New podcasts in August 2009 - Anne is a Man

Traditionally August is a quiet month on this blog. I am usually away for a week or two on vacation. This year I figured that even during vacation, I can give updates on the blog and I have taken the liberty to write ultra-short entries that simply point to one podcast or another, without further ado. And that was taken quite well. I think this is a good formula for more vacation spans and for the occasional PC-low weekend.

In addition, this month saw a couple of noteworthy endorsements of the blog, just when the readership seems to drop, so that made me very happy. On Twitter: philosophybites, liqweed, lawneuro, profron, livmaritd and varnam_blog. In blogs: Wide Awake Minds (interview with Charles Lipson) and The Podcast Place.

Then, there were four podcasts, I reviewed for the first time.

Science Talk (Scientific American) (review, site, feed)
A very charming and accessible science podcast from the Scientific American. Steve Mirsky takes up a subject for 15-20 minutes.

Dichter und Denker (University of Freiburg) (review, site, feed)
Lecture series around poets and thinkers at the university of Freiburg. (German)

Het Marathon Interview (VPRO) (review, site, feed)
Not exactly a new podcast, but rather an old one with a renewed feed. The cream of Dutch interviews since 1986. (Dutch)

Structure of English Words (Stanford) (review, site)
Lecture series on Open Stanford on language, by William R. Leben. These lectures can be had through iTunesU, but are not syndicated (no feed).

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I love to get new podcast recommendations. You can let me know your preferences by commenting on the blog or sending mail to Anne is a Man at: Anne Frid de Vries (in one word) AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk

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A Great Escape - The Memory Palace

The Memory Palace (feed) is a fantastic, short history podcast one absolutely must listen to. No matter how deep or how faint your interest in history is, or wherever your favorite subject lies, The Memory Palace is a five minute delight you should be able to squeeze in your playlist twice a month.

If you wonder where to start, try the last episode 'Dig Set Spike'. Host Nate DiMeo tells the tale of a German prisoner of war in Arizona, during World War Two. The man thinks of escape and rejoining the war. His comrades in the camp feel the same and they invent and carry out an ingenuously devised escape plan.

The ever present sense of irony in DiMeo's tone of voice and in the soft and subtle music that accompany the narration, one detects immediately that this plan simply must go wrong. It seems infallible though and then, the thought crossed my mind, the irony might be just that it succeeds and that these dedicated and sympathetic men will rejoin a bad cause. Or else. But I shouldn't give away the surprise.

More The Memory Palace:
The Memory Palace,
Ferris Wheel and other historic experiences,
The hollow earth,
The Memory Palace - history narration.

Husserl and Heidegger - Dichter und Denker in Freiburg

Husserl and Heidegger are two important names in philosophy I have run into time and again, but never been able to get a sufficient grip on, in order to at least have a general idea what they are about. My colleague blogger Baxter Wood, has recently written a post (Heidegger, all too Heidegger) that points to several audio and video sources on-line that may be of help. Berkeley's Philosophy 185 by the incomparable Hubert Dreyfus, John Drabinski's lectures on audio and a BBC program with Hubert Dreyfuss on YouTube.

While I was trying these out and getting confused as happens so frequently in philosophy, I went on to search some more and found a very charming and insightful lecture. I recommend it to all you seekers, but must warn in advance: it is in German. Günter Figal speaks at the University of Freiburg in a podcast lecture series 'Dichter und Denker in Freiburg' (feed). His is the lecture 'Husserl und Heidegger' (video-stream) among others around the theme of poets and thinkers in Freiburg.

Dr. Figal relates the history in which Husserl comes first and Heidegger becomes his student. Husserl founds the philosophical stream of Phenomenology and Heidegger takes it on to a level where Husserl no longer agrees and the two fall out. Figal attempts to take away the idea, Heidegger overtook his master and made him obsolete. In Figal's view, both thinkers have different contributions to Phenomenology and he points to a strong French line of thinkers (such as Sartre and Levinas) who have taken the two further and who can only be understood if one will not leave Husserl out.

Of nightmares and sleepwalking - Ran Levi

As always, one of the most charming podcast in the history of science genre is the Israeli עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי (Making History with Ran Levi). With an amazing variety, high production frequency, high content level and the ever present, Israeli tongue in cheek sense of humor, this podcast is a must have for all who mast the Hebrew language.

The latest episode was about sleep in its widest sense. Why do people and most animals need sleep, what happens during sleep and how do we find out about it. The issue spends many entertaining and informative minutes about the aberrations of sleep like nightmares and sleepwalking. One will learn the etymology of 'nightmare', the truth of the urban myth that one should never wake a sleepwalking person and how all these excesses can easily be explained once one fully comprehends the phenomenon of sleep.

For the international audience it is going to be a long wait for the English version of this outstanding podcast. As with so many other foreign podcasts: there are plans to make an English version, but the execution is eternally delayed.

More Making History with Ran Levi:
Mass Extinctions,
Making History with Ran Levi - עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי,
From Pavlov to Milgram,
A history of pandemics,
Surviving the atom bomb.

Het Marathon Interview - vernieuwde VPRO podcast

Een van de meest belangwekkende podcasts in het Nederlandse taalgebied is VPRO's Het Marathon Interview. Het levert de nieuwe en de oude, monumentale, radio-uitzendingen. Interviews die in de begintijd nog 5 uur duurden, maar geleidelijk aan zijn ingekrompen tot 3 uur. Nog altijd een lekker ruime spanne om echt tot een gesprek te komen. Reeds vele malen heb ik de afleveringen besproken. (zie onder)

De feed van Het Marathon Interview was niet erg toegankelijk. Het aantal bestanden was groot en ze waren niet overzichtelijk geordend. De VPRO heeft ingezien dat dit verbeterd moest worden en heeft een nieuwe feed gemaakt. Daarnaast is de oude feed nog wel te bevragen, maar met genoemde nadelen. De reden dat ik hem hier nog even geef, is dat er, vooralsnog, interviews uit te halen zijn die in de nieuwe nog niet staan.

