutionary results. This week’s guest is Dr. Ken Witwer from Johns Hopkins University. We sat down and waxed fondly on the 2012 paper and how it has failed to live up to the hypothesis it presented. The episode of the podcast covers RNAi, how it works, and how this proposed mechanism was plausible but unlikely, along with the data that support/do not support it.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save link As” from the pop-up menu.
Science Literacy 46 mins – “Massimo and Julia discuss science communication with Howard Schneider, dean of the school of journalism at SUNY Stonybrook and former editor of Newsday. A guest at previous skeptic events, including the first annual Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, Schneider has argued in the past that skeptics lay too much blame at the feet of the media for public misunderstandings and misconceptions about science (video here). Julia and Massimo question him on this point, and ask him for his thoughts on what *can* be done to improve scientific literacy. As the founder of the Center for News Literacy and the Center for Communicating Science, Schneider has plenty of thoughts to share — including making scientists take improv classes. Should science communication involve more storytelling? And is there any way to take advantage of new, online media formats to remedy some of the weak points in the science communication process?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Science versus Bunk 49 mins – “Massimo and Julia sit down in front of a live audience at the Jefferson Market Library in New York City for a conversation about science, non-science, and pseudo-science. Based on Massimo’s book: “Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk” the topics they cover include whether the qualitative sciences are less reliable than quantitative ones, the re-running of the tape of life, and who is smarter: physicists, biologists, or psychologists? Also, why are evolutionary psychologist so fixated on sex?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sexism Delusions 49 mins – “Cordelia Fine joins us from Melbourne, Australia to discuss her book: “Delusions of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences.” Sex discrimination is supposedly a distant memory, yet popular books, magazines and even scientific articles increasingly defend inequalities by citing immutable biological differences between the male and female brain. That’s the reason, we’re told, that there are so few women in science and engineering and so few men in the laundry room — different brains are just better suited to different things. Drawing on the latest research in developmental psychology, neuroscience, and social psychology, Fine sets out to rebut these claims, showing how old myths, dressed up in new scientific finery, are helping to perpetuate the sexist status quo.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sexism in Research 9 mins – “In October 2016, the organizers behind a conference on the microbiome sent promo materials to some prominent scientists. Elisabeth Bik was one of them: With her nearly 12,000 followers, her tweeting could help publicize their upcoming event in San Diego. But when she scanned the lineup, she noticed that almost every speaker was a man. Add more women, she suggested—or the conference should expect backlash.” At the link find the title, “The Plan to End Science’s Sexist #Manel Problem, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-e4f2d26e-efaa-4998-984c-a3f5be1c55fb-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sickle Cell Anemia 29 mins – “Today’s episode is on the evaluation and management of sickle cell anemia in the Emergency Department. Dr Jared Walker, a third year EM resident at the University of Florida Jacksonville, has written and recorded this excellent review of sickle cell disease. This episode will discuss how to properly assess patients with sickle cell, how to order the right labs and imaging, what red flags to look out for, how to control sickle cell pain, how to catch the various complications of sickle cell, and proper patient disposition.” At the link right-click “Sickle Cell Anemia Podcast’ and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
South Sea Bubble 43 mins – “Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss The South Sea Bubble, the speculation mania in early 18th-century England which ended in the financial ruin of many of its investors. The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 with a view to restructuring government debt and restoring public credit. The company would ostensibly trade with South America, hence its name; and indeed, it did trade in slaves for the Spanish market even after the Bubble burst in 1720. People from all walks of life bought shares in the South Sea Company, from servants to gentry, and it was said the entire country was gripped by South Sea speculation mania. When the shares crashed and the company collapsed there was a public outcry and many people faced financial ruin, although some investors sold before the crash and made substantial amounts of money. For example, the bookseller Thomas Guy made his fortune and founded a hospital in his name the following year. But how did such a financial crisis develop and were there any lessons learnt following this early example of a stock market boom and bust?” