Exercise your ears: the 45 podcasts shown below present the best ideas, information and stories from a larger group of 456 for the week, to hear while your hands and eyes are busy. Get all the files as a group here, or double (ctrl-click) individual titles to get single podcasts and explore the source. A collection of 27,250 podcasts, listed alphabetically and grouped by topic, can be downloaded piecemeal, with files A-E at this 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, totaling over 170GB 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 the discarded material, too, using a podcast aggregator loaded with this opml file of the 503 sources. And try PodcastRE from the University of Wisconsin with over 150,000 titles. Exercise your ears and relax the rest.
Acid Rain 33 mins – “Remember acid rain? If you were a kid in the 1980s like our hosts were, the threat of poison falling from the sky probably made some kind of impression on your consciousness. But thanks to the work of scientists, government, the media, and the pope—that’s right, the pope—the problem was fixed! Well, mostly fixed is probably more accurate. This complicated story spans 27 years, six U.S. presidents, and ecologist Gene Likens’s entire career. Discover the insidious details in the second chapter of our three-part series on environmental success stories.” At the link left-click the down-pointing arrow and select “OK” from the pop-up menu.
Beavers 42 mins – “Ben Goldfarb is a writer covering wildlife conservation and fisheries management. We talk to him about his new book Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Bitcoin Uses 42 mins – “Facebook’s cryptocurrency ambitions scrutinized; UNICEF to accept digital donations; new spy technology uses wi-fi to see through walls” At the link left-click “Download,” then select version of MP3 to download.
Boarder Wall with Mexico 42 mins – “When we think about the U.S.-Mexico border, it’s hard not to think about the current immigration conflict and the contentious idea to build a wall. But the concept of a border wall isn’t new: proposals for walls have been made for more than 100 years. Our story starts in 1947, when a group of Texas ranchers demanded a fence along their state’s border with Mexico. Their motivation, though, was to stop an outbreak of a disease that struck farm animals. The response to the crisis was complicated and often messy. But in the end two countries came together to solve a complex predicament—instead of building a wall.” At the link left-click the down-pointing arrow and select “OK” from the pop-up menu.
Brexit 54 mins – “In 2016, David Cameron held a referendum on whether the U.K. should stay in the European Union. A longtime Euroskeptic, he nevertheless led the Remain campaign. So what did Cameron really want? We ask him that and much more — including why he left office as soon as his side lost and what he’d do differently if given another chance. (Hint: not much.)” At the link right-click the down-pointing arrow and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cephalopods 33 mins – “We talk to Danna Staaf, a science writer with a PhD in invertebrate biology from Stanford University, about her new book Squid Empire: The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Chinese AI Impact 46 mins – “We talk to artificial intelligence expert and former president of Google China Kai-Fu Lee about his recent book AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Cognition, Rationality and Perception 64 mins – “Teppo Felin of the University of Oxford talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about perception, cognition, and rationality. Felin argues that some of the standard experimental critiques of human rationality assume an omniscience that misleads us in thinking about social science and human capability. The conversation includes a discussion of the implications of different understandings of rationality for economics, entrepreneurship, and innovation.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Covid-19 Conversations 12 mins – “We have Dr. Anthony Fauci of NIAID to talk with us about COVID-19, the disease caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (also known as SARS-CoV-2). He’s full of sound advice in the midst of a rapidly changing epidemic. We wanted to know, How do you talk with patients about this rapidly spreading infection? How do you keep informed about it?” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Crime Analysis 82 mins – “Economist Jennifer Doleac of Texas A&M University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about her research on crime, police, and the unexpected consequences of the criminal justice system. Topics discussed include legislation banning asking job applicants if they’ve been in prison, body cameras for police, the use of DNA databases, the use of Naloxone to prevent death from opioid overdose, and the challenges of being an economist who thinks about crime using the economist’s toolkit.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Data Breaches in Healthcare 29 mins – “The first thing guest Alan Goldberg highlighted was the colossal cost of data breaches. He explained that the minimum cost is $100,000 and it has the potential to amount to millions. In this edition of Digital Detectives, your hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek invite Goldberg to discuss the usual reasons for a breach, likely consequences, prevention, and more. Goldberg is a solo practitioner in McLean, Virginia. A past President of the American Health Lawyers Association, he teaches Health Law and Health and Information Technology as an adjunct professor at American University, Washington College of Law, and George Mason University School of Law.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the audio file is included in this blog archive.