In de nieuwe feed zal, zo laat de VPRO weten, elke week een nieuw interview geplaatst worden. Op dit moment, staan er twee oude uit 1986 in (Karel van het Reve en Kees Fens). Dit doet vermoeden, dat de interviews op chronologische wijze geleverd zullen worden en als dat inderdaad het geval is, wees dan voorbereid op het fenomenale interview dat Ronald vanden Boogaard in 1986 met Jan Wolkers had.

Ik hoop echter dat we op een meer afwisselende wijze bediend zullen worden. Sinds ik Ian Buruma op UChannel Podcast hoorde, heb ik meteen zijn Marathon uit 2004 opgezocht. Deze staat niet in de oude feed, noch in de nieuwe en heb ik daarom via een moeizame download opgehaald. Vervolgens wilde ik ook luisteren naar een aanvulling van 15 Augustus jongstleden, maar die werd alleen in een stroperige stream aangeleverd, die, bij mij in ieder geval, hopeloos vastliep. Ian Buruma uit 2004 is zeer de moeite waard, kan ik daarom alvast verklappen, maar over 2009 kan ik, vanwege de onmogelijke stream, niets zeggen.

Meer Marathon Interviews:
Karel van het Reve,
Jan Montyn,
Arthur Japin, Johannes van Dam,
Mr. G.B.J. Hiltermann,
James Kennedy.

Endorsing Anne is a Man as a resource for podcasts

Recently this blog has received two outstanding endorsements. First, on Twitter, Nigel Warburton the professor of philosophy at the Open University in Britain and maker of the excellent podcast Philosophy Bites, called this blog "Best general reviewer of podcasts around." His tweet was immediately retweeted by Professor Ron McClamrock (departemernt of Philosophy, University at Albany) , altering it to "Best general reviewer of (intellectual) podcasts".

Today, I found Professor Charles Lipson (University of Chicago), who has endorsed this blog before, in an interview he gave at the blog Wide Awake Minds. There is he explains his ideas and activities into self-education. On the subject of resources he says: "When I’m looking for podcasts, for instance, I always read the analysis at Anne is a Man, which specializes in reviewing educational podcasts."

I am delighted by these endorsements and feel they are coming at the right time. This blog deserves to be more known throughout. Therefore, I ask each reader of this blog to do the same as the professors: endorse the blog at any platform you are active as a spokesperson.

Plato on poetry - Elucidations

Two graduate students of the University of Chicago have a philosophy podcast named Elucidations (feed). They interview their professors about assorted subjects in philosophy. For listeners familiar with podcasts in the genre, their approach will seem extremely familiar to Philosophy Bites.

The second episode came out with an interview with Professor Gabriel Richardson Lear. She spoke with hosts Matt Teichman and Mark Hopwood about Plato's argument about poetry: Bad poetry makes you a bad person. Poetry, in Plato's sense, includes music, literature and drama, or in other words, it is not just the words, but also the performance.

In order to understand Plato's normative point, Richardson Lear explains Plato's ethics, in which it is assumed that one must lead a good life. The good life, according to not just Plato alone, is a unified life - a life signified with a single meaning. The danger of poetry and especially bad poetry lies herein, that poetry expresses different identities and this breaks down the unity in life. These ideas seem totally exotic when written down here, but the podcast make it tangible and eventually allows the listener to apply this to modern life and thinking.

More Elucidations,
Elucidations - philosophy podcast review.

Freek de Jonge - KRO's voor 1 nacht

KRO's voor 1 nacht is een programma waar ik naar blijf luisteren. Steeds zijn er weer interessante gasten in de uitzending. En misschien heeft de zomervakantie vaste interviewer Marc Stakenburg goed gedaan, want hij is prettig van start gegaan. Hij heeft ook de plichtmatige openingsformule laten varen - je zou haast denken dat hij mijn blog leest.

De belangrijkste reden dat ik ging luisteren was natuurlijk mijn jeugdidool Feek de Jonge die te gast was. Interviews met hem vond ik vaak niet zo goed, maar geleidelijk aan zijn ze aan het verbeteren. Recentelijk was hij al bij Simek op Elsevier en dat was ook heel veel beter dan ik verwachtte. Zo ook met Marc Stakenburg. Stakenburg is werkelijk betrokken en al is dat omdat hij een bewonderaar is, hij wordt niet idolaat. Er zijn een paar dingen die hij wil weten en daar houdt hij aan vast. En zo moet het in interviews.

Het onderwerp dat meer dan gebruikelijk wordt uitgediept is de begintijd van De Jonge. Stakenburg laat hem diep doorgaan over de tijd rond 1972, dat hij doorbrak en zijn stem vond. En dan gaat hij nog verder: is het nu voorbij? Heeft het publiek hem verlaten? De Jonge vindt van niet, maar hij komt toch met een eufemisme voor hetzelfde fenomeen. De tijd heeft hem ingehaald. Het programma gaat er vervolgens ook over, hoe hij daar mee om gaat. En hoe hij nog altijd zin ziet in produceren en optreden. Dat is fascinerend.

Meer KRO's voor 1 nacht:
Bennie Jolink,
Henk Spaan,
Maarten Ducrot,
Candy Dulfer,
Olga Zuiderhoek en Paul Rosenmoller.

Meer Freek de Jonge:
Bij Simek,
Marathon Interview.

Glenn Greenwald - Media Matters

On Media Matters Bob McChesney spoke with Glenn Greenwald about the role of the media versus politics. Greenwald voices harsh criticism towards the media for not fulfilling its controlling rule and basically apply themselves to the the powers that be.