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Space Junk 12 mins – “…Space junk is the colloquial name for orbital bits that do nothing useful: spent rockets, fragments splayed by collisions and degradation, old satellites no one cares about anymore. In total, they amount to millions of pieces of debris, many of which are large enough to seriously ding satellites and the International Space Station. And then there’s Kessler Syndrome: a space sickness in which low-Earth orbit is so overpopulated that collisions cascade into more collisions, which create more debris that causes more collisions that cascade into more collisions. It’s all very bad for Sandra Bullock. And it’s about to get worse: Thousands and thousands of satellites are set to launch to low-Earth orbit before 2025….” At the link find the title, “The Space Junk Problem Is About to Get a Whole Lot Gnarlier, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-688d7214-8cc2-41c2-93a9-ce09f9713631-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Statin Safety 15 mins – “Keith Fox, president of the British Cardiovascular Society, and Rory Collins, co-director of the University of Oxford’s Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit, discuss the safety of statins, and how clever prescribing can overcome worries about myopathy. Also this week, Tony Delamothe, BMJ deputy editor, explains why the sudden interest in atrial fibrillation is making him queasy.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Statins 19 mins – “NB: In our interview about statins, Abramson quotes the figure of an 18% relative increase in risk of adverse effects of statins. This figure should be couched in uncertainty, and a correction has been posted on bmj.com to reflect that – www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g3329 It may soon be recommended that statins are prescribed to patients with a low risk of cardiovascular disease. John Abramson from the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School explains why the risks associated with taking the drug may have been underplayed.” At the link click the box with three dots and click “Download” to get the audio file.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Stethoscope History 23 mins – “Imagine for a moment the year 1800. A doctor is meeting with a patient – most likely in the patient’s home. The patient is complaining about shortness of breath. A cough, a fever. The doctor might check the patient’s pulse or feel their belly, but unlike today, what’s happening inside of the patient’s body is basically unknowable. There’s no MRI. No X-rays. The living body is like a black box that can’t be opened. The only way for a doctor to figure out what was wrong with a patient was to ask them, and as a result patients’ accounts of their symptoms were seen as diseases in themselves. While today a fever is seen as a symptom of some underlying disease like the flu, back then the fever was essentially regarded as the disease itself.” At the link click the down-pointing arrow under the title and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Suffering Purpose 53 mins – “Our lecture this week is presented by the Boston University Anthropology Department in the College of Arts and Sciences, and is titled “Social Suffering, Virtue Ethics and Moral Tragedy: The Perils of a Superstrong Black Mother.” Our speaker is Cheryl Mattingly, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Southern California.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow under the play button and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sugar Science 28 mins – “The authors of the recent meta-analysis on dietary sugar and body weight, Lisa Te Morenga, and Jim Mann, from the Departments of Human Nutrition and Medicine at the University of Otago, join us to discuss their findings. Also this week, the BMA wants doctors to be more involved in influencing policy on recreational drugs. Vivienne Nathanson, its director of professional activities, explains its new report, and how individual testimony can combine to convince governments to change policy.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Suspicion and Trust 43 mins – “This year’s Reith Lecturer is Onora O’Neill. She became Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, in l992 and has chaired the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Human Genetics Advisory Commission. She is currently chair of the Nuffield Foundation and she has been President of the Aristotelian Society, and a member of the Animal Procedures (Scientific) Committee. In 1999 she was made a life peer as Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve, and sits as a crossbencher. She has written widely on political philosophy and ethics, international justice, bioethics and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. In the first of her Reith Lectures, philosopher Onora O’Neill examines the nature of trust, its role in society, and asks if there is real evidence of a crisis of trust. Confucius told his disciple Tsze-kung that three things are needed for government: weapons, food and trust. If a ruler can’t hold on to all three, he should give up the weapons first and the food next and trust should be guarded to the end. Confucius’ philosophy, Baroness O’Neill argues, is still convincing and she argues why.” At the link right-click “Download” and select Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Sweatshops and Poverty 58 mins – “This episode explores the economics and ethics of low-paying factories (which some might call “sweatshops”) in Ethiopia. Do they make their workers better off, relative to those people’s outside options? Professor Chris Blattman has run some well-designed randomized controlled trials exploring this question, and he discusses what surprised him and how he’s updated his views from his research. Julia and Chris also discuss an innovative program to reduce crime in Liberia using cognitive behavioral therapy.