Heads-up for 14 December 2010

Outriders aka Pods and Blogs
Wikileaks so far and a little light mathematics
This week Jamillah and Chris Vallance tease out the strands of the wikileaks story so far and chat with experts on the real meaning of cyber war and the future of leaked documents. Oh - and there's a great song about maths too.
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Inspired Minds
Pavan Sukhdev
The Special Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Green Economy Initiative, Pavan Sukhdev, pursues long-standing interests in environmental economics and nature conservation. Initially as a senior banker, Pavan Sukhdev founded and went on to join the board of Deutsche Bank's Global Markets Centre in Mumbai. Sukhdev has also held positions with Deutsche Bank as Head of Global Markets Finance for Asia-Pacific and later Chief Operating Officer of the Bank's Global Emerging Markets Division, a leading and multiple award-winning markets division represented in over thirty countries. He also manages a model rainforest restoration and eco-tourism project in Australia, and an organic farming and eco-tourism venture in south India. Pavan Sukhdev talks this week to Robin Powell.
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Some Books Considered
Program 073
Patricia Cornwell continues her highly successful Kay Scarpetta series with Port Mortuary. She shares how she developed her interest in forensic science, which led to her career as an author. She also discusses the plotline of the book and the research that went into developing the story. Through the military focus of this novel, set in part at Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, she gained a greater appreciation for the Armed Forces and has launched an “America for Vets” national campaign. More information is available at patriciacornwell.com.
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Science Times
12/14/2010
This week: thinking about thinking about eating, why bugs hold their breath, and insights on dementia.
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Heads-up for 13 December 2010

The History of Rome
Restitutor Orbis
Aurelian defeated the breakaway western provinces and reunified the Empire in 274 AD. The next year he was assassinated by officers who had been tricked into committing murder.
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Philosopher's Zone
The Athenian philosopher Epicurus
born in 341 BC, Epicurus set up a philosophical school which was unusual for its time - it allowed women and slaves to join. He also developed ideas about pleasure and the good life, but would likely turn in his grave were he to know how the term 'Epicurean' has come to be used in the 21st century.
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Mahabharata Podcast
Bhima and the Snake
The Pandavas journey south, out of the Himalayas and back to the plains. Along the way, Bhima goes hunting and finds himself captured by a giant magical snake. The Snake takes his time and tells Bhima his life story before proceeding to eat the hero. Meanwhile, Yuddistira sees dark omens and heads off to look for his brother on his own. For the purposes of the later story, Arjun stays at home and Yuddistira does the rescuing.
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Heads-up for 12 December 2010

Social Innovation Conversations
Laney Whitcanack - Nonprofit Management: The Art of Organizing Volunteers
"Every year, I say 'Never again,' but I do, and I love it." Does this sound familiar to you? Volunteer organizations enhance the quality of life, usually locally. But anyone who has been involved in a volunteer organization understands their fragility. BigTent, a platform for social groups, hosts 20,000 free, online forums with controls specifically for the needs of volunteer groups. Sheela Sethuraman talks with Laney Whitcanack, COO of BigTent.
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A Short History of Japan
Episode 7: Rule by the Sword
The rise of the Minamoto and the fall of the Taira. 1180-82
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Heads-up for 11 December 2010