According to Greenwald, main stream journalism (Newspapers and TV) in the US have been meekly reporting about national and foreign policy without criticism and without serious investigation as to the claims politicians make in public and how they conduct as representatives and authorities as well as regarding the powerful corporations. This has reached its peak under the Bush administration and created an atmosphere in which it censored itself lest it would be perceived as unpatriotic and extremist. The Bush administration has hardly needed to put the pressure on and now under the Obama administration, Greenwald perceives no difference.

Worst in his eyes is Fox News, but it reaches until quality newspaper such as NYT. What one takes away from his criticism that it is tough to find independent and dependable sources of information. The best place to go is the web where bloggers such as Greenwald are the last bastion of true journalism.

More Media Matters:
Naomi Klein,
Noam Chomsky,
Juan Cole,
The Crisis.

Taming Religion - Ian Buruma trilogy at UChannel

The UChannel podcast had a series of three lectures by Ian Buruma around the subject of religion in modern societies and its role in democracy. The starting point is the division that is taken for granted in Western Societies: the separation of State and Church. Buruma spends his first lecture in analyzing Europe and the US in how religious and secular authorities are separated and how the interaction unfolds so differently. Yet Buruma, also sees similarities.

In case one is inclined to think that non-Western societies do not have the tense relationship between religious and secular authorities, the second lecture is especially relevant. With the examples of China and Japan, Buruma attempts to refute this idea. Also in the history of these societies, state and church had a complicated relationship, there was need for separation and secular authorities continue to feel threatened by religious groups.

The conclusion is that religion always represents a political force and Buruma's main point is that religion needs to be tamed. It is indispensible, but it has power beyond the secular state and can therefore present a serious threat to law and order. The implicit point is that this goes for all religions, but the paramount example is Islamic fundamentalism and this phenomenon is carefully discussed in the third lecture.

The trilogy is exciting and thought-provoking. Some of it is tough to follow. The first lecture is read from paper, the second is about much less known history and the third is so contemporary, it is the least structured. Despite these little drawbacks, it is one of the best series I have heard in months.

More UChannel Podcast:
Averting the disasters of climate change,
Interfaith and Compassion,
Talent is overrated,
Ronald Reagan, a rebel,
Disasters and Peace.

Secular vs. Religious - Thinking Allowed

When I studied sociology, I was educated in an atmosphere where the secularization of society was broadly assumed to be ongoing, especially in modern and modernizing countries. Recently, as we can pick up from podcasts as well, somehow this assumption is not taken as self-explaining any more. BBC's Thinking Allowed picks up on this subject and introduces Professor David Voas and Dr. Tom Rees to speak on the subject.

First of all, Voas points out that since the US serve as a counter-example, as it is throughly modern, yet seems to be also very religious. He introduces to us a market theory of religion; religion serves a certain need for people and therefore in society individuals and groups will shop for it and pick up what they need. This still doesn't explain why the US and Europe, with such similar markets and social parameters, show such a different level of religiosity.

Tom Rees did research on the subject and tells of his findings. He thinks there might be a connection with income difference. In countries where the income differences are great and consequently economic safety is low, personal security is low and people tend to be more religious. Especially those affected by the insecurity are more prone to religion. Religion in this respect offers some security that the economic prospects do not offer.

More Thinking Allowed:
Renoir and Slumming,
Mizrahi Jews,
The weekly social science stop,
Substance and Sociology,
Hole in the Wall.

Amateur Science - Freeman Dyson on NYRB

A new issue in the podcast of the New York Review of Books was a charming interview with Freeman Dyson about amateur science, among others. Dyson explains why he thinks amateur scientists have good science to contribute in addition to the professional scientists.

Amateurs work with a different set of conditions than professionals. Dyson's example is astronomy, where the professionals have the better hardware, but very little time to spend there. Amateurs have plenty of time and with modern affordable technology have the chance to make reasonably accurate measurements. With their advantage of time, they can actually make measurements the professional do not come round making.

Once one has taken in this example, the principle of modern technology at low price combined with the internet, gives the idea that in any field of study a determined amateur can make good contributions. Taken that into account, I think again of the plea by Professor James Boyle for enclosing the commons of the mind. Currently much of scientific literature is actually not accessible on-line and he wants to change that. Arguing it is common property and it is for the good of all to have this body available.

More NYRB podcast:
Roger Cohen in Tehran,
Ronald Dworkin.

About the issue of copyrights:
James Boyle on RSA, and on Thinking Allowed,
Helprin on Copyright.

The Tulip mania - Yuval Malchi's קטעים בהיסטוריה

In the seventeenth century the Dutch experienced the first recorded economic bubble. Tulip bulb prices rose to excessive heights until it collapsed rapidly. The hebrew podcast קטעים בהיסטוריה (pieces of history) retells this well-known story in a charming 20 minute issue.

Host Yuval Malchi explains how this could work. The tulip had only recently been introduced in Holland and the ownership had become a matter of prestige. This caused the price of the bulbs to be rather high. In addition, with the advent of speculative trading, the free market allowed for trading in future bulbs and this allowed to heavy speculation.

It goes to show how the free market can drive itself and it has been shown many times ever since. Once the prices began rising, speculating even more on the bulbs became the right thing to do and consequently prices continually went up and up. Just as with any consecutive bubble, it was a matter of time to burst, let the market collapse and drag many investor to bankruptcy.

Picture from Wikimedia Commons: "Flora's Mallewagen" by Hendrik Gerritsz. Pot - 1640

More קטעים בהיסטוריה (Pieces of History):
American Independence,
Lewis and Clark.

The story and God - Speaking of Faith

There was a rerun of the show The novelist as God, on Speaking of Faith, Krista Tippett's conversation with Mary Doria Russell writer of various SciFi novels that trigger issues of philosophy and theology. It was not an angle or a title that immediately drew me in, but a reader of this blog recommended this specific episode (in the previous run) and so I set out to listen. Here is the review again.

