Listening ideas for 15 April 2011

Witness
The Hama massacre
In 1982 an uprising against the Assad regime in Syria was met by a violent response. Two men who lived in the northern city of Hama as children recall what happened.
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The New York Review of Books Podcast
Andrew Delbanco on Mark Twain
Andrew Delbanco talks with Andrew Martin about the first volume of Mark Twain’s unabridged Autobiography and the distinctive joys and challenges of reading Twain in the twenty-first century.
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Radio Open Source
Pakistan’s Perpetual Identity Crisis
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a political theorist and intellectual historian based in New Delhi, is leading us through another reflection on the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan.
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Office Hours
Richard Lachmann on American Decline
This week we talk with Richard Lachmann, author of the article, The Roots of American Decline in the Winter 2011 issue of Contexts. Lachmann addresses common misunderstandings we Americans tend to have about our government’s spending, particularly military spending, and the current “fiscal crisis”. Lachmann compares the decline of American dominance with past empires and offers some lessons about what we might do to have a graceful decline as opposed to a painful, violent one.
(review, feed)

On Being aka Speaking of Faith
Exodus, Cargo of Hidden Stories
The biblical Exodus story is no simple story of heroes and villains; it's a complex picture of the possibilities and ironies of human passion and human freedom. Avivah Zornberg, author of "The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus," brings the text to life through the ancient Jewish art of Midrash. If you're not familiar with Exodus, you're in for a deeply sensual experience; and, even if you're well-versed in the text, you just might be surprised.
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Veertien Achttien
Vladimir Lenin en de donderpreek vanaf de pantserwagen
Gestoken in een nieuw burgermanspak reist Vladimir Lenin per trein de revolutie tegemoet, uitgezwaaid door de Duitsers. Hij gaat zijn bolsjewieken in Petrograd eerst maar eens de les lezen.
(review, feed)

Listening ideas for 14 April 2011

KQED's Forum
Joseph Lelyveld on Gandhi
Joseph Lelyveld's new biography of Mahatma Gandhi, "Great Soul," has sparked controversy from India to California. For some, it has raised questions about Gandhi's sexual orientation. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former New York Times executive editor joins Michael Krasny to discuss his book, and the debate that swirls around it.
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For more podcast issues on this subject see Joseph Lelyveld about Gandhi on Anne is a Man

In Our Time
The Neutrino
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the neutrino, the so-called 'ghost particle'. With Frank Close, Susan Cartwright and David Wark.
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Documentary on One
Hidden Heroes of the Belfast Blitz
70 yrs ago, on Apr 15th 1941, Germany rained down bombs on Belfast - part of their WW2 offensive on Britain. The hidden story of that night is how the Republic of Ireland put its neutrality at risk by sending its firemen to help their northern brethern.
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Leonard Lopate Show
The Eichmann Trial
Deborah Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, talks about the capture of SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolf Eichmann by Israeli agents in Argentina in May of 1960, and how his subsequent trial in Jerusalem by an Israeli court electrified the world and sparked a public debate on where, how, and by whom Nazi war criminals should be brought to justice. The Eichmann Trial gives an overview of the trial and analyzes the dramatic effect that the survivors’ courtroom testimony had on the world.
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Fresh Air
Tina Fey Reveals All (And Then Some) In 'Bossypants'
Story: Tina Fey's new memoir Bossypants contains her thoughts on juggling motherhood, acting, writing and executive producing 30 Rock. Fey joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a wide-ranging conversation about her years in comedy, her childhood and her 2008 portrayal of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.
(review, feed)

Listening ideas for 13 April 2011

Forgotten Classics
Genesis, chapter 24
In which Abraham's servant goes a courting ... for Isaac.
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Rear Vision
A history of insurance: from fire of London to revolution by motorcar
Already this year, Australian insurers have paid out over three and a half billion dollars in claims, covering the five 'big events' that swept away houses, cars, and a sense of certainty for so many people. In the process, the question of how insurance should be worded, what it means when people aren't insured, and whether and how states, regions and governments should be covered, were all being debated. Because insurance is a financial and social institution that has changed enormously over the past few centuries. Today's program traces some of those changes, from the Fire of London through to the impact of the 'mutuals' and the question of whether and how much insurance should be compulsory or national.
(review, feed)

