Heads-up for 29 August 2010

Speaking of Faith
This weekend a rerun of The meaning of Intelligence: An expansive reflection on the meaning of intelligence with author and educator Mike Rose. We explore his perspective on hard subjects that drive to the heart of who we are as individuals, families, and a nation -- literacy, schooling, social class, and the deepest meaning of vocation.
(my review, feed)

Tapestry
Today a rerun of Fear: Mary Hynes talks to Rabbi Harold Kushner about his new book, Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World, published by Knopf. Some of our CBC colleagues shared their deepest fears with us; we played them for Rabbi Kushner, who offered a little advice. Harold Kushner is Rabbi Laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts and has written ten books, including the best-seller When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
(my review, feed)

Stone Pages Archaeo News
Archaeo News Podcast 174
(review, feed)

New Books In History
Valerie Hébert: Hitler’s Generals on Trial: The Last War Crimes Tribunal at Nuremberg
(review, feed)

Big Ideas
A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink: Lawyers. Accountants. Computer programmers. That’s what our parents encouraged us to become when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind. The era of “left brain” dominance, and the Information Age that it engendered, are giving way to a new world in which “right brain” qualities-inventiveness, empathy, meaning-predominate. That’s the argument at the center of this provocative and original book, which uses the two sides of our brains as a metaphor for understanding the contours of our times.
(review, feed)

Veertien Achttien
Julien Lahaut: Bekend is Julien Lahaut van zijn gewelddadige dood en zijn vermeende schoffering van de nieuwe koning Boudewijn die daar in het Belgische parlement aan vooraf zou zijn gegaan. Maar Lahaut maakte tijdens de Grote Oorlog ook deel uit van het ACM, een Belgische eenheid van pantserauto's die de tsaar een handje kwam helpen en de aarde zou ronden.
(review, feed)

Het Marathon Interview (VPRO)
Frits Staal: Op 11 september 1992 schoven Max Pam en Frits Staal aan voor een gesprek dat maar liefst vijf uur zou gaan duren. De hoogleraar Algemene en Vergelijkende Filosofie werd in de jaren zestig bekend met zijn artikel 'Zinvolle en zinloze filosofie' in De Gids. Daarin hecht hij weinig waarde aan (filosofische) uitspraken die niet te verifiëren zijn. Luistert u hier naar een uiterst helder gesprek tussen Max Pam en Frits Staal.
(review, feed)

Philosophy Bites
Joshua Knobe on Experimental Philosophy: Many people think that the idea of experiments in philosophy is a contradiction. Joshua Knobe disagrees. He is at the forefront of a new movement known as Experimental Philosophy. David Edmonds interviews him in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast.
(review, feed)

The ultimate history lecture podcast is back. Berkeley's History 5 with Thomas Laqueur. (audio feed, video feed) Review: previous post today

Berkeley History 5 by Thomas Laqueur

History podcasts are my favorite among podcasts - of all the podcasts I have reviewed they make up some 30% and of all the reviews over 45%. History lecture podcasts from great universities represent the highest quality you can get in this genre. I am very excited that the very first of those, Berkeley's History 5 is back after having been away for two years. History 5 was the podcast that opened up history podcasts for me and university lecture podcasts as well. (feed)

This semester History 5 will be taught by Professor Thomas Laqueur, who was also the professor in that old 2006 series that not only marked for me the beginning of listening to podcasts and by extension the birth of this blog, but also podcast that set the standard for history podcasts and, for me, has remained to do so. History 5 not only gives European History from 1450 to 1989, it also gives a great interpretation to it. With this course you will get the narrative and at the same time learn to analyze history. When Thomas Laqueur shows Raphael's picture The school of Athens at the first lecture, he reveals that the original is to be found at the Vatican and he asks: 'Isn't that kind of odd?' History 5 is the kind of course that teaches you the capacity for historical analysis that makes you immediately utter exactly such a question. And that is why I love History 5 and love to recommend it.

While listening you can imagine the pictures Laqueur shows, but if you do not wish to miss out on them, you can choose to subscribe to the feed with slides which technically is a video podcast. It is however no video of the lecture, it is the audio delivered while showing the slides from the lecture power point, which in my opinion is about as good as it gets. If you have never heard History 5, this is a must take. Laqueur's voice may take some getting used to. He occasionally gets stuck in his own words, but there is eventually no harm in that. And the sheer depth and quality of the lecture makes up for it completely.

Previously on History 5:
History 5 by Carla Hesse,
History 5 by Margaret Anderson,
History 5 by Thomas Laqueur.

Copper to Bronze to Iron Age - History of Iran

Today we will have two similar posts. They will both point to a podcast about ancient history and both these podcasts will teach something fascinating about ancient technologies (writing, metal working and more) even if both podcasts intend to actually talk about some other subject and bring these early technologies only up as an aside. Here is the second post.

