Economics - Berkeley lecture podcast

Berkeley's course Economics 100B is about macro-economic analysis. In the dichotomy of classical and Keynesian economists, the lecturer, Steven A. Wood, confesses to be a Keynesian. Somehow I expected that with macro-economics, but that may just be my prejudice.

This course has by now proceeded to the fifth lecture and while it has been developing along the regular schemes of university lecture courses. These are some audio issues (most of which has been resolved) some visuals you miss out on (most notably the equations on the board) and there are the opening minutes with announcements for the students. The result is audio that is not particularly fit for leisurely listening to podcast. However, it sure delivers the goods and teaches macro-economics, without additional entertainment value.

As professor Wood points out: this is a particularly interesting time to study macro-economics. Not only in the light of the upcoming elections, where the suggested economic policies can be measured with what you learn on the podcast. Also because of the stormy developments in the global economy and national economies. Thus, this course is also useful for understanding in the light of all the historic, and geopolitical changes the world is going through - or so one may hope.

More Berkeley courses in the Fall of 2008:
Foundations of American Cyber-Culture,
Political Science,
Man, God, and Society in Western Literature,
Economic Geography of the Industrial World,
Ancient Philosophy,
Letters and Science (Physics for future presidents),
A survey of Europe from the Renaissance to the present.

Marjolijn Februari - Marathon Interview

Voor het Marathon Interview met Marjolijn Februari heeft de interviewer - Pieter van der Wielen - vijf vragen op een papiertje geschreven en daarbij neemt hij ook nog een conflict met zijn telecom provider mee. Er wordt tot vervelens toe aan deze twee elementen gerefereerd, daar moet de luisteraar op voorbereid zijn. Verder was het een heel behoorlijk interview.

Dat de interviewer niet alleen maar met zijn eigen dingen bezig was en zich wel degelijk ook kon aanpassen aan de gast, blijkt uit het gemak waarmee hij een weinig voor de handliggende beeldspraak van Marjolijn Februari opppakt. De kwestie is dat ze kan leven als een konijn, maar ook als een paard. Veelal is ze het konijn, maar er is een paardenembryo dat in het konijn groeit. Je moet er maar mee uit de voeten kunnen. Het levert soms wat absurde teksten op (je moet een gewetensvol konijn zijn), maar wie de essentie oppakt kan er denk ik ook wel mee instemmen.

Er zijn veel hoogtepunten in het gesprek, maar wat mij toch het meest aan het hart ging, was Februari's uitleg dat 'regels zijn regels' niet hetzelfde is als 'Befehl ist Befehl' - integendeel zelfs. Dat is voor velen toch niet zo voor de hand liggend en ze maakt het heel goed duidelijk, vind ik. Voor al die hoogtepunten zijn de vragen op het papiertje niet nodig. En als de vragen eenmaal gesteld worden blijken ze even banaal als overbodig (wat is de beste LP van Barbara? Welk meesterwerk heb je niet gelezen? e.d.). Gelukkig dat we ons daar niet door hebben hoeven laten afleiden.

Meer Marathon Interviews:
Jan Blokker,
Martin Simek,
Abram de Swaan,
Jan Vrijman,
Maarten van Rossem.

Shrink Rap Radio and the Prison Psychologist

The last interview Dr. David van Nuys did on Shrink Rap Radio was with Dr. Dana Houck. (And it needs to be said Dana is a man) Dana Houck has left his work in the Prison System, but he speaks with Dr. Dave about the ten year career he had as a prison therapist.

Houck invested his time in doing dream work with the inmates and he successfully managed to set up groups in which the convicts discussed their dreams. In addition he let them work with myths, legends and fairy tales. Houck could report some beautiful cases of prisoners opening up and gaining insight through his methods. He also did some counting and thinks the men he had in therapy had a strongly reduced chance of recidivism. Yet, he eventually left the system, becasue he was not allowed to continue working with his familiar methods, but rather had to follow the methods prescribed by the management.

The interview gets particularly interesting and surprising when Houck relates his explanation of the tale of the Three Little Pigs. He hastens to say that this is not exactly 'The Disney Version'. Not only are there some apparently unsavory elements cut from the story, but also, the deeper meaning is about integrating the shadow side of man into his whole person. For his detainees, as much as for anybody else, I venture, this is a valuable lesson. It is a typical example of what outstanding quality Dr. Dave can extract from these interviews.

More Shrink Rap Radio:
The humane working place,
Nirvana and the Brain,
Psychoanalysis - Shrink Rap radio review,
Conscious Living,
The Happiness Hypothesis.

