A Podcast Playlist for 12 July 2011

ThoughtCast
Faculty Insight: Honor and Fair Play in Homer’s Iliad
In this fifth installment of Faculty Insight, produced in partnership with Harvard University Extension School, ThoughtCast speaks with the esteemed Harvard classicist Gregory Nagy about one of the earliest and greatest legends of all time: Homer’s epic story of the siege of Troy, called The Iliad. It’s a story of god-like heroes and blood-soaked battles; honor, pride, shame and defeat. And Nagy is the perfect guide to this classic tale. He’s the director of Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington DC, as well as the Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard. We spoke in his office at Widener Library.
(review, feed)

Witness
The Srebrenica massacre
In July 1995 thousands of Muslim men and boys were killed in Srebrenica.
(review, feed)

New Books in Food
Silvia Lehrer, “Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island’s East End”
It’s not that Silvia Lehrer dislikes the rich people who flock to the Hamptons every July and August. It’s just that she prefers to celebrate those who have more blood and history invested in the land and sea on the East End of Long Island. “The local farmers, the families, all of these people have committed to generations of working the farms.” she says in this interview with New Books in Food. I interviewed Silvia on the back patio of her house in Water Mill, New York. The conversation is like a gentle journey taken on a warm July morning, a pleasant tour through a fertile land where sea foam and tractors meet, where fishermen bring in a catch that potato farmers might eat for dinner. Her new book, Savoring the Hamptons: Discovering the Food and Wine of Long Island’s East End contains recipes Silvia developed from decades of writing about the food people of the North and South forks of Long Island, and brief profiles of many of the salty and sweet characters there.
(review, feed)

New Books in Language
Robert Lane Greene, “You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws and the Politics of Identity”
Isn’t it odd how the golden age of correct language always seems to be around the time that its speaker was in high school, and that language has been going to the dogs ever since? Such is the anguish of declinists the world over, pushing the commercial success of language-bashing stocking fillers. But what’s the real reason that we get hung up on greengrocers’ apostrophes and the superiority of certain language forms over others? Robert Lane Greene’s premise is that for those who hold up the standardised variety as the one true voice, the authority of the prestige language is not about words and rules, but about the perceived superiority of the people who use it. Hand-wringing over glottal stops and ‘ain’t’ contractions obscures attempts to define ‘us’ and distance ‘them’, and is a tool to support class, ethnic, or national prejudices.
(review, feed)

Fraunhofer Podcast
Licht steuert Zellen
Die Wunschliste von Ärzten und Patienten ist lang: Wirkungsvollere Medikamente gegen Krebs und andere Krankheiten, besser verträgliche Implantate – und am besten sollen sie alle ganz ohne Tierversuche entwickelt werden. Große Erwartungen sind an zellbasierte Testsysteme geknüpft.
(review, feed)

Wittgenstein - Saeed Ahmed guest post

Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein are arguably two of the most important philosophers of the 20th century. However, whereas Heidegger is well-represented in academic podcasts (see previous reviews by Anne on offerings by Hubert Dreyfus of Berkeley and Sean Kelly of Harvard), Wittgenstein is not heavily featured.

Therefore, I would like to point out a recent post in Philosopher's Zone (ABC Radio National, Australia), in which Gavin Kitching, professor at University of New South Wales discusses Wittgenstein with Alan Saunders, the interviewer. What I liked about this podcast was the clarity of the questions and responses, culminating with a devastating and foundational critique of methodology used by the Social Sciences in the 20th century, specifically the deliberate removal of the personal voice from academic discourse. It is difficult to deliver such a blow after a 30 minute conversation, but this Kitching and Saunders make a case worth considering, which follows from principles laid down by Wittgenstein. (feed)

Generally speaking, Philosopher's Zone podcasts are kept on for about 4 weeks, so download while you can.

Saeed Ahmed

More Saeed Ahmed:
Political and current affairs podcasts,
International Political Economy,
A podcast on climate, energy and food,
Two podcasts on the brain,
Comedy podcasts and philosophy.

More on Heidegger:
Heidergger in podcasts - news,
Entitled Opinions - conversation,
J Drabinsky - university course,
Dichter und Denker in Freiburg - lecture (in German).