Data Breaches Forensics 28 mins – “Every law firm can run into incidents of employee misconduct, data breaches, and intellectual property theft. In the age of modern technology, data breaches, insider trading, and other security problems require extensive technological forensics. Partners and firm owners, as well as lawyers working within the firm, need to understand why a digital investigation is needed, what steps should be taken within an investigation, and who should be involved. Having this knowledge can save the firm thousands of dollars while uncovering the truth. In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview ediscovery and compliance attorney Patrick Oot about how attorneys should be prepared on technology issues when they start to investigate criminal and civil matters. Everyone leaves technology footprints, Oot explains. Whether dealing with an internal investigation or with client data, the most important asset is unbiased, comprehensive, and well documented research. When hiring a digital investigator, the firm should always find an outside expert who is experienced with data breaches, understands how data moves through the system, and can manage proper narrative to the regulators. Properly conducting a digital investigation can make the difference in the credibility and success of a law firm.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the audio file is included in this blog archive.
Domestic Surveillance 33 mins – “In the wake of the Panama Papers breach, securing law firm and client data has been a huge concern for many practitioners in the legal space. Similarly, other information leaks like the Edward Snowden revelations have made the general public more aware of government surveillance than ever before. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek sit down with executive director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation Cindy Cohn to discuss domestic surveillance concerns, encryption technology, and how lawyers and law firms can protect themselves and their clients from cyber attacks. Cindy Cohn is the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. From 2000-2015 she served as EFF’s Legal Director as well as its General Counsel. Ms. Cohn first became involved with EFF in 1993, when EFF asked her to serve as the outside lead attorney in Bernstein v. Dept. of Justice, the successful First Amendment challenge to the U.S. export restrictions on cryptography.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Drug Company Monopolies 66 mins – “Law professor and author Robin Feldman of UC Hastings College of the Law talks about her book Drugs, Money, and Secret Handshakes with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Feldman argues that the legal and regulatory environment for drug companies encourages those companies to seek drugs that extend their monopoly through the patent system often with insufficient benefit for consumers. The prices for those drugs are then protected from new competition. She also argues that the pharmacy benefit management system allows drug companies to exploit consumers. The conversation concludes with a discussion of what can be done to improve the situation.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Edwin Moses 26 mins – “Between 1977 and 1987, Edwin Moses won 122 consecutive races in the men’s 400-meter hurdles—including his second Olympic gold—in a streak as fantastic and improbable as Joe DiMaggio’s fifty-six-game hitting streak. In his 1987 interview with Moses, Mark Kram, known for writing penetrating and lyrical boxing profiles, probes the champ’s cool, implacable exterior to discover what kind of person can sustain such excellence—and to measure the toll it took. With the Summer Olympics now under way in Rio, Sports Illustrated veteran Tim Layden joins host David Brancaccio to shed further insight on Moses, an enigmatic star who helped usher in the professionalization of what was previously an amateur sport, and who left a record that remains peerless.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Health Insurance Plans 64 mins – “Economist Ed Dolan of the Niskanen Center talks about employer-based health insurance with EconTalk host Russ Roberts. Dolan discusses how unusual it is relative to other countries that so many Americans get their health insurance through their employer and the implications of that phenomenon for the structure of the health insurance market. Dolan explores the drawbacks of this structure and makes the case for what he calls Universal Catastrophic Coverage.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Hormone History 37 mins – “We talk to Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D, lecturer at Yale university, writer in residence at Yale Medical School, and author of the new book Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Immune System 50 mins – “We talk to Matt Richtel about his new book An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Insects Decline 27 mins – “A study taking a deep look into insect populations and their decline; bad news about global warming four generations from now, new research showing why older mice benefit from receiving younger blood; and a new study on microwaving grapes.