Invisible Hand Economics - podcast review

Professor Deepak Lal's lecture at the RSA (University channel podcast on August 8) bears in the title his defense for an old-fashioned idea of economic policy: the policy of the invisible hand. For some it may be very unexpected to have classical liberalism be defended in this day and age. I was surely eager to find out myself.

In many ways, Lal did not make a real case for liberalism in his lecture. The lecture was very valuable, but rather than making a normative point as expected, it was much more descriptive. The resulting historical analysis of capitalism and global economy was very instructive. The fact that Dr. Lal applauds all these developments, is tangible, but no so explicit.

The best explication he makes, nevertheless, but his case comes up only by the question and answer section in the end. This is not always the best part of UChannel lectures, but this is one to stay around for. Lal tackles the qualms of moderate, modern, non-liberal economy with the example of child labor, which, as you can see in a previous lecture on UChannel, would normally serve as the case against all out capitalism. His example is that of a factory in Bangladesh that extensively employs young girls. When modern requirements in the Supply Chain come into effect, this factory must lay off the girls, lest it loses its 'free of child labor' certificate.

Lal says: 'Child labor is a symptom of poverty. If standards of living sufficiently rise, the families will no longer send their girls out to work.' If you close their way in the official economy, like in the Bengal example, the next day they are on the street and will work in the unofficial economy (read: they will work in prostitution). Thus he shows a point also made by Thomas Barnett (earlier on UChannel) that nothing is achieved by imposing our standards on the developing countries. You cannot solve the problem by suppressing the symptoms. That I can understand, but I'd love to see another lecture from Lal, or anybody else, how the invisible hand can take these girls out of the factory to school.

More UChannel:
The Second World,
Repairing Failed States,
The Collapse (Republicans and America),
New Map for the Pentagon,
Slavery and the Supply Chain.

Cyber Culture - lecture podcast review

Berkeley's Practice of Art 23AC Foundations of American Cyber-Culture is a fascinating lecture series, but if it so far has taught me what American Cyber-Culture is, it did so more by showing than by explanation. I was expecting something of a distant academic course, but up to this point rather have the feeling of observing some of this culture.

The good thing is that this makes for an engaging podcast and another good thing is that it has a certain entertaining value. The lecturer, Joseph Donald McKay, is endearing, funny and authoritative at the same time. He used a good amount of time to properly explain some of the more complicated technical stuff as well as give an historical perspective at certain subjects.

However, what remains rather vague, even after 5 lectures, is where this series is going. What is McKay trying to achieve? It doesn't help that he refers to no small amount of visuals and the lecture doesn't feel to be very structured. If it is, nonetheless, the structure doesn't catch the podcast listener. So what remains is to bear with him and experience whatever he comes up with. Then, you can pick out, whatever you need, or like. Isn't that what cyber-culture is all about?

More Cyber Space:
Cyber Rules,
Cyber sexuality.

De krijger en de zwever - Veertien Achttien

Tom Tackens historische podcast - Veertien Achttien - ligt keurig op schema. Ieder weekend blijft hij met een nieuwe aflevering komen in de 228 delige serie. Elke week is er een nieuwe biografie, een nieuw puzzelstukje om het enorme verhaal van de oorlog van '14-'18 in beeld te brengen, een klankbeeld dan wel.

Zoals ik al eerder schreef, Tacken levert in deze serie een prachtige prestatie. Iedereen die hem pas nu ontdekt kan ik aanbevelen om gewoon bij de eerste aflevering te beginnen. En als je er geen genoeg van kan krijgen, luister dan ook eens naar de andere podcast van Tacken: Sterke Geschiedenis.

De aflevering deze week gaat over de Duitse generaal Von Moltke, die het offensief tegen de Fransen in 1914 leidt en ondanks de successen er niet in slaagt om het westfront te breken, waarna hij vervangen wordt. Tom Tackens verhaal over Von Moltke gaat veel minder over het aangepaste Von Schlieffenplan dat hij op de kaart zette, dat is twee weken geleden met Von Kluck al aan de orde geweest. Tacken brengt Von Moltke, de mens, voor het voetlicht en komt op die manier terecht bij de New Age zweverigheid die honderd jaar geleden ook al opgeld deed. Ongewoon voor een militair? In ieder geval wel een realistisch facet van de wereld van 1914.

Meer Veertien Achttien:
Joseph Gallieni,
Alexander von Kluck,
Alexander Samsonov,
Dicke Bertha; Bertha Krupp,
Veertien Achttien.