A Podcast Playlist for 11 July 2011

The Korea Society
The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea
On May 26th, 2011, Harvard University’s Dr. Ezra Vogel spoke to The Korea Society about the monumental new political history he co-edited, The Park Chung Hee Era: The Transformation of South Korea. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Charles Armstrong, the Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies in the Social Sciences and director at the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University in the City of New York.
(review, feed)

Ideas
The Munk Debates - China
Be it resolved that the 21st century will belong to China. Renowned historian and lecturer Niall Ferguson, and the celebrated Chinese economist David D. Li argue for the motion. Speaking against it are CNN foreign affairs commentator and TIME magazine's editor-at-large, Fareed Zakaria, and former US secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. The Munk Debates is an initiative of the Aurea Foundation, a charitable organization founded in 2006 by Peter and Melanie Munk to improve the quality and vitality of public debate in Canada.
(review, feed)

The History of Rome
Julian the Pre-Apostate
After a childhood spent mostly in exile, Juian was elevated to the rank of Caesar in 355. His first assignment was to clear Gaul of Germanic invaders.
(review, feed)

ITV Tour de France Podcast
ITV TDF Stage 9 2011
Another extraordinary day of highs and lows on the Tour. Ned & Chris examine and reflect. (Among others about the Flecha/Hoogerland crash - see video)
(review, feed)

1: The crash


2: How to make the men suffer some more:

He can barely stand on his feet and insist on putting him through the motions. Never before have I seen a cyclist cry for real pain while getting the awards (and the polka dot jersey as well as the combative award as REAL prizes).

Israel Jacobson - History 182G (UCLA)

I have finished the UCLA course History 182G - Secular Jewish Culture by David Myers and I want to recommend anybody who is interested in the subjects of Secularism and Judaism (whether in conjunction or not) to follow and pay close attention. Even considering how many faced both subjects are (also in conjunction) and the course touching about as many as one can imagine, there is a phenomenal coherent question studied with remarkable clarity and occasional findings. (feed)

As I wrote in my previous review, I was expecting Myers was to kick off with Spinoza, but surprised with preliminary treatment of Philo and Maimonides. When finally coming around to the place and time of Spinoza the central consideration comes up: He was the first to drop out of Judaism, without conversion. This made him a first secular as it were, but then we see that Jewish identity somehow remains. Noteworthy is also the story of Spinoza's fellow in place and time Uriel da Costa - go listen. What comes next are the 19th century struggles with the 'Jewish question'. With . Eventually Myers makes his rounds to Marx, Freud and Kafka, but I'd like to highlight Israel Jacobson.

Jacobson was a German Jew who founded reformed Judaism and one has to appreciate his inventiveness in world pulling towards conversion, citizenship, aliyah, haskala and Zionism. He allowed his followers to be Jewish and modern and German and citizens at the same time - such successful integration in German society. It triggers, however, also a very skeptic reaction. One is uttered also by Myers: some argued Jacobson made a Judaism that smacked of protestant Christian churches (a feeling I can relate to recalling my visit to several reformed services in Israel). Another was the ex post facto realization that this wonderful integration was incapable to shield its communities during the holocaust. Which brings us back to one central essence we find as off Spinoza: dropped out of Judaism, but somehow the (cultural) tie remains.

More History 182G:
UCLA History 182G - History of Secular Judaism.

A Podcast Playlist for 10 July 2011

Omega Tau Podcast
Viruses, Bacteria and other Parasites
In this episode we talk to fellow podcasters Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier about viruses, bacteria and other parasites. Among other topics we discuss what each kind of parasite is made of an how they interact with the human organism (in good and bad ways).
(review, feed)

La Resistance
Herding Lions II - The Man Behind the Masks
In this episode, we recall Max Jacob fondly, Andre Malroux infrequently, Marcel Bernard thankfully, and Henri Frenay as little as possible. Most importantly, we get behind the hagiography to balance the usual (albeit accurate) story of heroic dying with a tale of courageous living.
(review, feed)

Veertien Achttien
Wilhelm van Pruisen en de hoefijzers van Wieringen
'De slachter van Verdun'. 'Little Willy'. Het imago van de Duitse kroonprins was niet best. Toch kon Wilhelm van Pruisen enige realiteitszin niet ontzegd worden.
(review, feed)