As predicted by my reader, Russell is dealing with the issues of the existence of God, the nature of God and the reconciliation of God's existence with human suffering in a humorous and light-hearted fashion. She is in fact so expressive and lively in this respect, she leaves her interviewer Tippett trailing behind. I am inclined to say Tippett and her staff didn't even get the message, when they chose the title, as neither God is treated as a novelist, nor the Novelist treated as a god. God is taken as the highest, widest and most omnipresent character in our narratives. Russell points out how such a figure as part of a narration, seen from the standpoint of a novelist, that is, one who is interested in the quality of the narrative, sheds light on certain theological issues.

And then, since we are dabbling in the dynamic, flexible and discretionary field of narration, you can take that idea of god in many more directions and not bother too much about consistencies. That is how Russell takes it lightly, because it is not about how it is, but about how you tell the tale. And even if it were a mere tale, it would be great, she reveals. And this has led her from Christianity, to atheism to Judaism, which I found a better story than much of what was quoted from her novels.

More Speaking of Faith:
Fragility and Humanity,
The Sunni-Shia divide and the future of Islam,
Wangari Maathai,
Rumi,
The Buddha in the world.

Science Talk - Scientific American Podcast

Recently I have listened to two issues of a podcast from the Scientific American. Inside the Scientific American the name of the podcast is Science Talk, but the podcast is labelled Scientific American Podcast in your feedcatcher (feed).

Science Talk is presented by Steve Mirsky and is issued once a week. The episodes talk around 25 minutes, varying from 14 up to 31 minutes. They are easily accessible and address one subject each. The two issues I listened two were about colony collapse disorder and disappearance of bees (bee afraid, bee very afraid) and about basic and effective measures for improving health (Atul Gawande Redux). About bees speaks May Berenbaum entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is the recording of a lecture in front of children. About health Mirsky interviews Atul Gawande, a surgeon who wrote a book about the subject.

May Berenbaum was not prepared to speak in front of children. On the fly she adapts her talk to their level, maintaining the content and its conclusion. Consequently the problems with bees are made crystal clear. This podcast episode is widely acclaimed on account if this, but it comes at a price. One senses the stress Berenbaum experiences during the talk and it causes her to speak with pressure. In addition, there is a lot of noise from the kids in the background. Therefore, the content quality comes with a lessened audio experience.

In comparison, the studio talk with Atul Gawande is of clean sound. I enjoyed this podcast very much, since it shows a frontier for improving the health situation in an unexpected fashion. Usually I would think of improved technology, but Gawande shows ground can be gained with simple measures and outdated technology.

Substance abuse in the midwest - NBIH

The latest issue of New Books In History would have served in a history show just as well as in one on criminology. I used to study criminology and my professor, the now 85 year old Herman Bianchi, would point out to us that the field of History was as important for criminology as was Sociology or Law. It is shown in Marshal Poe's interview with Nick Reding.

The history is of a small rural town in Iowa, but it could be about an remote place in the decaying midwest. Together with the rising economic despair came an increase in the use of drugs, the sample drug discussed by Reding: crystal meth. It is the history of meth, the economic history of the midwest and how the two came to meet never to part. It is the history of how a town such as the one in Iowa, was firmly gripped by the use and the local household manufacture of crystal meth.

It is criminology in the type of social questions that are raised and get answers, if tentatively. Why did this population turn to drugs? Why exactly this drug? How does law enforcement fail and why? How did authorities react and managed to reduce the use and manufacture to a certain extent? What were the medical and social care facilities available? If there was some success in bringing the problem back, will it lessen even more, or is it awaiting a return? While this is about one town in Iowa and it is claimed to be representative for the midwest; is that warranted and if so, could it be extended further - to all dwindling rural areas in the Western World perhaps? I thought it just might.

More NBIH:
How could they continue - NBIH on WW1 soldiers,
After slavery was abolished,
Populism,
Two great shows on New Books In History,
Two old and one New Books In History.

George Best - Oxford Biographies

It is really nice to occasionally pick up a biography from the podcast Oxford Biographies. I should be trying the unfamiliar names as well, but lately I have been mostly attracted to the famous ones. Currently, the latest in the feed is such a well-known name: George Best (mp3).

The tale of George Best is hardly as pleasant as it was to see the footballer on the pitch in his heydays. George Best the footballer was quickly overshadowed by Best the phenomenon, Best the seriously flawed person and Best the race to decay. The frustration for the lover of football is that a great talent was squandered and not all of this is the fault of Best himself. His stardom was so new, nobody knew how to handle it, but nowadays he'd receive more protection and guidance. His Northern Ireland nationality, barred him from serious contention on the World Cup and other international matches, but surely he is not the only one.

The flaws of Best's personality are in the biography merely described. No effort is being made to begin to explain and this is a pity. It demotes the narrative to that of a going down the drain from beginning to end. The addictions to alcohol and gambling kick in early and never stop to ruin his life. It begs for some psychology or socio-economic thinking, but that is left to the listener and the larger biographies. Check out more on the Oxford DNB website.

More Oxford Biographies:
Roald Dahl,
Biography Podcasts,
Oxford Biographies podcast review.

Mass Extinctions - Making History with Ran Levi

Israel's most popular podcast is עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי (Making History with Ran Levi), about the history of science. The latest issue was yet again a great one, this time about Mass Extinctions. (article)

If you put aside the finer distinction between what can be called mass extinctions and less massive extinctions, you will have to accept, based on the geological record, there must have been around 5 mass extinctions and some 20 minor extinctions. These are waves of loss of species in a relatively (geologically) short period of time. The podcast enters into discussing the most accepted theories of how and why the mass extinctions occurred, leaving it as open-ended as things stand, even in main stream.

The relevance of the subject is poignant. Today species are going extinct at a rate that is beyond a geological eye blink. Climate change and pollution, that is, us human beings, seem to be the major causes of this. Yet, in the accepted theories about previous extinctions, we never accused any species within the system itself. So, in how far is the current extinction different or similar?