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Intelligence Briefings 50 mins – “Back in February, we hosted Bill Harlow and Marie Harf, two former public affairs officers at the Central Intelligence Agency, to discuss how the CIA interacts with reporters on sensitive national security topics. For this episode, we thought it only fair to turn that around and also talk about how it’s seen on the other side. Mary Louise Kelly is a voice familiar to many as an anchor of All Things Considered on NPR. She previously spent a decade as national security and intelligence correspondent for NPR News after working for CNN and the BBC. Shane Harris, in addition to co-hosting the Rational Security podcast, now covers intelligence and national security for The Washington Post, after writing about the same for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Daily Beast, and National Journal. David Priess recently sat down with Mary Louise and Shane to discuss the challenges of covering national security, to address myths about the intelligence beat, and, unsuccessfully, to uncover their sources.” At the link right-click “Direct download: Episode_405.mp3” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Intelligent Machines Change Everything 45 mins – “How do we create artificial intelligence that isn’t bigoted? Can we teach machines to work exactly like our brains work? “You don’t program a machine to be smart,” says our guest this week, “you program the machine to get smarter using data.” We talk to James Scott, statistician, data scientist, and co-author (with Nick Polson) of the new book AIQ: How People and Machines Are Smarter Together.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution 75 mins – “In Mao’s Great Famine, Frank Dikötter joins the elite club of historians who live up to their duty to impose “the undying penalty which history has the power to inflict on wrong.” On purely literary terms I still prefer Jasper Becker’s Hungry Ghosts, but Dikötter’s archival work on the Great Leap Forward is unsurpassed. His bottom line: The standard horrific body count of 20-30 million deaths from starvation is grossly understated. The true death toll is much higher – and open violence was an important secondary cause of death: [A]t least 45 million people perished above a normal death rate during the famine from 1958 to 1962… [I]t is likely that at least 2.5 million of these victims were beaten or tortured to death.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Meatless Meat 49 mins – “Mike Selden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a startup that aims for a more sustainable future through advanced cellular agriculture technologies. Their projects revolve around growing fish meat and other seafood products from cells. Mike is a trained biochemist and has experience working as a researcher and educator. He also has researched numerous ways to solve food crises in Africa as well as marine conservation in South East Asia. Mike joins us to explain the many benefits of growing meat from cells and the ways it can improve life, not just on Earth but also in outer space. He shares how their company can produce real meat without the animal and the big scale effect it will have on the economy. Mike also discusses some of the reasons why this project isn’t against fishermen, how it can solve overfishing problems, and how it can help otherwise expensive fish products become more affordable.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Mobile Device Forensics .32 mins – “In our increasingly mobile world, lawyers face many new challenges in digital forensics for their practice. In this episode of Digital Detectives, hosts Sharon Nelson and John Simek talk to Brett Burney about what lawyers need to know about digital forensics on mobile devices. They discuss Brett’s mobile data collection spectrum, which outlines methods of data collection and preservation for lawyers and their clients. Brett gives tips on what lawyers should consider in these processes to ensure the best results, including the importance of hiring digital forensics technologists when lawyers are uncomfortable with technology. Brett Burney is Principal of Burney Consultants LLC, and focuses the bulk of his time on bridging the chasm between the legal and technology frontiers of electronic discovery.” At the link you can listen, but not download: however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Neal Stephenson Interview 33 mins – “We talk to celebrated speculative fiction writer Neal Stephenson about his latest book Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Opioid Treatments P1 33 mins – “Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is. Part 1 focuses on a government-run prison-hospital, the Narcotic Farm, just for people addicted to opioids. When it opened in 1935, it promised to find a cure for drug addiction.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the podcast is included in this blog archive.
Opioid Treatments P2 45 mins – “Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is. Part 2 focuses on a controversial rehabilitation program called Synanon, which became the first significant therapeutic community for opioid addiction. From the time it opened its doors in 1958, it seemed to do what no other hospital, prison, or sanitarium had done before: cure the supposedly incurable heroin addict. But over the years its changing methods became increasingly questionable, and the controversy would ultimately lead to its demise. Despite its faults Synanon had a profound influence on subsequent generations of drug treatment programs—many of which still exist today.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the podcast is included in this blog archive.