Indicast Podcast Network
Can India be Pro-oogle?
Google has been named as the best company to work for on this planet... Free food, massage, unlimited sick leaves, and that's only a start...Can India inculcate a google like culture in one of its companies? Aditya thinks the Indian mobile market is over hyped and well, I think otherwise! Our Podcast turns out to be a mini debate between the two of us and we decided to release it as it is!
(review, feed)

New Books Podcasts - a first sifting

While I appeared at the SFF Audio Podcast, it became clear to me that, for one, my blog is the entry point to find new podcasts. (I Assume that Jesse and Scott are not the only followers of this blog and they indicated exactly this). Secondly, since that is the case, and therefore my task is to explore new podcasts, the immediate task at hand, as also became clear during the discussion, is to give a guide to the podcast collection of the New Books Network.

"This is a goldmine," Scott exclaimed, and as much as this might be the case, not all of the 80 something podcasts listed there are full blown content providers. Of course there is the flag ship of the network New Books in History which has been in existence for about 3 years, has produced over a hundred excellent interviews with authors and whose producer, Marshall Poe, is in fact the founder of the New Books Network (NBN).

So the real question is: what about the rest. And the answer is: that varies, one should really check them one by one. And this is what I have done. I am now subscribed to ALL the NBN podcasts and from now, all New Books podcasts can be implied in my reviews and listening ideas for each day. I have also made a summary below of what is already in there. Which varies from podcasts with over 20 issues, to feeds that are empty.

So take a look below. In stead of ordering the podcasts alphabetically, as is done on NBN's website, or order them by type - which would be nice - but rather order them by amount of content inside. As much as this is a good measure of the 'seriousness' of the feed, one has to take into account that many of the podcasts are cross-posted within the network. Mostly this means a reissue from New Books in History. Still, this helps to filter out according to the theme. However, in a way, more serious, and more likely to be frequently updated, are those feeds who have content of their own. Where this is the case, I have highlighted one of them. So here goes.

New Books In History
(feed)
100+ entries
highlight:
Christopher Krebs, “A Most Dangerous Book: Tacitus’s Germania from the Roman Empire to the Third Reich”
Being a historian is a bit of a slog: years in graduate school, more years in dusty libraries and archives, and even more years teaching ...
(review on Anne is a Man)

New Books in Military History
(feed)
43 entries, 36 cross-posted
highlight
Christopher DeRosa, “Political Indoctrination in the U.S. Army from World War II to the Vietnam War”
One of the greatest challenges American military leaders have faced since the American Revolution has been to motivate citizens to forego their own sense of ...

New Books in Russia and Eurasian Studies
(feed)
26 entries, 17 cross-posted
highlight
Daniel Treisman, “The Return: Russia’s Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev”
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, journalists, academics, and policymakers have sought to make sense of post-Soviet Russia.  Is Russia an emerging or ...

New Books in African American Studies
(feed)
18 entries, 14 cross-posted
highlight:
Harvey Young, “Embodying Black Experience: Stillness, Critical Memory, and the Black Body”
With the election of Barack Obama, the first U.S. president of African descent, many people believed that America had ushered in an era of post-racial ...

New Books in Biography
(feed)
18 entries, 18 cross-posted

New Books in Foreign Policy
(feed)
17 entries, 17 cross-posted

New Books in Public Policy
(feed)
14 entries, 1 cross-posted
highlight:
Yuval Levin (editor), “National Affairs”
Public policy ideas make their way into the conversation in a variety of ways. Typically, New Books in Public Policy looks at how books influence the ...
(review on Anne is a Man)

New Books in Gender Studies
(feed)
13 entries, 13 cross-posted

New Books in World Affairs
(feed)
10 entries, 10 cross posted

New Books in Jewish Studies
(feed)
9 entries, 9 cross-posted

New Books in Politics
(feed)
9 entries, 8 cross-posted
highlight:
Andrew Breitbart, “Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!”
Is there a liberal media elite in our country? If there is, do the New Media have the potential to displace it? According to Andrew Breitbart's Righteous ...