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Teenage TBI 4 mins – “Recent investigations on the structure and function of the brain have generated fundamental insights into the neuroscience of traumatic brain injury. This discovery is driven by novel brain mapping approaches including magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and event-related potentials. Inferences from these techniques, although constrained by the signal acquisition method and the analytical paradigms employed to interpret the signal, suggest a model in which traumatic injuries are associated with multifocal changes in large scale distributed neuronal systems.” At the link find the title, ”The Hidden Epidemic of Traumatic Brain Injury, Aug, 2013,” right-click “Media files BT_044_Stevens_082213.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tourism 38 mins – “As Americans hit the road and take to the skies for summer vacation, Joanne, Ed, and Nathan explore the ways Americans have spent their time off.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Trump Brain Drain 7 mins – “After Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the global Paris climate agreement, Macron invited scientists and others from the US and elsewhere to come to France to help solve the climate crisis and “make the planet great again.” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Truth Zealots 23 mins – “After last week’s episode exploring the future of fakery scared the living daylights out of us, we decided to search for a bit of hope. What we found… A few folks, warriors really, ready to defend the truth with all they’ve got.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tuberculosis and Smoking 25 mins – “Last week BMJ Group held an inaugural global health conference globalhealth.bmj.com/ in London, looking at policies for sustainable and effective healthcare. David Heymann, chair of the UK Health Protection Agency, and Martha Gyansa-Lutterodt, Director of Pharmaceuticals at the Ministry of Health, Ghana, discuss how vertical aid programmes can lead to systemic improvements in lower income countries. And, Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of NICE International, explains a bit more about its work. Also, smoking is known to increase TB mortality. A modelling study this week suggests that the number of excess deaths from TB, caused by tobacco consumption, could be as high as 40 million over the next 40 years. Stanton Glantz, Director of the Centre for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, joins us to set out the numbers.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tuberculosis Identification 17 mins – “In this week’s podcast, Sue Rabbit Roff describes how she thinks a system of paid for kidney donations could work in practice. Al Story, clinical lead of the Find and Treat programme – a travelling team who scour the streets of London for tuberculosis – explains the programme’s mission.” At the link click the square with three dots, then click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Value Investing 48 mins – “Paul shares the latest research on how to combine value portfolios with other asset classes to produce low-risk portfolios appropriate for those saving toward retirement as well as those taking distributions in retirement. Learn five important keys to selecting those value funds most likely to produce the best returns, including the names that Paul includes in his own portfolios. Learn how adding a single value fund can double the return of a Vanguard or Fidelity target date fund. You can also view this podcast as a video on Paul’s website home page. To take maximum advantage of this presentation, click here to view resource materials.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Vegetarianism 54 mins – “Vegetarianism is a complex set of beliefs and practices, spanning from the extreme “fruitarianism,” where people only eat fruits and other plant parts that can be gathered without “harming” the plant, to various forms of “flexitaranism,” like pollotarianism (poultry is okay to eat) and pescetarianism (fish okay). So, what does science have to say about this? What is the ethical case for vegetarianism? And, is it true that vegetarians are more intelligent than omnivores? Not unexpectedly, the answers are complex, so the debate will rage on.” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Vinegar 49 mins – “In his new book, ACID TRIP: Travels in the World of Vinegar” (Abrams Books), Michael Harlan Turkell takes us on a fermented look into vinegar’s soured past and bright future. He shares tales and experiences from his travels throughout North America, France, Italy, Austria, and Japan to learn about vinegar-making practices in places where the art has evolved over centuries.” 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.
