Here are a few more thoughts on new words gleaned from life online — gathered at a Berkman Center conference on The Future of the Internet!

Josh Marshall (credit: NY Times)

Joshua Micah Marshall, who founded the influential site Talking Points Memo discusses the term “blogger”, a now old neologism that may have outgrown its usefulness, at least to him!
Click here: (2:30 minutes) to listen. And let us know if you agree!

Ethan Zuckerman (credit: Esther Dyson)

Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices waxes lyrical on the term homophily, which isn’t actually a web word, but it’s a phenomenon playing itself out on the Internet. Click here for clarification!
(2:20 minutes)

Judith Donath

Have you “friended” someone recently? Have you ever? Sooner or later, we’ll all start to friend, or be friended, if we are to inhabit the jolly online world of social networking. MIT Media Lab’s Judith Donath explains….
Click here: (4:17 minutes)

And there’s more!!!

For more neologisms from the world of the web, check out this post! It features brief interviews with Esther Dyson, Jimmy Wales and Tim Wu…

Berkman Center

Neologisms are defined as new words or phrases (or new uses of a word or phrase). And what better place to find them than at a gathering of netizens (itself a neologism) steeped in the new world of the “net”. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society, at Harvard, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, and ThoughtCast was there, fishing for novelty…

The Catch:

Esther Dyson

Internet guru Esther Dyson came up with an expression I’d never heard before… Have you? Here’s a clue: what does Google have to do with your refrigerator??!!
Click here: (1 minute) to find out!

Jimmy Wales

Jimmy Wales, the founder of the free online encylopedia Wikipedia, shares his thoughts on the power of one incredibly successful neologism - that amazing name! Wikipedia is a name he’s “stuck with” — in a good way, of course!
Click here: to listen. (2:13 minutes) And hear what else “Jimbo” had to say that day, to the Chronicle of Higher Education!

Tim Wu

The term network neutrality was the brainchild of Tim Wu of Columbia Law School. So what does this term mean, and what power does it have?
Click here: (2:23 minutes)

And there’s more…

For more neologisms from the world of the web, check out this post! It features brief interviews with MIT Media Lab’s Judith Donath, Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices, and Joshua Micah Marshall, of Talking Points Memo!

 

 Niall Ferguson [15:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Niall Ferguson

In some ways, the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson is the Russell Crowe of the academic world: charismatic, unconventional, and definitely controversial. He’s also a big fan of the British Empire — and wants the United States to follow in its footsteps. That means it’s our job to form colonies in hot climates, for years on end.
Are we up for this? While Niall would like that to be the case, he doesn’t really think so, because, he says, we’re an empire “in denial” …


Click here: to listen to a 4 minute excerpt.
Click here: to listen to the entire interview (15:30 minutes).

And to listen to an interview with Niall Ferguson on the WGBH Forum Network, click here!

 

 Steve Reich [7:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Borromeo String Quartet (photo by Christian Steiner)

Steve Reich is perhaps the preeminent composer living today. And one of his most heart-wrenching and affecting works is called Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape. It tells the story of Steve Reich’s early childhood — his train trips between the East and West coasts to visit his separated parents — and also of the train trips Jews were forced to take during the Holocaust.
The piece, commissioned by the Kronos Quartet in 1988, is notoriously difficult to play. But the Borromeo String Quartet has recently taken up the challenge. ThoughtCast’s Jenny Attiyeh attended a rehearsal at the New England Conservatory, where the Borromeo is currently in residence.
Click here: to listen — (7 minutes) on ThoughtCast!

Click here: for a shorter version (4:30 mins.)

 

 The origins of "rock" [3:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Why Not?

What does the word rock mean? Simple enough question. But how did the term originate? Where — and why? These questions are bit more difficult to answer!
Tune in for a quick romp through the origins of the word — with Berklee College of Music professor Ken Zambello. (And thanks to Pam Scrutton and Planning For Elders for the “Let’s Rock and Roll” illustration!)
Click here: to listen — (3:40 minutes) on ThoughtCast!

 

 Alan Lightman [28:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, the Cape and Islands affiliate of WGBH.

Alan Lightman

Alan Lightman, the MIT physicist and best-selling author of Einstein’s Dreams, is a man of unusual ability. Talented in both the sciences and the arts, he’s both left- and right-brained, a condition that confers challenges as well as benefits.
Lightman has recently come out with a new book which explores these two realms - and it’s called Ghost! It deals with the permeable boundary between hard science and the paranormal — and asks, where does science fail us, and what, if anything, can take its place? Does mystery take over? And can it step in where science falls short?
Click here: to listen (28:30 minutes) on ThoughtCast!

And to listen Alan Lightman on WGBH’s Forum Network, click here — and here!

 

 Natalie Goldberg [29:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, the Cape and Islands affiliate of WGBH.