More Making History with Ran Levi:
Making History with Ran Levi - עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי,
From Pavlov to Milgram,
A history of pandemics,
Surviving the atom bomb,
Robert Heinlein.

Hardcore History: Stalingrad

The most innovative and creative podcast about history is Hardcore History by Dan Carlin. Carlin tries to tell history with a passion. He breathes life into the data, evokes the emotions, emphasizes the experience the contemporaries must have gone through and he also engages in questions of historiography. And sometimes he tries to do this all at once. When such enormous ambitions cannot always be met, one should not be overly surprised. One of my fascinations is to hear him try.

The current huge project is to capture the horrors of the Ostfront in World War II. So far Carlin has produced three massive podcast episodes on the subject, having spent four hours of audio and he still is not done. At the end of the last, the third chapter (Ghosts of the Ostfront III), he announced there will be a fourth. I wonder whether it should be as long and I wonder whether there could not be more and shorter chapters, if it has to be this long. There has to be some aspect at work of a researcher who takes precedent over the creative producer and pushes all the material in. Nevertheless, in style with the subject, as huge as the product is, as hard as it is to swallow, it is one impressive set of podcasts.

Carlin turns the Ostfront into Dante's Inferno with circle upon circle of ever increasing suffering. With all the evils, depravities and eternally prolonged suffering one can possibly imagine. In a harrowing retelling with poignant quotes from letters, diaries and other primary sources Carlin puts our faces with our mp3 players in the mud, the ice, the pain, the deprivation. Not only does he seem to want to make us experience and never forget the sheer scale of the history, but also drive the point home how this is so much larger than the other battles and wars we know of. The abyss of the Ostfront is larger than anything, apart, maybe, from hell itself.

More Hardcore History:
Ghosts of the Ostfront,
Dan Carlin about the East Front,
Slavery,
Gwynne Dyer Interview,
Interview with Victor Davis Hanson.

Bennie Jolink - KRO's voor een nacht (zomer versie)

Het programma KRO's voor 1 nacht gaat in de zomer door, zonder vaste interviewer Marc Stakenburg en zonder de openingsformule waarbij de gast moet antwoorden op tevoren geprogrammeerde tegenstellingen. Wat overblijft is een gewoon interviewprogramma met elke week niet alleen een nieuwe gast, maar ook een nieuwe interviewer.

Martijn Grimmius interviewde Bennie Jolink, de zanger van Normaal. Net zoals andere rockers, is ook Jolink inmiddels van middelbare leeftijd en gezegend met kleinkinderen. Als er al een tegenstelling aan de orde komt in dit programma dan is dat de rode draad van het gesprek: in hoeverre is Jolink de rauwe pop-artiest en in hoeverre is hij de lieve opa. Het antwoord hoeft niet te verbazen: hij is het natuurlijk allebei. En omdat het imago van de rocker op de voorgrond staat, probeert Jolink vooral de opa te benadrukken.

De opa in Jolink blijkt een opa als alle anderen, die op de kleinkinderen past op de vaste dag in de week en die het liever ziet dat de kids buiten spelen dan achter TV of computer zitten. Het komt er net zo authentiek uit als de popartiest. Deze is eveneens een gewone jongen met een degelijke mening. Daarin is de muziek uit zijn tijd veel beter dan de hedendaagse. Eigenlijk deugt er sinds de jaren tchtig weinig meer van. Man en paard worden genoemd. En als het over Oerend Hard gaat: eigenlijk speelt hij dat liever niet meer.

Meer KRO's voor 1 nacht:
Henk Spaan,
Maarten Ducrot,
Candy Dulfer,
Olga Zuiderhoek en Paul Rosenmoller,
Gijs Wanders en Adjiedj Bakas.

Human Impact on the Environment - lectures 9 and 10

I have directed you to UCSD's podcast BILD 18 before. Make sure you download all lectures, in order to secure them, before they are taken off line, which is to be expected by the end of the summer semester. While doing that, you can skip lecture 9 because it is empty.

Immediately after that, lecture 10 is highly recommended. This lecture is not as planned according to the BILD 18 course website about Ozone Depletion, but rather about Species Extinction (see lecture 11). The greatest merit of this lecture is that it relates less to the issue of species extinction and more to the problems of making this and similar problems of the environment known to the public and be perceived as to the problems as they are according to the scientific consensus. The lecturer tells of his own experiences of how he is publicly attacked and taken into doubt so effectively that the wide public thinks his and similar messages are not hard facts as they according to the real specialists are.

Justice - LSE podcast

On the LSE Public Lectures and Events was a very interesting lecture by Amartya Sen about The Idea of Justice. I have been more familiar with tackling Justice from the perspective of Law. Sen seems to come from political philosophies. Still, the approaches are similar enough.

Yes! A new Ersatz TV edition

My favorite video podcast. Unfortunately only in German, but rumor has it they might be working on an English version.

The last Flavius

For those who master the Dutch language: the Jewish history and culture program of the Joodse Omroep, Flavius has had its last edition, or at least the last that was brought to you by the professional of OVT. It has been a fascinating series and it got a fabulous closing with discussions about books and history. The book of Judges, The Rise of Heterosexuality and the Invention of the Jewish Man by Daniel Boyarin, Kaddish for an Unborn Child by Imre Kertész and De reisbeschrijving van Abraham Levie (1719-1723).

The Memory Palace

A great podcast I fail to review every time a new episode comes out, for the simple reason I would have to write the same line all over again: History brought to you in the form of a story. Nate DiMeo is a ravishing storyteller and brings the short narrations of history with the greatest touch of restrained irony. The Memory Palace - every two weeks a new story. Five minutes of the best history drama.

