Today in Podcast - 13 June 2011

The History of Rome
Wash Away Your Sins
Constantine was baptized on his deathbed after arranging a plan for succession.
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The Tolkien Professor
WC Faerie Course, Session 16
Andrew Lang Session 1, in which we discuss "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," and "Aladdin."
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EconTalk
Buchholz on Competition, Stress, and the Rat Race
Todd Buchholz, author of Rush: Why You Need and Love the Rat Race, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in the book. Buchholz argues that competition and striving for excellence is part of our evolutionary inheritance. He criticizes attempts to remake human beings into gentle creatures who long to return to an Eden-like serenity. He argues that it is action, creativity, and planning for the future that makes us happy. The discussion includes the implications of our interest in the future for theater and story-telling.
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Today in Podcast - 12 June 2011

Notes On History
You’d Think Being Remembered Would Be a Perk of the Office
Rutherford B. Hayes. James G. Blaine. Chester A. Arthur. One of these three men was never President of the United States (though he wanted to be), but most Americans wouldn’t know which one. Today we’re going to look over the post Civil War presidencies and look at why we just don’t remember these men. Even the one with Mutton Chops
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Tapestry
Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji has been inspiring - and infuriating - people with her thoughts on Islam for the better part of the last decade. And with the release of her second book, Allah, Liberty and Love, she is continuing along her path of what she calls her "dare-devil expedition".
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Veertien Achttien
Paolo Monelli en de besmeurde sneeuwvelden
Oostenrijkers en Italianen bekampen elkaar in de Trentino op grote hoogte. 'Hier te moeten sterven lijkt men op een veroordeelde die in het geniep wordt gewurgd', peinst Alpenjager Paolo Monelli
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A Quiet Mind - Guest Post by Owen

This is a guest post by Owen from Podcast Reviews. Many thanks to Owen for his contribution.

In "A Quiet Mind", host Robert Jackson documents his journey from a corporate employee to a full time truth seeker on a quest for a simplified, spiritually fulfilling life. (feed)

Robert shares his thoughts on a range of topics related to mindfulness, awareness, meditation and positive thinking with practical advice from a largely Eastern viewpoint on how anyone, regardless of occupation or location, can better achieve a quiet mind. Robert has a comforting, compassionate tone and speaks at a leisurely pace which complements the subject matter and gives the listener time to reflect on these deep universal issues.

Personal favourite past episodes are "Bow in gratitude" released September 2010, "A Guided Meditation to open the heart to giving" released May 2009 and "Breeeeeeeathe" released May 2007 which are still available in the archive - though each episode is a delight and a much needed reminder to take time to slow down in an otherwise non stop western society.

Now it its 6th year and approaching 100 episodes, "A Quiet Mind" is consistently in the iTunes top Religion and Spirituality podcast section having gained a loyal following of subscribers.

Today in Podcast - 11 June 2011

New Books in Public Policy
Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin, “This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”
In their new book, This Burning Land: Lessons from the Front Lines of the Transformed Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), the husband and wife team of Greg Myre and Jennifer Griffin recount their experiences working as reporters in Jerusalem during the eventful last decade. Myre, the editor of NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and his wife Griffin, Pentagon Correspondent at Fox News, tell gripping stories from individuals involved in the conflict, as well as from their own struggles in raising a young family in the midst of bus bombings and terror attacks. In our interview, we talk about Ariel Sharon’s affinity for Pringles, openly bringing automatic weapons into banks, and kidnappers who let their victims hold their weapons. Read all about it, and more, in Myre and Griffin’s engaging new book.
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Het Marathoninterview
Henk Vonhoff, VVD-politicus
VVD-coryfee Henk Vonhoff is vorige zomer overleden. Hij was een echte ouderwetse VVD-er: liberaal, deftig met een karakteristiek stemgeluid en mooie volzinnen boezemde hij ontzag in totdat het hufterdom de macht greep. Op 12 juli 2002 was hij al gepensioneerd, maar noch immer imposant en nog niet teleurgesteld door Trotse Rita.
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Today in Podcast - 10 June 2011

Elucidations
Christopher Peacocke discusses the perception of music
In this episode, Christopher Peacocke discusses what it is to hear emotion in music.
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London School of Economics: Public lectures and events
The Evolution of the Individual
Peter Godfrey-Smith is a professor of philosophy at Harvard University and winner of the 2010 Lakatos Award (for his book Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection) will talk about the evolution of the individual.
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Distillations
Under the Sea
Today Distillations welcomes guest producer Ari Daniel Shapiro, host of the podcast Ocean Gazing, who takes us on a tour of the ocean, revealing how optics can evaluate long-term changes in the oceanic environment and the effects of carbon dioxide on coral reefs.
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Ciencia y Genios
¿Tienen inteligencia las máquinas?. Alan Turing
Alan MathisonTuring (1912 – 1954) es considerado como uno de los fundadores de la ciencia de la computación, fue matemático, filósofo, hábil decodificador, visionario y homosexual. Cuando la informática estaba en pañales, el soñaba con poderosas computadoras capaces de retar al ser humano en aquello que más le enorgullece: su inteligencia.
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Today in Podcast - 9 June 2011

In Our Time
Origins of Infectious Disease
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the origins of infectious disease. History is littered with deadly outbreaks of infection, some of which have come close to wiping out entire populations. Mass movement is a significant development in the spread of disease, as is modern agriculture and our proximity to animals. The last century has seen welcome breakthroughs in controlling and even eradicating some diseases – but could the end of infection be a realistic possibility? Melvyn is joined by Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London; Sir Roy Anderson, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College, London; and Mark Pallen, Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of Birmingham.
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London School of Economics: Public lectures and events
Why Nations Fail
Countries grow economically if they can build inclusive economic institutions. They stagnate if they have exclusive institutions. It is political conflicts and how they are resolved which determines the path a society follows. James Robinson is David Florence Professor of Government at Harvard University.
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