Natalie Goldberg (self-portrait)

Natalie Goldberg, the well-known painter, writer and writing teacher, who wrote the best-seller on how to write called Writing Down the Bones, is also a Zen practitioner, who applies the lessons of Zen Buddhism to her writing, and her life.
This is a complex brew, but in this ThoughtCast interview, which took place in her home, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Natalie speaks frankly about her often painful but also at times transcendent experiences, and how she has turned these experiences into positive, life-affirming acts of self-expression — and of art.

Natalie paints her father

Natalie seeks the truth, about herself, her father (the charismatic Ben Goldberg), her Zen teacher Katagiri Roshi, and the swirling world around her. As those who know her will attest, Natalie’s quest has been a fruitful one. She’s the author of many books, including the novel, Banana Rose, and the memoirs Long Quiet Highway and The Great Failure, among many others.
Click here: to listen to our interview. (30 minutes)

El Rito, New Mexico

Natalie Goldberg is also featured in the documentary Tangled up in Bob: Searching for Bob Dylan, in which she ventures to his hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, in search of - once more - the truth. At the moment, Natalie is at work on a new book, called “Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir”, which will be published in February of 2008.
Click here: to listen to Natalie Goldberg read an excerpt (about her parents’ visit to Santa Fe) from “The Great Failure”. (4 1/2 minutes)

 

 Jack Beatty [28:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Public — Or Private?

Who are our public intellectuals today? What purpose are they meant to serve, and are they in fact serving it — or us? How public are they, and how accountable? Is there a venue for such people to even be heard — and if so, who would bother to listen? Are they no better than the talking heads we see endlessly on TV, or are they some newfangled model of the Renaissance Man?
Well, ThoughtCast has tracked down one bona fide public intellectual. His name is Jack Beatty, and he’s not only a “thinker”, he’s also a writer. His most recent book is Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America, 1865 - 1900. He’s also a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly, and a regular contributor to the NPR program On Point. Let’s see if he has some answers…

Click here: to listen. (28 minutes)

 

 Alex Vilenkin [29:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: this program was broadcast on WGBH’s sister stations WCAI & WNAN, on Sept. 9, 2007.

Alex Vilenkin

Want to know how the world is going to end? Just ask Russian cosmologist Alex Vilenkin. If it’s our own universe you’re talking about, well, it’s called the big crunch, and it’s going to be hot hot hot! But if it’s the multiverse, that infinitely expanding, infinitely varied and infinitely populated sea of universes, well, guess what — there is no end. Isn’t that reassuring??
Vilenkin is Professor of Physics and Director of the Institute of Cosmology at Tufts University, and also the author of a new book, called Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes. He’s also a former zookeeper. And - lest I forget - he was blacklisted by the KGB…
Click here: to listen. (29:45 minutes)

 

 Jay Allison [28:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: this program was broadcast on WGBH’s sister stations WCAI & WNAN, on Sept. 9, 2007.

Jay Allison

Jay Allison has egalitarian instincts. He’s a maverick, who’s made it his mission to put the “public” back into public media. As an independent producer of stellar public radio - and television - Jay’s been able to work outside the system, and then change the system. Take This I Believe for example. Jay’s the man behind this series of audio essays, written and performed by a wide variety of Americans, ranging from the well-known to the unknown. As Jay says in this ThoughtCast interview, their sincerity and lack of skepticism make them almost the antithesis of “journalism” — and yet there they are, on NPR.
Click here: to listen. (28 minutes)

Jay Allison and Mark Kramer

Jay Allison is also a contributor to Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide, a selection of essays from Harvard’s Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism, and edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call. At the Harvard Book Store recently, Allison and Kramer banded together to tell a few stories of their own about authenticity, the narrative voice and the gruelling process of authorship.
Click here: to listen. (55 minutes)

 

 Standard Podcast [28:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: This interview was broadcast on WGBH radio, on “Arts and Ideas.” Click here for details.

Megan Marshall

Author Megan Marshall has recently written a well-received biography of the three Peabody sisters - Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia - who were key players in the founding of the Transcendentalist movement in the early to mid 19th century.

Elizabeth, the oldest, was intellectually precocious, learning Hebrew as a child so she could read the Old Testament. Mary was the middle sister, somewhat subdued by the dominant - and bossy - qualities of Elizabeth, and by the attention paid to the youngest, Sophia, who was practically an invalid. Nonetheless, Mary managed to become a teacher, writer and reformer. Sophia, beset by devastating migraines, spent most of her early years in bed. But when she had the strength, she painted. In an interview with ThoughtCast, Megan Marshall continues the tale…

Click here to listen to a lecture by Megan Marshall on the Peabody sisters on the WGBH Forum Network.

 

 Alan Dershowitz [29:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: this interview was rebroadcast Jan. 21 at 10 pm on WGBH.
It has also aired on WCAI/WNAN, WNED, KXOT and KYOU.