How could they continue - NBIH on WW1 soldiers

A great issue of New Books In History that you absolutely should not miss is Marshal Poe's recent interview with Alexander Watson. Watson did research on the British and German soldiers in World War I and tried to find an answer to the eternal question how they could continue to fight as longs as they did under the horrible circumstances as they were. This also leads to an answer to the question why they quit fighting when they did. And here Watson claims to present a new answer than what is commonly held to be the case.

More NBIH:
After slavery was abolished,
Populism,
Two great shows on New Books In History,
Two old and one New Books In History,
The latest in New Books in History.

Bommel audioplay - De Antiloog

Right now I am listening to an audioplay - Bommel Hoorspel. The original stories by Marten Toonder have been adapted to play scenarios. The plays come in a series of installments that take about 15 minutes each. The whole play will take 8 episodes or so. It is hard to tell, since the previous plays took all a different amount, varying from 6 to 12. The current play is De Antiloog.

Bommel Hoorspel is in Dutch and filled with the neologisms that one also finds in the original tales by Toonder. I wonder how listeners not native in Dutch pick this up. If you can handle it, it is really fun. If you have read the stories by Toonder, as I have, you are treated with recognition.

De antiloog could be an allegory about how philosophers and gurus confuse people and put common sense thinking on its head. But, as usual with Toonder, there is a playful magical element. The thinker Krumknikker Kop is not delivering his own learning, but rather tapping into alien vibration coming from the place where he resides. That vibration, of course, could be used by other than the philosopher as well. Where will that lead to?

More Bommel Hoorspel:
De Aamnaak,
Bommel Hoorspel podcast - NPS podcast recensie,
Bommel Hoorspel.

Structure of English Words - Stanford lecture series

The university of Stanford is an excellent provider of high quality lecture series through iTunesU. Not all of the audio and video that is available is syndicated and therefore, technically, a podcast. Nevertheless, based on the nature of the content and the accessibility through iTunes, the content is worth checking out for the readers of this blog. For example, I have been listening to the series by William R. Leben about the Structure of English Words. Leben gives a lively insight into the language we are using everyday.

John Kerry on averting the disasters of climate change - UChannel

The UChannel podcast is a compiled feed of lectures at academic institutes all over the world. It is a feed to subscribe to and to pick your favorites from. With an input of more than one lecture per day, I guess there is nobody who listens to them all.

UChannel is an excellent choice to stay updated on hot issues such as the Middle East and Climate Change. On the latter there was a lecture recently by former presidential candidate John Kerry. Kerry speak of what the Americans should do, and have not done thus far, in order to minimize the human impact in climate change and to avert disaster from happening.

Making History with Ran Levi - עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי

For those who master the Hebrew language, the best recommendation is עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי. A podcast about the history of science with items from the natural sciences, technology, social sciences and science fiction literature. Great and engaging content brought to you with a light Israeli touch.

Philo - From Israelite to Jew

I continue to follow Michael Satlow's series From Israelite to Jew. The latest chapter was about Philo of Alexandria. This is a highly recommended series; take it from the start. There is time to catch up, because Satlow has just announced a six week break.

Pensees by Pacal on Philosophy Bites

Always recommended is Philosophy Bites, but do not skip the edition I just heard: an interview with Ben Rogers about Pascal and his work the Pensées.

Population growth and health

When you read this, I hope you can still collect the lectures of UCSD's lecture series about the Human destruction of the environment. I recommend lecture 7, which is a guest lecture by Jane Roberts about the issue of population growth. She is a retired French professor who has taken to heart the fate of women in the third world and shows how with simple and cheap measures of birth control, family planning and basic medical implements, the growth of population can be held in check, the circumstances of birth can be drastically improved and the health of both mothers and children can be assured. When it is so simple, it is criminal not to act

After slavery was abolished

While I write this, a new show of New Books in History must be out, but I have just managed listen to last week's edition. Marshall Poe interviewed Leslie Schwalm who wrote a book about the fate of the African Americans after slavery was abolished. Emancipation, obviously, didn't come all by itself.

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Forgotten Classics

Here is a great listening tip for the vacation. Listen to Julie Davis of Forgotten Classics read to you Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic: Uncle Tom's Cabin. She has reached chapter 30 by now. Uncle Tom meets Simon LeGree. This is where it all goes awry.
Julie Davis not only reads Uncle Tom to you in the most excellent voice, before and after the reading you also get a bit of a literature class about the book.

Veertien Achttien

For those who master the Dutch language. A formidable podcast about the First World War. Every week another biography of one of the players involved. Veertien Achttien

Getting past current stereotypes of Islam - LSE

A quick recommendation from a blogger on vacation is from the LSE podcast. Ali Allawi lectures under the title: In Search of Islam’s Civilization. Can Islam get past the fundamentalists and can the world see past the fundamentalists?

More LSE Events:
Religion and the Market - John Gray on LSE,
John Gray's cultural pessimism,
Omniculturalism,
Controversies in the Economics of Climate Change,
Nudge: decision architecture,
The EU and the Middle East.

Israel again on UChannel

Here is a quick recommendation from a blogger on vacation.

A good podcast with some insights on the Israeli-Arab conflict you do not hear to often - like the inability of the political systems to deal with the problem, is Wounds of Peace: The Arab-Israeli Conflict After Gaza.

More UChannel Podcast:
Interfaith and Compassion - Karen Armstrong on UChannel,
Talent is overrated,
Ronald Reagan, a rebel,
Disasters and Peace,
Enclosing the commons of the mind,
Middle East challenges.

Volkis Stimme

For those who master the German language and like to laugh at the news. Volker Klaerchen pokes fun at it every week with Volkis Stimme.

Vacation time for Anne is a Man

My vacation has started. I will be away from my iPod and PC most of the time for a period of about two weeks. I will be with my wife and kids in the countryside of Israel and there will be hardly any blog posts until around August 20. If at all I manage to drop by, I will give you some very quick recommendations.

