Inspired minds (DW-World)

Here is an entirely new podcast I discovered: Inspired Minds. This is a radio program (or is it exclusively a podcast?) by the international, English Language, section of Deutsche Welle, the German quality radio and TV. Host Breandáin O’Shea speaks each week with guests from Europe's culture, thought and political scenes. Currently the latest show features an interview with Peter Cowie writer about cinema. Breandáin and Peter mainly touch upon the great filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.

Just as the other issues of Inspired Minds, this is a podcast that lasts around 15 minutes, which is a very digestible format. Cowie is an engaging speaker. Not only does he love Bergman's films, he also enjoyed writing his biography, even if he did not exactly fall in love with Bergman as a person.

In addition to a biography about Bergman, he also wrote biographies about Francis Ford Coppola and Orson Welles. Freely, Cowie makes comparisons between these film makers and how it was to work with them and write about them. Excellent quality podcast.

World History according to David Kalivas

David Kalivas renewed his nearly podfaded World History Podcast. In addition to the lectures, he now delivers also a couple of short monologues that seem pure podcasts. In one of these he reveals the stretch of his enterprise: World History until 1500 CE. I wonder how he is going to continue. Sofar he has paid attention to some of the old civilizations (Indus Valley, China, Egypt, Mesopotamia) and a couple of lectures about the end of this era.

For example he speaks of Bartolomé de las Casas, the Spanish clergyman who wrote about the repulsive occurrences in the New World. Kalivas engages in the question whether the Spanish committed a genocide in the Americas. He doesn't think so, but whatever they did, it had 'genocidal consequences'. Mostly unintended, especially considering that is was mostly disease that finished the indigenous peoples off.

One of the podcasts seems to kick off the series and enters the issue of evolution of man. Kalivas puts creationism and Intelligent Design in their place and by choice, without becoming ideological, chooses the scientific approach. Very well; and how do we continue from here? One thing is for sure: I am waiting for Kalivas to give us more.

Car Talk - nostalgia

In 1995 we've had some dwelling in the US to do. We got acquainted with American public radio and never forgotten it. We (my wife and I) still reminisce on the programs, one of which was Car Talk. This is a classic that, so it appears, is still on. Two brother car mechanics in the studio answer the listeners' questions about their cars and in the process fool around, poke fun and generally have a good laugh. In North America everybody probably knows it, but outside, maybe very few.

What fun in the podcast age that you can hear these programs. Also Car Talk is available on podcast. I took a listen and found myself back in 1995. Nothing changed. As good as new.

Philosophy Bites

I should have tried this podcast ages ago: Philosophy Bites. David Edmonds and Nigel Warburton talk a wide array of philosophical subjects and interview philosophers on their specialized terrains. A huge backlog can be scoured. Weekly podcasts lasting a precious 12-20 minutes.

I have tried one on Thought Experiments (audio) - which asks exactly the question I want to shoot: what are they good for. Fine, your thought experiment shows something, but it is artificial!

Another I have tried was an interview with Peter Adamson on Avicenna. I was drawn to this because In Our Time recently spoke about Avicenna, which was both fascinating and a bit eluding. Philosophy bites set some of the confusions straight.

Very pleasant, very entertaining, very thought provoking.

A dream comes true - sort of

I took it as revenge. Joseph is toying with his brothers in order to get even with the fact they had sold him into slavery. The KMTT podcast tells me otherwise. The brothers arrive in Egypt because of the famine in Canaan. The viceroy (Joseph) send them back with allegations and to return with their brother Benjamin. Then he frames them to appear having stolen the viceroy's cup and they are to go back to the palace once more. He threatens to take Benjamin.

That is when Judah steps forward (parashat vayigash) with his plead and Joseph reveals himself. Why does he stop his game here and now? Enough with the revenge, I always thought; and now he wants to know whether father Jacob still lives. But Rabbi Waxman claims Joseph was on to something else altogether and he abandons that strive in vayigash. Joseph was trying to make his childhood dreams come true. He had had his brothers bow in front of him, which resembles the dream of the bowing sheaves. Now he wants to make the next dream come true, when the eleven stars and the sun and the moon bow to the twelfth star.

But he cannot go on and thus he gives up on the dreams of grandeur and opts for another interpretation of the dream of the sheaves: this was not about him ruling his brothers, but rather providing for them. He takes the selling into slavery as God's providence; sending him ahead and acquire the position he did. All of this allowed him to be able to provide for his family, once famine struck.

A listener's guide to Geography of World Cultures

Now that I have finished Stanford's enhanced podcast Geography of World Cultures by Martin Lewis, I think it is very appropriate to give a listener's guide into the lecture series (see Stanford on iTunes U). The main reason being, no matter how excellent and deeply fascinating this course, it is a series that relies heavily on visuals, most of which the listeners misses out on

Central are the maps and these maps are part of the enhanced podcast. In order to sufficiently discern the details, one needs a large screen to see and simple mp3 players do not offer that quality. I have followed the course on PC, maybe a large iPod can do some of the same, but generally the advice is to do as I did - sit down in front of a computer screen.

The series breaks down in two major sections. The first six lectures (ignore the titles, they are synchronized with the planning, not with the actual lectures) are about the spread of languages. This is the part that is far the easiest to follow. Occasionally Lewis will point to the map and the listener will miss out on the indication, but generally the context suffices. Only when it is question time - about twice per lecture, one drops out of the visual connections. The same goes for the last four lectures, those about the spread of religion, but here the points Lewis indicates on the maps are far less intelligible. In addition there are frequent drops in sound quality and there is an entire section (the major part of lecture #7) about animism which is accompanied by slides that are not in the podcast visuals.

Hence, the language part is recommended for everybody, the religion part for the die hards especially #7 and #8 (#9 and #10 about Judaism, Christianity and Islam are much better). Die hards are the map freaks and the scourers for general knowledge about cultures that is rarely offered in such a comprehensive way. If only one could have physically attended the lectures...