Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia - Econtalk review

On EconTalk Russ Robert's latest guest was Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. Wales spoke about the success of Wikipedia, gave some explanation on how it works and spent some thoughts on where his next moves are.

The most interesting part, in my experience, of the interview is where Wales relates how he started out to make an encyclopedia in a more traditional way and couldn't make it work. The eventual bottom-up approach of Wikipedia, was not there from the start and was not self-evident to Wales. It seems that the formula still surprises him today.

Although there is some talk of how Wikipedia does in comparison to other encyclopedia's, I would have wanted Roberts to push Wales more to address the criticism that exist. Hardly any attention is to that or even to possible weaknesses or problems. The lack of cliffs allowed Wales to sail freely and deliver almost a sales presentation about his product. You get to see behind the screens of Wikipedia, as far as Wales allows and feels completely comfortable with.

More EconTalk:
New Deal and War Economy,
The Depression,
Wildlife, Property and Poverty.

Willem van Oranje als bijbelfiguur - Hoor Geschiedenis

Op elke werkdag luister ik naar de podcast Hoor! Geschiedenis, van Feico Houweling. Elke keer is er weer een aflevering van vijf minuten die me weer een stapje verder neemt in de Nederlandse geschiedenis. We zijn inmiddels bij aflevering 117 en in de tijd zijn we aangeland aan het eind van de zestiende eeuw. We zitten dus midden in de Opstand tegen Filips II van Spanje en hebben derhalve eindelijk het begin bereikt van de moderne Nederlandse Staat.

Een van de charmante uitstapjes die Houweling regelmatig maakt, is het voorlezen en bespreken van teksten uit het tijdvak dat op dat moment besproken wordt. Zo hebben we al het een en ander uit de Middeleeuwen gehad, we hebben Erasmus gelezen en recentelijk heeft hij twee aflevering besteed aan het Wilhelmus. Ook daar krijg je dus het gevoel dat we de moderne tijd binnengaan. Opeens gaat het over iets dat we vandaag nog gebruiken.

Houweling analyseert het gehele Wilhelmus en stipt een aantal kenmerken aan die je ook zou kunnen toepassen op de Nederlands cultuur en het Nederlandse staatseigen. Of dat allemaal zo toepasselijk is, kan natuurlijk bestreden worden, maar het is iets dat zeker niet in een cultuurgeschiedenis achterwege kan blijven. En terwijl hij het volkslied besprak en suggereerde dat daarin aan de persoon van Willem van Oranje haast Bijbelse proporties worden gegeven, vermeldt hij enkel dat in het achtste couplet een parallel met Koning David wordt gemaakt. Ik zelf had echter de indruk dat in het derde en negende couplet een parallel met Mozes aan te wijzen zou zijn en een vergleijking tussen de Opstand en de Exodus mogelijk wordt gemaakt. Ik meende mij te herinneren dat de historicus Simon Schama ook al gewag maakte van de neiging in de Nederlandse cultuur om een parallel met de Israelieten te zoeken. Ik heb het zo gauw even niet terug kunnen vinden.

Afbeelding: Wikimedia Commons. Schilderij van Adriaen Thomasz Key uit circa 1575

Meer Hoor! Geschiedenis:
Dagelijks genoegen: hoor! geschiedenis,
Hoor! Geschiedenis - historische podcast recensie.

Against intervention - UChannel Podcast review

Right from the start UChannel's Podcast with Michael Scheuer captures the attention. After his book: Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq, he explains his view on US foreign policy in very clear terms. His criticism profound and he minces no words. Throughout most of the lecture it is very refreshing to hear someone speak so unambiguously.

Scheuer's criticism in general is with America's tendency towards interventionism. Ever since 1973, so is his opinion, the US has taken it upon itself to order the world and consequently to get involved with billions of dollars in regional conflicts that are not really any of her business. Furthermore America, also as of 1973, should have understood it was too dependent on oil and has failed to disentangle itself from the grip of Saudi-Arabia and the like. On top of that, the US thinks it must bring democracy in remote quarters of the world and also take it upon itself to make war with elate 'rules of engagement'.

Scheuer pleads for rapid development of alternatives to oil. Getting disentangled from conflicts where there are no direct US interests, even in Israel and where it does get into an armed conflict, allow the freedom to maximum savagery in order to quickly and effectively win wars. Scheuer clearly steers away from the main stream of ideas on foreign policy and has no good words for others. Holbrook is stupid, Petraeus and idiot and the Europeans are feckless - no people to be allied with. And this is where one gets to feel a bit uneasy and put off by Scheuer.

More UChannel Podcast:
Lakhdar Brahimi on Afghanistan and Iraq,
Europe versus Islam,
Power of Cities,
Gaza (Tony Blair),
Whither the Middle East.

Anne is a Man in the weekend of March 13

Here is a list of reviews I am planning to publish over the weekend (Friday - Sunday).

-On a recent issue of UChannel Podcast I heard a lecture by former CIA head Michael Scheuer who sharply criticizes US foreign policy of interventionism.

-The Dutch history podcast Hoor! Geschiedenis had two issues analyzing the Dutch National Anthem in the context of the Dutch Revolt against Phillips II of Spain. This triggered a couple of thoughts about the meanings attributed to the leader of the revolt William of Orange. (review will be in Dutch)

-On EconTalk, Russ Roberts spoke with Jimmy Wales the founder of Wikipedia about the history of Wikipedia.

-BBC's In Our Time, today, had an episode about the Library at Alexandria.

-On the newly discovered history podcast New Books in History, Marshall Poe interview Gregory Cochran and spoke about human evolution also in the last 60,000 years.

If I am not going to manage to write about In Our Time, I will probably write about other UChannel Podcasts in stead, for example one about the Sudan. Otherwise the Sudan review will be after the weekend.

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The Memory Palace - history narration

History is not only about facts, it is also about narrative. And so, history podcasts, no matter how many facts they need to relate to, they must forge them into a narrative. Narration, in turn, is an art. There are narration podcasts such as the fictional podcasts Namaste Stories, 7th Son and New World Orders, or like podcasts that retell existing tales such as the Celtic Myth Podshow and Forgotten Classics and there are narration podcasts that apply narration in a particularly artistic way to history. One such podcast is the podfaded Your History Pocast and another one I just discovered: The Memory Palace (feed).

Host Nate DiMeo has a wonderful voice and style for this purpose. Soft, warm and slightly flat, that gives for a humane and modest atmosphere which allows for the history to get the greatest impact. You know the story that is being told is history, is true and so the mode of telling needs no added emphasis or dramatization to let the story's effect come through. DiMeo seems to understand this very well and the result is fantastic.

These episodes come out rather irregularly; one or two per month. They are very short, less than five minutes each. As off episode #7, a series has started about bad jobs. DiMeo describes the life of a nine year old that works in a mine in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century as the first bad job. He makes a request to his listeners for more examples. This is an excellent podcast and I am eager to find out what comes next.

Blood - Making History with Ran Levi

The Hebrew podcast Making History with Ran Levi took up the subject of blood. As it goes with a history of science podcast, step by step we learn how the secrets of the blood were unraveled and also how the blood actually works.

What is particularly attractive to this podcast is its very Israeli nature. Ran Levi relates every subject, no matter how serious and heavy-minded with a tad of irony, with quips, puns and witty side remarks. It makes the show intelligent, serious and at the same time fast-paced, sharp and not taking itself too seriously.

More Making History:
Myths and pseudo-knowledge,
What goes up, must come down,
Douglas Adams,
Sophie Germain,
Max Planck.