New Books in Sports
(feed)
9 entries
highlight:
Kurt Kemper, “College Football and American Culture in the Cold War Era”
When we think of sports and the Cold War, what typically comes to mind are steroid-fueled East German swimmers, or the Soviets' controversial basketball win ...

New Books in European Studies
(feed)
8 entries, 5 cross-posted
highlight:
Richard Hall, “The Modern Balkans: A History”
Some parts of the world seem to suffer from rather too much history. The Balkans, that mountainous peninsula situated between the Black Sea and the ...

New Books in Religion
(feed)
8 entries, 8 cross-posted

New Books in Political Science
(feed)
7 entries, 5 cross-posted
highlight:
Gregory Koger, “Filibustering: A Political History of Obstruction in the House and Senate”
In recent months, we've been hearing a lot of talk about filibustering in the Senate, about how Senate Democrats acquired a filibuster-proof majority in the ...

New Books in Law
(feed)
6 entries, 4 cross-posted
highlight:
Brandon L. Garrett, “Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong” (Harvard UP, 2011)
Wrongful conviction is, both morally and practically
(review on Anne is a Man)

New Books in Medicine
(feed)
6 entries, 5 cross-posted
highlight:
Elizabeth Pisani, “The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels, and the Business of AIDS” (Norton, 2008)
When in medical school, I found myself drawn to the st

New Books in National Security
(feed)
6 entries, 6 cross-posted

New Books in Sociology
(feed)
6 entries, 1 cross-posted
highlight:
Karen Sternheimer, “Celebrity Culture and the American Dream: Stardom and Social Mobility”
Routledge, 2010
It’s hard to dispute that today there’s a heightened fascination with celebrities and their personal lives. Who cheated on whom, who’s getting married and what celebrity checked into to rehab is the stuff of daily headlines that many of us, willingly or not, follow and know about. Moreover, the line between news and gossip often seems blurred when both the personal failings of politicians and the presidential aspirations of celebrities dominate the 24-hour news cycle.

New Books in Southeast Asian Studies
(feed)
6 entries, 6 cross-posted

New Books in African Studies
(feed)
5 entries, 4 cross-posted
highlight:
James Brabazon, “My Friend the Mercenary: A Memoir”
It's a routine observation that journalists never give Africa a fair shake of the dice: they're only ever there for the famines and wars. James ...

New Books in Anthropology
(feed)
5 entries, 5 cross-posted

New Books in Christian Studies
(feed)
5 entries, 5 cross-posted

New Books in Eastern European Studies
(feed)
5 entries, 4 cross-posted
highlight:
Louis Menashe, “Moscow Believes in Tears: Russians and their Movies”
Did you see one of Eisenstein’s masterpieces "The Battleship Potemkin” and “Alexander Nevsky” in a Russian or Soviet history class? Were you captivated by ...

New Books in Human Rights
(feed)
5 entries, 5 cross-posted

New Books in Journalism
(feed)
5 entries, 5 cross-posted

New Books in Middle Eastern Studies
(feed)
5 entries, 4 cross-posted
highlight:
W. Taylor Fain, “American Ascendance and British Retreat in the Persian Gulf Region” (Palgrave-McMillan, 2008)
If you ask most Americans when the U.S. became heavily

New Books in Popular Culture
(feed)
5 entries, 4 cross-posted
highlight:
Carrie Pitzulo, “Bachelors and Bunnies: The Sexual Politics of Playboy”
Playboy is having (another) moment.  Since its fiftieth birthday in 2003, the brand’s relevance has risen after a period of decline.  The Girls Next Door, ...

New Books in Psychoanalysis
(feed)
5 entries
highlight:
Lucy Holmes, “The Internal Triangle: New Theories of Female Development”
In this interview we revisit the complicated female oedipal constellation, as New Books in Psychoanalysis speaks with Dr. Lucy Holmes about her book The Internal ...

New Books in Science
(feed)
5 entries, 5 cross-posted

New Books in South Asian Studies
(feed)
5 entries, 1 cross-posted
highlight:
Robert Parthesius, “Dutch Ships in Tropical Waters: The Development of the Dutch East India Company Shipping Network in Asia 1595-1660″
Amsterdam University Press, 2010
The Dutch broke the Portuguese commercial and colonizing monopoly in the East in 1595; the seal might have been said to have been set on this triumph when they took over the port of Melaka in 1641, effectively replacing the Portuguese as the masters of maritime Asia. The famed ‘Dutch spirit of commerce’ was...