Once back, I'll be giving full gas on the blog again. Visitor stats have been dropping the last months. The only reason I still hope you all have not left me, is because the RSS subscriptions are still rising. But you have to keep your blogger going. Comment on the blog. Mark the blog at your aggregations sites, such as StumbleUpon. Send mail to people you know, who love podcasts and on-line education. Connect with the discussions on the Podcast Parlor. Thanks

296 Podcasts - Anne is a Man's list for August 2009

UPDATE: we now have 342 podcasts reviewed. (click this link for the latest list)

Every first of the month I publish a full list of podcasts I have reviewed. You can find the list below. If however you want to have them presented to you in a more orderly fashion, look up my list of directories. The disclaimer must be that the directories are not as up to date as the full list is. I have recently updated the history podcast inventory (which is the largest), the rest is under way.

Since July I have developed my own podcast feeds. They are compilations of certain recommended podcasts.

1. 12 Byzantine Rulers
2. 7th Son
   
3. Africa (Stanford Travel)
4. Africa Past and Present
5. All Things Medieval
6. American Environmental and Cultural History (Berkeley ESPM 160AC)
7. American History before 1870
8. Analysis (BBC)
9. Ancient and Medieval Podcast
10. Ancient History - Alternative Theories
    
11. Ancient Philosophy (Berkeley)
    
12. Antisemitism (USHMM)

13. Are we alone?
14. Argos (VPRO)
15. Armistice Podcast 
16. Backstory
    
17. BBC History Magazine
    
18. Behind the Black Mask
    
19. Behind the News with Doug Henwood
    
20. Beyond Good and Evil (Librivox)
21. Big Ideas (TVO)
22. Bike Radar
23. BILD 18 - Human Impact on the Environment (UCSD)
24. Binge Thinking History 
25. Bioethics podcast
26. Biography Podcast (Learn Out Loud)
    
27. the Biography Show (TPN)
28. Biota Podcast
29. Birth of the Modern (Arizona State University)
30. the Bitterest Pill 
31. BMS World Mission
32. Bommel Hoorspel
33. Brieftour-pod
34. British History 101
35. Cambridge Alumni Podcast
    
36. Car Talk
37. CAT 2 Culture Art and Technology (UCSD)
38. Cat Crave
39. CATS 2 Culture and Technology Studies (UCSD)
40. Celtic Myth Podshow
41. CFR Podcast 
42. Chronicles Radio Dispatches
43. Church History
44. Dan Carlin's Common Sense
45. Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
46. Das Rätsel der verschollenen Schatulle
    
47. David Kalivas' World History
48. De Geschiedenis Podcast 
49. Der Sonntagssoziologe
50. Distillations
51. Drinking matters (Warwick)
52. Early American Social History (Warwick)
53. East Asian Thought (UCSD)
    
54. Economics 100B (Berkeley)
    
55. the Economist 
56. EconTalk
    
57. Elucidations
58. Engines of our Ingenuity
59. English 117S (Berkeley)
60. Entitled opinions
    
61. Environmental History Videocast
62. Ersatz TV 
63. The Ethicist (NYT)
64. Ethics Bites (Open University)
65. Everything Lincoln
66. Existentialism in Literature and Film (Phil 7 - Berkeley)
67. Exploring Environmental History 
68. F1Cast
69. Fact or Fiction
    
70. Family History - Genealogy made easy
    
71. Feed Me Bubbe
    
72. Flavius (Joodse Omroep)
73. Forgotten Classics
    
74. Frankenstein, or modern Prometheus (Librivox)
75. Fraunhofer Podcast
76. Freedomain Radio
    
77. Fresh Air (NPR)
78. From Israelite to Jew
    
79. From our own Correspondent (BBC)
80. Game Theory (Yale)
    
81. Ganz einfach leben
82. Genealogy Gems Podcast
    
83. Geography 110C (Berkeley) Economic Geography of the Industrial World
    
84. Geography 130 (Berkeley)
85. Geography of Europe (Arizona State University)
    
86. Geography of World Cultures (Stanford)
87. Georgian Britain (Warwick)
88. German Cultural History
    
89. Geschichtspodcast (Chronico)
    
90. Geschiedewistjedatjes
    
91. Gilder Lehrmann history podcast 
92. Global Geopolitics (Stanford)
93. Grammar Girl 
94. Guns and Rubles (Warwick)
95. Hank's History Hour
96. Hannibal (Stanford)
97. Haring Podcast
98. Harvard Business IdeaCast
    
99. Historical Jesus (Stanford)
100. Historicast
     
101. History 106B (Berkeley)
102. History 131 (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
     
103. History 132 (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
     
104. History 167B (Berkeley)
105. History 181B (Berkeley)
106. History 1c (UCLA)
107. History 2311 (Temple College)
108. History 2312 (Temple College)
109. History 4A (Berkeley)
110. History 5 (Anderson - Berkeley)
111. History 5 (Hesse- Berkeley)
     
112. History 5 (Laqueur - Berkeley)
113. History 7B (Berkeley)
114. History according to Bob 
115. History Compass Blog
     
116. the History Faculty 
117. History Network
118. History of Holland (Librivox)
119. History of Medicine (Oxford Brooke University)
120. History of Rome
121. History of the International System (Stanford)
122. History on the Run 
123. History Podcast
124. Historypod
125. Historyzine
126. Hoor! Geschiedenis
     
127. HUM 4 - Enlightenment, Romanticism, Revolution (UCSD)
128. HUM 4104 (Virginia Tech)
129. ICT Update
130. In My Living Room! 
131. In Our Time (BBC)
132. In the Media (WNYC)
133. Inspired Minds (Deutsche Welle)
134. Interview Vrijdag (VPRO)
135. Introduction to Ancient Greek History (Yale)
     
