Saturday, April 30, 2011

Listening ideas for 30 April 2011

New Books In History
David Shneer, "Through Soviet Jewish Eyes: Photography, War, and the Holocaust"
We should be skeptical of what is sometimes called “Jew counting” and all it implies. Yet it cannot be denied that Jews played a pivotal and (dare we say) disproportionate role in moving the West from a pre-modern to a modern condition.
(review, feed)

Philosopher's Zone
Hume on cause, effect and doubt
The sun rose today and it has risen on every morning that we know about. But is that a reason for thinking that it will rise tomorrow? Hume thought not and today we examine the reasons for his scepticism.
(review, feed)

Radio Open Source
Maya Jasanoff on this Empire we Inherited
Maya Jasanoff is letting me lay down my how-did-we-become-an-empire obsessions before a rising star among imperial historians. She teaches the Harvard course on the British Empire. William Dalrymple calls her "a bit of a genius" for her big new book Liberty's Exiles — representative tales of the 60,000 English loyalists who fled the independent United States after 1783 and remade Britain’s fortunes around the world in a century-plus of glory. My questions are: how did we Americans — with anti-imperialism in our revolutionary roots, in our sentimental DNA — let ourselves in for the burdens and sorrows of empire, the corruption and disrepute of empire? And what should we suppose is our chance of escaping the fate of empires?
(review, feed)

Wise Counsel
Ellen Walker, Ph.D. on Childfree Living
Psychologist Ellen Walker, Ph.D. is the author of the book, Complete Without Kids: An Insiders Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by Chance, written in reaction to her own decision to forgo having children and consequent awareness of many people who have made the same choice. Social pressure to have children cause this choice to be stigmatized unfairly. In response, she uses the term childfree rather than childless to emphasize that the choice to not have children can be a deliberate decision and not an absence. Childfree adults can be organized into three categories depending on their motivation to become childfree: deliberate choice, happenstance (where the person might have been happy to go either way) and circumstance (where the option to have children was blocked). Though there are many advantages to not having children (including the opportunity emphasize career and interests, to put more energy into maintaining marital happiness, and to save and spend money for/on ones self), there are also challenges, including a widespread perception that other people view childfree adults as selfish and concerns about retirement planning and legacy. Childfree orientated adults can have difficulties when in relationships with partners who have children due to competing expectation around who is the center of the parent partners attention.
(review, feed)

The Economist
America's jobless men
It is harder than ever for American men to find employment. The recession did not help, but the problem may be structural
(review, feed)

Podcast reports until April 2011

Over the past weeks, a lot of people have contacted me with podcast reports - here is the lot of them:

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Spiegelman has left a new comment on your post "Report a Podcast":

I've been doing a podcast for about 6 months about cult movies. Either I'll get comedians to come on the show to review and make fun of a movie or I'll have an interview with someone who's been in or made a cult hit. Often both in one episode. THe show is fun and fast moving.

We also have some comedy bits.

Past guests have included, actors from Uwe Boll's films, from "Pluto Nash," "Troll 2" and "Dirty Love" among others.

Comedians have included, Todd Levin (Conan), Adam Felber (npr), Al Madrigal, Steve Agee and Chris Spencer.

check it out on itunes or proudlyresents.com (feed)

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Emma has left a new comment on your post "Psychology, Political science and Sociology podcas...":

Hi again!

You might also like some programs from Radio National (Australia).

'All in the mind' is an excellent, weekly podcast focussing on science and psychology. (feed)

'The Spirit of Things' is an hour-long weekly podcast focussing on religion and spirituality. (feed)

'Late Night Live' with Philip Adams is a wonderful interview program with an emphasis on current affairs, politics and history. Philip Adams is a national treasure - and such a gifted interviewer. (full feed) (feed with the items separated)

Hope these suggestions are of interest :)

Em

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Report a Podcast":

sundial.podbean.com

Is a podcast with soundexperiences.

Veel luisterplezier!

Brian.

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תומר נויהאוזר has left a new comment on your post "Report a Podcast":

Hi

Here is a nice new Podcast. its about all this little things in life, all the weird, useless things we hear but forget, the things that makes life a whole lot better.

פרורי מידע (feed)

and yes..its only in Hebrew at the moment

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Hi Anne,

An iTunes “new and noteworthy”, The Myoclonic Jerk Podcast is an eclectic mix of philosophy and comedy. Each episode tackles a different subject using monologue, interviews, comedy, stories, music and more.

The Myoclonic Jerk (feed)

Hope you enjoy it. I'm a secular Jew too, so we might just be on the same wavelength.

Best,
Daniel Kaufman

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Owen has left a new comment on your post "David Christian: Big History - TED":

A great TED Talk. If I had to choose only 1 podcast to subscribe to I think it would be TED. The Sir Ken Robinson talk on education is one of my favourite and most memorable.

Have you heard of the DO lectures (feed)? Bit like TED but on a smaller scale.