Opioid Treatments P3 49 mins – “In the final chapter of this series we travel to the heart of our modern opioid crisis. In what is now a notorious Philadelphia neighborhood called Kensington, we meet two victims of the epidemic and follow them on two distinct paths toward recovery. Our current devastating opioid crisis is unprecedented in its reach and deadliness, but it’s not the first such epidemic the United States has experienced or tried to treat. In fact, it’s the third. Treating America’s Opioid Addiction is a three-part series that investigates how we’ve understood and treated opioid addiction over more than a century. Through the years we’ve categorized opioid addiction as some combination of a moral failure, a mental illness, a biological disease, or a crime. And though we’ve desperately wanted the problem to be something science alone can solve, the more we look, the more complicated we learn it is.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the podcast is included in this blog archive.
Opioid Withdrawal 62 mins – “We talk to bioethicist Travis Rieder about his new book In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Ozone Hole 24 mins – “If you were around in the 1980s, you probably remember the lurking fear of an ominous hole in the sky. In the middle of the decade scientists discovered that a giant piece of the ozone layer was disappearing over Antarctica, and the situation threatened us all. The news media jumped on the story. The ozone layer is like the earth’s sunscreen: without it ultraviolet rays from the sun would cause alarming rates of skin cancer and could even damage marine food chains. And it turns out we were causing the problem. Today, more than three decades after the initial discovery, the ozone hole in Antarctica is finally on the road to recovery. How did we do it? This environmental success story gives us a glimpse into what happens when scientists, industry, the public, and the government all work together to manage a problem that threatens all of us. Happy Earth Day!” At the link left-click the down-pointing arrow and select “OK” from the pop-up menu.
Robots Take Our Jobs 9 mins – “In short, yes they will, continuing the trend of humans working less. This video was sponsored by “Robot-Proof” written by Northeastern University’s President, Joseph E. Aoun. Learn more here: https://goo.gl/hqBDLA When I think about robots taking our jobs, I am neither of the opinion that we need to panic amidst the imminent robopocalypse, nor am I confident there will always be work for everyone. Instead I think we will see something similar to previous revolutions (e.g. agricultural and industrial). That is, ultimately everyone will be better off, working fewer hours and doing tasks more suited to people than to machines (thanks to widespread automation), but during the transition there will be discomfort. This discomfort arises when people who have been working particular jobs for most of their lives find themselves out of work, or find their jobs don’t even exist anymore. Then education and retraining is the challenge, something that’s not easily accomplished and something our educational system is not setup to do.” At the link play the YouTube video, or listen to the audio part in this blog archive.
Roy Cohn Interview 26 mins – “If president-elect Donald Trump learned anything from his mentor Roy Cohn, it was this: punch first and never apologize. Cohn was notorious for going on the attack—as counsel for Senator Joseph McCarthy during the communist witch-hunts of the fifties, and later as a pugnacious attorney for whom the only bad publicity was no publicity. With hooded eyes and a scar running along his nose, Cohn relished playing the intimidating outlaw in a black hat. He was fearless and bullying yet always considered himself as a victim. Despite this loathsome reputation, Cohn was resolutely loyal and counted among his friends Democrats and Republicans alike. More than partisanship, what mattered most to Cohn was power, as we learn in Ken Auletta’s searing 1978 profile, “Don’t Mess with Roy Cohn.” Auletta joins host David Brancaccio on the Esquire Podcast this week to discuss Cohn’s unrelenting cruelty and drive, and how it helped shape the man who will now lead the country.” At the link find the title, “Don’t Mess With Roy Cohn, by Ken Auletta,” which you can hear, but not download; however, a copy is included in this blog archive.
Sam Donaldson Interview 30 mins – “Our guest this week is former ABC News White House Correspondent and co-host of “This Week,” Sam Donaldson. He gave us his assessment of how this White House press corps is covering President Trump and the job of Press Secretary Sean Spicer.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the podcast is included in this blog archive.