Shrink Rap Radio
Creativity and The Brain with Shelly Carson
Harvard psychologist Shelley Carson PhD, is a researcher and instructor of creativity, psychopathology and resilience. She is the author of Your Creative Brain: Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity and Innovation in Your Life (Jossey-Bass/Wiley). Based on scientific findings from studies involving brain imaging, brain injury cases, neuropsychological testing and interviews with hundreds of highly creative individuals, Dr. Carson has created a model of seven different brain states related to creative thought, which she calls the CREATES brainsets model. In her book she offers a route to greater creative productivity through a series of engaging exercises and problem sets (based on cognitive behavioral therapy methods) that enable us to strengthen our brainsets and switch among them with ease.
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The Economist
The return of the big three
Our correspondents discuss how Ford, Chrysler and GM are raising their sights, upgrading their models and moving into emerging markets
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Big Ideas
William R. Newman on Why Did Isaac Newton Believe in Alchemy
Indiana University professor of History and Philosophy of Science, William R. Newman presents his lecture, entitled Why Did Isaac Newton Believe in Alchemy? Through historical documents and experiments that demonstrate alchemical processes, this lecture explains why one of the most insightful scientists in history was convinced that alchemical transformations were scientifically plausible. It was delivered at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, on October 6th, 2010.
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New Books In History
David Shearer, “Policing Stalin’s Socialism: Repression and Social Order in the Soviet Union, 1924-1953″
The question as to why the leaders of the Soviet Union murdered hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens during the Great Purges is one of the most important of modern history, primarily because it shapes what we are likely to think about communism.
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Veertien Achttien
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg en het koken van de soep (zondag 10 december 1916)
De morele standaard van rijkskanselier Von Bethmann Hollweg bezwijkt keer op keer onder nationalistische krachten. 'Ik ben mij bewust van mijn eigen beperkingen', zal hij zelf de slotsom opmaken.
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Heads-up for 10 December 2010

Harvard Business IdeaCast
The Glass Cliff Phenomenon
Susanne Bruckmüller, research associate at the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and coauthor of the HBR article "How Women End Up on the 'Glass Cliff'."
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London School of Economics: Public lectures and events
European democracies and human rights: from present failures to future protection
In a lecture marking UN International Human Rights Day, Thomas Hammarberg discusses the gap between human rights standards and realities in the EU. Thomas Hammarberg was elected Commissioner for Human Rights on 5 October 2005 by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. He took up his position on 1 April 2006, succeeding the first commissioner, Mr Alvaro Gil-Robles. Prior to his appointment, he spent several decades working on the advancement of human rights in Europe and worldwide.
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TED Talks
A call to men - Tony Porter
At TEDWomen, Tony Porter makes a call to men everywhere: Don't "act like a man." Telling powerful stories from his own life, he shows how this mentality, drummed into so many men and boys, can lead men to disrespect, mistreat and abuse women and each other. His solution: Break free of the "man box."
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Heads-up for 9 December 2010

Thinking Allowed
Cuban Science and Moral Panics
How did Cuba manage to become a world leader in bioscience despite and economic blockade and a developing world economy? Laurie talks to Simon Reid-Henry. Also what does the term 'moral panic' mean and is it overused. Jewel Thomas and Chas Critcher discuss.
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KQED Forum
WikiLeaks, Free Speech and National Security
Last week, WikiLeaks distributed more than 250,000 classified embassy cables to newspapers around the globe that provide an unvarnished view of U.S. foreign policy. While proponents of WikiLeaks herald the release of the documents as a victory for free speech and open information, critics contend that it undermines national security. We speak with experts on the both sides of the debate.
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In Our Time
Thomas Edison
Melvyn Bragg examines the life of the great American inventor, Thomas Edison. Creator of the phonograph and the mass-produced electric lightbulb, not to mention his pivotal role in the development of motion pictures, Edison was a true technological pioneer. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Kathleen Burk, Professor of History at University College, London; Simon Schaffer, Professor of the History of Science and Fellow of Darwin College at the University of Cambridge; and Iwan Morus, Reader in History at the University of Aberystwyth.
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Exploring Environmental History
Slavery, fossil fuel use and climate change: past connections, present similarities
What is the connection between the abolition of slavery, the Industrial Revolution, the use fossil fuels and climate change? Jeff Mohout of Birmingham University recently discussed this question in an article in the journal Climatic Change. In this episode of the podcast Mohout presents his idea that that slaves in the past and fossil-fuelled machines at present play similar economic and social roles: both slave and modern societies externalised labour and both slaves and modern machines freed their owners from daily chores. Consequently, modern society is as dependent on fossil fuels as slave societies were dependent on bonded labour. Mohout also suggests that, in differing ways, suffering resulting (directly) from slavery and (indirectly) from the excessive burning of fossil fuels are now morally comparable. The pocast concludes with some suggestions of the lessons which may be learned from the abolition of slavery in the 19th century for dealing with modern climate change and the associated energy transition.
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