New Books in Classics
(feed)
4 entries, 4 cross-posted

New Books in East Asian Studies
(feed)
4 entries, 2 cross-posted
highlight:
Lee Ambrozy, “Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009”
Anyone who has been following the news this year has likely heard of Ai Weiwei. This provocative and gifted Chinese artist-activist has made 2011 headlines ...

New Books in Economics
(feed)
4 entries, 4 cross-posted

New Books in Theater
(feed)
4 entries
highlight:
Peter Filichia, “Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit and the Biggest Flop of the Season 1959-2009”
Speaking to long time theater critic Peter Filichia, one is reminded of listening to an old-time sportwriter talk about baseball. The Broadway he describes is ...

New Books in Buddhist Studies
(feed)
3 entries
highlight:
Lori Meeks, “Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan”
Scholars have long been fascinated by the Kamakura era (1185-1333) of Japanese history, a period that saw the emergence of many distinctively Japanese forms of ...

New Books in Education
(feed)
3 entries, 3 cross-posted

New Books in Environmental Studies
(feed)
3 entries, 3 cross-posted

New Books in Food
(feed)
3 entries
highlight:
Danyelle Freeman, “Try This: Traveling the Globe without Leaving the Table”
Danyelle Freeman, better known as “Restaurant Girl” and a judge on Top Chef Masters, is single. But if you are considering asking out the petite ...

New Books in Geography
(feed)
3 entries, 3 cross-posted

New Books in Latin American Studies
(feed)
3 entries, 3 cross-posted

New Books in Music
(feed)
3 entries, 3 cross-posted

New Books in Native American Studies
(feed)
3 entries, 1 cross-posted
highlight:
Jace Weaver, “Notes from a Miner’s Canary: Essays on the State of Native America”
Essay collections are often a repository of an author's lesser works, an attempt by publishers to milk every last penny from a well-regarded scholar. This ...

New Books in Communications
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Digital Culture
(feed)
2 entries
highlight:
Mark Stephen Meadows, “We, Robot: Skywalker’s Hand, Blade Runners, Iron Man, Slutbots, and How Fiction Became Fact”
If technology is the site of digital culture, then robots are the future platforms of our social projections and interactions. In fact, that future is ...

New Books in Film
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Islamic Studies
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Literary Studies
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Philosophy
(feed)
2 entries
highlight:
Gerald Gaus, “The Order of Public Reason: A Theory of Freedom and Morality in a Diverse and Bound World”
If we are to have a society at all, it seems that we must recognize and abide by certain rules concerning our interactions with others. ...

New Books in Photography
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Popular Music
(feed)
2 entries
highlight:
Sheree Homer, “Catch the Rockabilly Fever: Personal Stories of Life on the Road and in the Studio”
“On July 5, 1954, Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black forever changed musical history,” writes Sheree Homer in Catch that Rockabilly Fever: Personal ...

New Books in Technology
(feed)
2 entries, 2 cross-posted

New Books in Architecture
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Art
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Astronomy
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted (from thoughtcast)

New Books in Biology
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Business
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Classical Music
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Human Nature
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Jazz
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Latino Studies
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Physics
(feed)
1 entries, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Psychology
(feed)
1 entry, 1 cross-posted

New Books in Archaeology
(feed)
empty

New Books in Biblical Studies
(feed)
empty

New Books in Central Asian Studies
(feed)
empty

New Books in Chemistry
(feed)
empty

New Books in Comics
(feed)
empty

New Books in Complexity Studies
(feed)
empty

New Books in Dance
(feed)
empty

New Books in Earth Science
(feed)
empty

New Books in Hindu Studies
(feed)
empty

New Books in Historical Fiction
(feed)
empty

New Books in Investment
(feed)
empty

New Books in Language
(feed)
empty

New Books in Literature
(feed)
empty

New Books in Mathematics
(feed)
empty

New Books in Military Affairs
(feed)
empty

New Books in Poetry
(feed)
empty