Alan Dershowitz

The controversial Harvard Law professor, author and celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz talks with ThoughtCast about his latest book, “Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways”, as well as his views on the Israeli-Palestinian-Hezbollah conflict, torture, human rights and our ‘war on terror.’ His premise: the world has changed, and international law must change with it. We need more tools, he argues, in the fight against terror networks whose recruits hold no fear of death or retribution.

Note: Although the subjects we discuss are controversial, my goal is not to argue with Alan, but to find out what he’s thinking. My hope is that our conversation will provoke further discussion on these hot-button issues.

Click here: (30 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Click here: to listen to the hour-long version.

And click here to listen to Dershowitz debate Harvey Silverglate on ‘civil liberties’ on the WGBH Forum Network.

Please join the conversation by leaving a comment!

 

 Standard Podcast [28:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

WGBH broadcast this ThoughtCast interview on Arts and Ideas, and also features it on their “Science Luminaries” series, as part of “WGBH Science City.”

Lisa Randall

Professor Randall is a theoretical particle physicist who sees past the rest of us to a world of extra dimensions and parallel universes. Hers is a world of warped geometry, sink-holes and branes — a world that fills glaring gaps in current thinking, and can finally explain why gravity is so ‘weak’!

Now while this might sound like so much Greek — just wait. Randall’s latest book, written for the layman, is called “Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions” — so she’s had plenty of practice explaining these high-flying ideas to English majors.

Click here to listen to Lisa Randall’s lecture at IDEAS Boston on the WGBH Forum Network.

 

 Anthony Appiah [41:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, an affiliate of WGBH, Boston.

Kwame Anthony Appiah
(Photo: Greg Martin)

Princeton Philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses cosmopolitanism on ThoughtCast!
Born in England and raised in Ghana, Appiah is half English and half African. And perhaps because of this, he’s fascinated with the concept of identity, and the power it wields over people. But rather than wage identity politics, Appiah encourages us instead to be good global citizens, interested in and accepting of each other. In short, cosmopolitan. But also, at least a little bit “contaminated”… Appiah’s written a book on the subject: it’s called Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers.

Click here: to listen. (42 minutes)

 

 Marc Hauser [17:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, an affiliate of WGBH, Boston.

Marc Hauser
(Photo: Lilan Hauser)

The provocative Harvard psychologist Marc Hauser recently spoke about “The Evolution of Our Moral Intuitions” at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, as part of the Cambridge Science Festival.
This ThoughtCast interview with Hauser serves as a good “first course” — but to get to the meat and potatoes, check out his book Moral Minds.
Note: This interview is featured on WGBH’s Science Luminaries series, as part of WGBH Science City.
Click here: to listen. (17:40 minutes)

 

 Doc Searls [9:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Doc Searls

Say the word “Doc” and the technorati cognoscenti know exactly who you’re talking about. Doc Searls is the well-known blogger and co-author of the prescient “Cluetrain Manifesto,” which explains how the Internet has transformed corporate marketing. He’s also the senior editor of Linux Journal, and a fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard. During the recent Integrated Media Association conference, Doc sat down with ThoughtCast for a few questions…
Click here: to listen (10 minutes)

 

 Henry Jenkins [8:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Henry Jenkins

Henry Jenkins, director of MIT’s Comparative Media Studies program, talks with ThoughtCast about the path from “participatory culture” to “participatory democracy.” He was the keynote speaker for this year’s Beyond Broadcast conference, held at MIT. He’s also an author, blogger and pop culture fan.
Click here: to listen to the interview (8:12 minutes)
And now, for extra credit, to listen to Jenkins’ thoughts on the “moral economy”… (5:12 minutes) CLICK HERE!

To listen to a discussion with Henry Jenkins on “The Economics of Open Content” on the WGBH Forum Network, click here.

 

 Paul Brannan [8:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Paul Brannan

Paul Brannan, the Deputy Editor of BBC News Interactive, offers a candid assessment of the state of public broadcasting here in the US - and back home in London. It seems the BBC’s way ahead of us, as Paul, who spoke at the 2007 Integrated Media Association Conference here, explains. He’s an evangelist for “integrated media” and knows from hard experience what that abstract phrase actually means.
Click here: to listen to the interview (8.5 minutes).

Sue Gardner

Across the pond in Canada, Sue Gardner is the Senior Director of CBC.CA, the website of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She shared the podium with Paul at the conference, and offers her views on ThoughtCast about how to remain “relevant” in today’s evolving media marketplace — in other words, how to broaden the appeal of public broadcasting without “dumbing down”!
Click here: to listen to the interview (6 minutes).

To listen to a discussion on “Open Content and Public Broadcasting”  on the WGBH Forum Network, click here.