Mahabharata Podcast
Krishna reveals Himself
Episode 52 - The peace talks break down completely. It starts well, when no one can come up with a rebuttal to Krishna's speech. Narada and Kanva tell a couple of parables to help with the decision making, but Duryodhana was not interested. It seems he believed that the terms of the Dice Game were that the Pandavas were to go to the forest forever, not just 13 years. Maybe it's true? What if the Pandavas had indeed be banished for life, but they decided to change the rules when Krishna & Drupad offered to help them overthrow their cousins? How would we know, since we only get the version of the story as told by the survivors of this war!?!
(review, feed)

Leonard Lopate Show
Simon Schama
Historian and social commentator Simon Schama discusses writing about a diverse range of subjects: from food and family to Winston Churchill, from Martin Scorsese to Rembrandt, from his travels in Brazil and Amsterdam to New Orleans. His collection Scribble, Scribble: Writing on Politics, Ice Cream, Churchill, and My Mother shows him to be a keen observer with a critical eye.
(review, feed)

The Economist
Nigeria's elections
As Nigeria goes to the polls, Elizabeth Donnelly of Chatham House reflects on the prospect of fairer elections
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The Innocent - New Books in Law

It rarely makes head-lines, but when it does, the news is great and shocking: in the criminal justice system, occasionally, the innocent get convicted. Brandon Garrett wrote a book about the phenomenon: “Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong” (Harvard UP, 2011) He studied 250 US cases where the convicted was re-trialled because evidence had come up that they were innocent. Jim von der Heydt interviewed Garrett on the new podcast from the New Books Network New Books in Law (feed).

In many ways Garrett's research field is just the tip of the iceberg. Many innocent just finish their punishment and are never exempted. But with the aforementioned case-load at hand, Garrett set off to seek an answer to the gnawing question whether the legal system including its officials contain systemic traits that help convicting suspects that are actually innocent. Listen to the interview to find more out about legal constraints to repair the mistakes, the role of legal representation in these cases and obviously, the newly developed technologies for DNA evidence.

It seems to me, however, that one aspect is getting too little attention: a very large portion of convictions (maybe up to 90%) are based on the accused confessing to the crime and this suggests something that has been haunting the legal system forever and will continue to do so, also with DNA evidence: suspects tend to confess. The psychology of both the suspect and the interrogator are pulling towards confession and consequently there is a systemic tendency towards producing confessions, even false confessions. Legal psychologists have been describing this for a long time, including the interrogation techniques that can even instill false memories into the suspects. If you understand Dutch, you can hear this explained in the closing 15 minutes of an interview with the world famous expert Professor W.A. Wagenaar.

Listening ideas for 12 April 2011

Kol Hadash
Rabbi Chalom at Georgetown University
On March 31, 2011, Rabbi Chalom visited Georgetown University and answered "What is Secular Humanistic Judaism". We hope you enjoy this bonus edition of the Kol Hadash podcast.
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Leonard Lopate Show
Sidney Lumet, Dead at 86
Sidney Lumet once wrote, “While the goal of all movies is to entertain, the kind of film in which I believe goes one step further. It compels the spectator to examine one facet or another of his own conscience. It stimulates thought and sets the mental juices flowing.” This is something the filmmaker did from his very first movie, “12 Angry Men” in 1957, through “Serpico,” and “Dog Day Afternoon” to “The Verdict.” Sidney Lumet died at the age of 86 from lymphoma. You can hear his last interview with Leonard from 2007 when he was joined by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke for “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”
(review, feed)

Social Innovation Conversations
Aaron Hurst - Promoting Philanthropy Through Collaboration
Taproot is a nonprofit that makes business talent available to organizations working to improve society. In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, founder Aaron Hurst discusses how Taproot started, what impact the organization has had, and the challenges it has faced. He also shares how the enterprise evaluates nonprofits applying for grants.
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The Tolkien Professor
WC Faerie Course, Session 13
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Part 2, in which we look carefully at our protagonist and his values.
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Witness
Yuri Gagarin
It is 50 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. It was a triumph for the Soviet space programme.
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David Christian: Big History - TED

David Christian narrates at TED Talks a complete history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the Internet, in 18 minutes. This is "Big History": an enlightening, wide-angle look at complexity, life and humanity, set against our slim share of the cosmic timeline. (feed)



More TED:
Naomi Klein: Addicted to risk,
Rise of women, fall of men - inequality again,
Rory Sutherland,
Dimitar Sasselov,
Sir Ken Robinson.