Steve Jobs 26 mins – “Back in 1986, Joe Nocera spent a week shadowing Steve Jobs, who was then leading his start-up, NeXT, and attempting to build a new kind of computer. What resulted is one of the most intimate and honest appraisals of the computer visionary ever written. The Steve Jobs we recognize now—obsessed by design and unwilling to bend to anyone or anything—is in Nocera’s profile, but so is a more human Jobs, one rarely seen after he returned to lead Apple a year later. Nocera, a longtime New York Times reporter and op-ed writer, joins host David Brancaccio to discuss Jobs’s legacy, and how the man he wrote about twenty years ago is far different from the one portrayed today.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Telephone Security 30 mins – “During the investigation of the San Bernardino shooting the FBI obtained a company iPhone that was used by Syed Farook, one of the assailants. The investigators obtained a warrant to search the phone, but it’s currently locked and the FBI hasn’t been able to access the encrypted data. This prompted the agency to request assistance from Apple to bypass the phone’s security features, but Apple has refused. Does the FBI have the authority to compel a company to re-engineer its own product in order to undermine the security of its own customers? In this episode of Digital Detectives, Sharon Nelson and John Simek interview the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech Privacy and Technology Project Director and principal legal advisor to Edward Snowden Ben Wizner about the legal battle between Apple and the FBI. Wizner begins by explaining The All Writs Act and how it’s being used to coerce Apple, the FBI’s potential objectives in making this request, and what dangers might be present if the FBI prevails. The conversation then shifts to the global implications for all tech companies if the the precedent is set that Apple must aid in helping the FBI get the contents of this phone and what that might mean for the national security of the United States of America – and the privacy of its citizens. Wizner then gives some insights into what it has been like to be the principal advisor for Edward Snowden and what the case has been like for him as a lawyer.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy of the file is included in this blog archive.
Tesla 37 mins – “We talk to author Richard Munson about his new Nikola Tesla biography Tesla: Inventor of the Modern.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Tom Hanks Interview 35 mins – “On this special episode of “The Daily,” a magazine writer for The Times reflects on her experience interviewing Tom Hanks last fall — and on the generosity he showed her in a difficult personal moment. In this time of collective stress, we wanted to bring the story to you in audio as a reminder that “contagion is real, but it doesn’t just work for viruses,” our writer said. “It works for kind words and generous thoughts, and acts of selflessness and honesty.” At the link you can listen, but not download; however, a copy is included in this blog archive.
Virtual Reality Impact 56 mins – “We talk to Peter Rubin, editor at Wired and author of Future Presence: How Virtual Reality Is Changing Human Connection, Intimacy, and the Limits of Ordinary Life.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
Virus Communication 16 mins – “This week: A look into quorum sensing, a field of research looking into if bacteria, particularly bacteria that are trying to invade another host, can communicate with each other—and new research suggesting viruses can exhibit the same behavior; new research into using alpha waves to stimulate creativity; and Indre and Kishore’s 2018 science gift recommendations.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P1 189 mins – “The planet hadn’t seen a major war between all the Great Powers since the downfall of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. But 99 years later the dam breaks and a Pandora’s Box of violence engulfs the planet.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P2 276 mins – “The Great Powers all come out swinging in the first round of the worst war the planet has ever seen. Millions of men in dozens of armies vie in the most deadly and complex opening moves of any conflict in world history.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P3 264 mins – “The war of maneuver that was supposed to be over quickly instead turns into a lingering bloody stalemate. Trench warfare begins, and with it, all the murderous efforts on both sides to overcome the static defenses.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P4 235 mins – “Machine guns, barbed wire and millions upon millions of artillery shells create industrialized meat grinders at Verdun and the Somme. There’s never been a human experience like it…and it changes a generation.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P5 270 mins – ”The USA is rising, Russia is falling. Casualties are mounting and the politicians have had enough! Politics, diplomacy, revolution and mutiny take center stage at the start of this episode, but mud, blood, shells and tragedy drown all by the end.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
WWI P6 258 mins – “The Americans are coming, but will the war be over by the time they get there? Germany throws everything into a last series of stupendous attacks in the West while hoping to avoid getting burned by a fire in the East they helped fan.” At the link right-click “Download” and select “Save Link As” from the pop-up menu.
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Media Mining Digest 