Voting Tribes 53 mins – “There are two contradictory stories about politics and class: On the one hand, that the Republicans are the party of the fat cat businessmen and the Democrats are the party of the people. And on the other hand, that the Republicans are the party of the salt-of-the-earth Joe Sixpacks, while the Democrats are latte-sipping elites. In this episode, professor of statistics and political science Andrew Gelman shines some clarifying light on the intersection between politics and class in America, explaining what the numbers really show. He and Julia also cover the question, “Is it rational to vote?” At the link right-click “Download the audio MP3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
War Origins 28 mins – “Is our desire to wage war something uniquely human or can its origins be traced much further back in our evolutionary past? To suggest that warfare is a regular feature of human civilization would be to state the obvious. But just how deeply rooted is our desire to kill others of our species? Is lethal aggression a fixed part of our genetic code, something that has evolved from a common ancestor – and something therefore that has adaptive value? Or is warfare – and more generally, a predilection for lethal violence something that has emerged much more recently in human history? No longer the preserve of historians and philosophers, the question, as Geoff Watts discovers, is now argued over fiercely by anthropologists and biologists.”Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Water Contamination Politics 24 mins – “When director Cullen Hoback began work on his latest documentary, “What Lies Upstream,” he hoped to find out why it took months for local officials in West Virginia to investigate chemically contaminated tap water. But his initial investigation into chemically polluted drinking water in West Virginia soon expanded into a far-reaching analysis of local regulators’ inability, and in some cases unwillingness, to safeguard the people and resources they were entrusted to protect.” At the link right-click “Download this Episode” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Website Security 24 mins – “When thinking about a law firm’s marketing approach, many attorneys put heavy emphasis on having a well-constructed website to aid in attracting business, promoting convenient project management, and improving client retention. However, what potential security risks can your website pose to your firm and your clients? In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek sit down with SiteLock President Neill Feather to discuss the importance of website security, data breaches, and why hackers are attacking the websites of law firms.” At the link find the title “The Importance of Website Security for Law Firms, Oct, 2016,” right-click “Media files importance-website-security-law-firms.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
White House Chiefs of Staff 52 mins – “Wednesday, journalist Chris Whipple joins us to talk about what’s been called the toughest job in Washington. White House Chiefs of Staff serves as gatekeepers to the Oval Office, and they help define the course of the country. Whipple interviewed all 17 men still living who have served in the position. Ultimately, he says, their style makes or breaks each presidency. We’ll examine the job’s unique challenges and ask how new chief of staff John Kelly might shake up the current West Wing. CHRIS WHIPPLE is a writer, journalist, documentary filmmaker, and speaker. He earned multiple Peabody and Emmy Awards as a producer CBS’s 60 Minutes and ABC’s Primetime. Most recently, he was the executive producer and writer of Showtime’s The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs. His new book is called The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency” At the link right-click the play button beside “Listen” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Wildfire Trends 9mins – “California is on fire again. CalFire, one of the agencies charged with putting those fires out, is tracking upward of two dozen conflagrations up and down the state at the moment—Detwiller, Grade, Bridge, Wall, Alamo, Garza, on and on—ranging in size from a couple hundred acres to nearly 50,000. And it’s not just the Golden State.” At the link find the title, “The West Is on Fire. Blame the Housing Crisis, Jul, 2017,” right-click “Media files audio-f56a6fc2-57b9-40b3-8347-be932d35df7e-encodings.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WW One and Britain Question 60 mins – “The First World War is not called the Great War for nothing. It was the single most decisive event in modern history, as well as one of the bloodiest: by the time the war ended, some nine million soldiers had been killed…. And yet barely two decades later, the world was again plunged into conflict. Little wonder then that historians still cannot agree whether Britain’s engagement was worth it. …It brought Communism to power in Russia, ripped up the map of Europe and left a festering sense of resentment that would fuel the rise of Nazism. We often forget that, even a few days before Britain entered the war, it seemed likely that we would stay out. H. H. Asquith’s decision to intervene changed the course of history. But was it the right one?…” At the link find the title, “Britain Should Not Have Fought in the First World War, Aug, 2017,” right-click “Media files media.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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Media Mining Digest 