136. an Introduction to Biological Anthropology (Berkeley)
137. Introduction to German Politics (Oxford)
138. Introduction to Language (Arizona State University)
139. Introduction to the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) (Yale)
     
140. Iran Podcast
     
141. Irving Poetry podcast
142. Isaiah Berlin Centenary (Oxford)
143. Islamic Medicine (Warwick)
144. It was 20 years ago today 
145. ITV
146. Jung Podcast
147. Junggesellenblog
     
148. KMTT
149. KQED Forum
150. La Resistance
     
151. Language (UCSD)
152. Leben und Überleben mit 45+
     
153. Letters and Science (Berkeley)
     
154. LSE Podcast  
155. Lyrics Undercover 
156. Making History with Ran Levi - עושים היסטוריה
     
157. Marathon Interview (VPRO)
158. Masters of None
159. Matt's Today In History
160. Media Matters (NPR)
     
161. medicalhistory 
162. Medieval & Renaissance Studies Events - Fall 2008 (Virginia Tech)
163. Medieval & Renaissance Studies Events - Spring 2008 (Virginia Tech)
164. Medieval Podcast
165. Meetings Podcast 
166. Meiky's Podcast Show 
167. The Memory Palace 
168. Midwest Writer
169. Mighty Movie Podcast 
170. Military History Podcast
171. Missing Link
172. MMW 2 , the great classical traditions (Chamberlain - UCSD)
173. MMW 3, the medieval heritage (Chamberlain - UCSD)
174. MMW 3, the medieval heritage (Herbst - UCSD)
175. MMW 4 (UCSD)
176. MMW6 (UCSD)
     
177. Muscular Judaism
178. My Three Shrinks
179. Namaste Stories
     
180. Napoleon 1O1 (TPN)
181. National Archives Podcast
182. Naxos Classical Music Spotlight Podcast
     
183. New Books In History
     
184. New Humanist
185. New World Orders
     
186. New York Coffee Cup
     
187. The New York Review of Books podcast
188. Night's Knights
     
189. Nilpod
     
190. Nonviolence (Berkeley PACS 164A)
191. Nonviolence today (Berkeley PACS 164B)
192. NRC FM
193. Only in America
194. Open Source 
195. Out of the past
     
196. OVT (VPRO)
197. Oxford Biographies
     
198. Oy Mendele!
199. Parnell's History Podcast
200. Peopletalk's Podcast
201. Physics for future Presidents (Berkeley)
202. Philosopher's Zone (ABC)
     
203. Philosophy 103
204. Philosophy 7 (Berkeley)
205. Philosophy Bites
206. the Philosophy Podcast
207. Philosopy 6 (Berkeley) Man, God, and Society in Western Literature
     
208. Podcast history of cooking
     
209. Podcasts on Medieval Texts (Virginia Tech)
210. Pods and Blogs 
211. Podwatch
212. POLI 120A - Political Development of Western Europe
     
213. Political Science 10 (UCLA)
214. Political Science 179 (Berkeley)
     
215. Politics 114B (UCLA)
216. Politics and Warfare (UCSD)
     
217. Pope Podcast
218. Practice of Art (Berkeley) Foundations of American Cyber-Culture
     
219. Prosperity show
220. PSYC 105 - Introduction cognitive psychology (UCSD)
221. Psyconoclasm
222. Radiolab (WNYC)
223. Rav Dovid's
224. Real Talk
     
225. Rear Vision (ABC)
226. Red Panda
     
227. Redborne History
228. Reith Lectures 2009 (BBC)
229. Religion and Law in the US (UCSD HIUS 155A)
230. Religion and Law in the US (UCSD HIUS 155B)
231. Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean
232. Replaceable You (Stanford)
     
233. Rhetoric 10 (Berkeley)
234. Rpgmp3
235. RSA Current Audio
     
236. Schlaflos in München
     
237. Science & the City
     
238. Science Fiction and Politics
     
239. Science Friday (NPR)
240. Science Times (NYT)
     
241. Sex History Podcast
242. Shrink Rap Radio
243. Šimek 's Nachts (RVU)
244. Šimek 's Nachts (Elsevier)
     
245. the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
246. Skythen-Podcast
     
247. SOCD 188J - Change in Modern South Africa (UCSD)
248. Social Innovation Conversations
249. SOCL 1B - the study of society (UCSD)
     
250. Sonic Society
251. Sparkletack 
252. Speaking of Faith (APM)
253. Stanford U History 
254. Stem Cells: Policy and Ethics (Stanford)
255. Sterke Geschiedenis
     
256. Straight talk about stem cells (Stanford)
     
257. Stuff you missed in history class 
258. Sunday Sundown 
259. Talking Robots
260. TdF London
261. Teaching American History
262. Teaching Company
     
263. TED Talks
264. That Podcast Show (aka Edgy Reviews)
265. Theories of Law and Society (Berkeley)
     
266. the Things We Forgot To Remember
267. Thinking Allowed
     
268. Time Out for Truth
     
269. Times Talks
270. the Tolkien Professor
271. Tudorcast
272. UCLA Israel Studies 
273. University Channel Podcast (aka UChannel Podcast)
274. US History since 1877 (Temple College)
275. Veertien Achttien
     
276. VIS 22 - Formations of Modern Art (UCSD)
     
277. Volkis Stimme
     
278. Volkskrant Podcasts
279. Voor 1 nacht (KRO)
280. Wanhoffs Wunderbare Welt der Wissenschaft 
281. We the People Stories
282. Welcome to Mars
     
283. What is Judaism?
284. Wise Counsel 
285. the Word Nerds
286. World View (NYT)
     
287. the Writing Show
288. Wynyfryd's meditation room
289. the Your History Podcast
290. Your Purpose Centered Life
291. zencast
292. zoem
293. האוניברסיטה המשודרת
294. מה שהיה היה
     
295. פודקאסט זה לחלשים
296. קטעים בהיסטוריה 

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