I think I read somewhere that Professor Richard Bulliet is not just a specialist in the history of Iran. Take the early lecture of his history of Iran taught at Columbia University (iTunesU url, iTunesU feed) and you will experience he is also a historian of technology. When he speaks of the early history of Iran, he extensively and very vividly delves into the early technologies.

Right to the fine technical details he explains metal technologies and their development, from copper to the varieties of bronze to iron. Next he brings the development of the wheel to life. This is not just about round, rolling things, this is about axles, about the connection between the wheel and the axle. About number of wheels, about beasts of burden, about roads and only much much later wheelbarrows. This is not just enlightening for the background of Iran's history, this is fantastic world history.

When Akkadian was Lingua Franca - NBIH

Today we will have two similar posts. They will both point to a podcast about ancient history and both these podcasts will teach something fascinating about ancient technologies (writing, metal working and more) even if both podcasts intend to actually talk about some other subject and bring these early technologies only up as an aside. Here is the first.

New Books In History had Amanda Podany on the show to talk about her book Brotherhood of Kings. This is an amazing study about the diplomatic system in the near-East in pre-Hellenic ancient times. It turns out that Mesopotamia and Egypt had full fledged diplomatic traffic that looks more like the 19th century international system than what you'd associate with the second millennium BCE. To give one amazing fact: the diplomatic language was Akkadian and the system was assuming equality between the players. Even the mighty deified pharaohs of Egypt submitted to this.

I was struck by the technology item in this conversation. Host Marshall Poe and Ms Podany discuss at length the intricacies of the cuneiform writing system and this I found truly mind-boggling. You really get a lifelike grip on how the scribes learned the art of writing. How they must have struggled with the stylos and the clay, with the texts, with the dictation and obviously with the languages and the translations. You have to hear for yourself.

More NBIH:
The 1910 Paris flood,
Stasi agents and informants,
War in Human Civilization,
Always recommended: New Books in History,
The best varied history podcast,

Watch out with the flour - Making History

Making History with Ran Levi (עושים היסטוריה! עם רן לוי) will have a live meeting on 31 August which I hope to be visiting as well. In the mean time let's discuss the latest show. (feed)

Levi delivered the history of explosives which goes from gunpowder, through dynamite, TNT to the latest stuff. Apart from the stories about the discoveries, Levi makes sure one is also amply informed about the technicalities of the stuff, of explosions and the two combined.

That combination makes for the title of the show: 'Watch out with the flour, bro!' Once you get the picture how explosives work, you understand how explosions can occur also in situation where it is not intended or even suspected. In an innocent flour factory you can have such a critical situation. Be careful and maybe we meet on the 31st.

More Making History with Ran Levi:
SciFi and realism,
The history of Anesthetics,
Social Engineering for hackers,
Ran Levi, then, now and about the Long Now,
Of nightmares and sleepwalking,

Wachtkamer van de dood - Anne-Mei The

Aan het einde van de uitzending schiet Martin Simeks gemoed vol. Het hele uur heeft hij zich goed gehouden, maar aan het eind wordt het hem teveel. Zijn gast is Anne-Mei The, cultureel antropologe, die komt vertellen over haar participerend onderzoek in verpleegtehuizen. Het gaat over de instituten, het personeel en natuurlijk de dementerende bewoners.

Ze heeft haar boek In de Wachtkamer van de Dood genoemd en dat, verklaart Simek, vindt hij wel erg cru. Maar dat is de realiteit en het is The er niet om te doen geweest om dat te beoordelen, maar eenvoudig te beschrijven. En daar gaat het dan dus over: hoe de dementen wachten op hun dood en hoe ze behandeld worden. Wat Simek zo emotioneert is hoe overgeleverd ze zijn en hoe weinig ze eigenlijk krijgen en hij realiseert zich hoe dichtbij het is, als niet voor je geliefden dan voor jezelf.

Het gesprek vond plaats in juni 2005, toen RVU's Simek 's nachts nog op het hoogtepunt was en het een van de beste Nederlandse podcasts was. De RVU feed biedt deze gouden tijden niet meer aan, maar de feeds die ik gemaakt heb nog wel. Het interview met Anne-Mei The is te vinden in de Huffduffer feed. Verder zijn er nog drie andere feeds Simek1, Simek2, Simek3. Al deze feeds zijn door mij samengesteld dankzij tips van lezers die deze oude afleveringen on-line hebben gevonden. Wie helpt ons aan meer?


Meer Simek 's Nachts:
Pieter Winsemius,
Jan Lenferink,
Sjoerd Kooistra,
Ik ben een geraffineerde vrouw - Naema Tahir,
Fabienne (dochter van Lucia de B).