 

 Doug Kaye [4:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Doug Kaye

Doug Kaye, who spoke at the 2007 Integrated Media Association conference, is the co-founder of the pioneering podcast on information technology called IT Conversations, the CTO of GigaVox Media, and the CEO of the Conversations Network. But Doug is hardly resting on his laurels, as you’ll hear in this ThoughtCast interview. (Oh yeah, he blogs and writes books too!)
Click here: to listen (4 minutes)

P.S… photo credit goes to Chris Pirillo!

WNYC Radio’s Bill Swersey led a working group at the conference called “Public Radio and Open Source,” which came up with the idea for a watering hole (pubforge.org) where open source developers for public media can discuss problems and share solutions. Swersey speaks with ThoughtCast about the meaning of “open source” and the challenges public broadcasters face in adjusting to the new world of “pubmedia” on the web!
Click here: to listen to the interview (4:40 minutes).

 

 Henry Becton [13:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Henry Becton (courtesy WGBH)

WGBH President Henry Becton inaugurated the 2007 Integrated Media Association conference with a talk on the strengths and weaknesses of public broadcasting today. He speaks with ThoughtCast about the definition - and purpose - of public broadcasting, and how it’s responding to the pressing realities of the new online media landscape.
Click here: to listen to the interview (13 1/2 minutes)

Some mildly subversive questions to think about: Are all the old parameters out? Need only revolutionaries apply? What’s worth saving, indeed savoring, from the MSM? And what does traditional media do that the newcomers can’t? Will anyone miss the good ol’ days once they’re gone?

To listen to a discussion on “Open Content and Public Broadcasting” with Henry Becton on the WGBH Forum Network, click here.

 

 Standard Podcast [1:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hmmm…

Number 1:
How integrated is your media?
Number 2:
Is there anything about the way media is being integrated today that concerns you?
The answers?
Here are the first 8 of 17, all recorded at the 2007 IMA conference in Boston.

Click here: for NPR’s Andy Carvin and KQED’s Tim Olson (1:44 minutes).

Click here: for WBUR’s Anna Bensted, Michael Skoler of American Public Media, and The News Hour’s Lee Banville (2:34 minutes).

Click here: for American Public Media’s Mike Bettison, VPR’s Jodi Evans, and Daniel Ash, of Chicago Public Radio (2:05 minutes).

To listen to a discussion on “Open Content and Public Broadcasting” with Andy Carvin on the WGBH Forum Network, click here.

 

 Standard Podcast [1:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There’s more…

Click here: for CPB’s Sondra Russell, WGBH’s Ron Bachman and Chad Davis of KNME. (1:53 minutes).
Click here: for Adam Rubin of Public Interactive, NHPR’s Jon Greenberg and Patrick Foster with Public Broadcasting Atlanta. (1:27 minutes).
Click here: for Adrianne Mathiowetz of PRX, KUOW’s Elizabeth Hovantz and Julia Schrenkler with MPR. (1:46 minutes).

Annually, public radio programmers from across the nation (and overseas) gather to talk shop. This year, the mood at the Public Radio Program Directors Association conference in Philadelphia was one of concern. With many listeners newly entranced by the gadgets and gizmos of the 21st century — podcasts, blogs, satellite radio, streaming audio — it all adds up to one intimidating fact: the consumers of today’s ‘content’ want it on their terms. And the old guard of public radio now realizes it has some catching up to do. But therein lies the opportunity, and the reason why many of the more adventuresome attendees had a spring in their step.

For starters, here’s Jay Kernis, the senior VP of programming at National Public Radio:
Click here: (9 1/2 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Also in attendance was a contingent of BBC World Service cognoscenti, who brought their own brand of blunt charm to the affair. Key among the charmers was Phil Harding, director of English Network and News.
Click here: (7 minutes) to listen to the interview.

But with Elisabeth Perez-Luna in attendance, the Americans were able to hold their own. Currently, she’s the news director and the executive producer of national radio programming at WHYY:
Click here: (12 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Scroll down for more ThoughtCast interviews with WUNC’s George Boosey, Nikki Shields of Maine Public Radio, Michael Arnold of PRI, the BBC’s Liliane Landor, On Point’s Karen Shiffman, Eric Nuzum of NPR, Iowa Public Radio’s Todd Mundt, Jackie Sauter with NCPR, MPR’s Andrew Haeg, Maria Thomas of NPR and Lucio Mesquita of the BBC.

Note: to read a PRX review of my interview with Jackie Sauter (part 4) click here:

This is a continuing series of ThoughtCast interviews conducted at the Public Radio Program Directors conference in Philadelphia.

Liliane Landor is the commanding editor of news and current affairs at the BBC World Service. And as a member of the BBC’s Creative Future for journalism team, she’s already devoted a good deal of time to the questions bedevilling public broadcasting. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why she has some tough comments to make about public broadcasting here in America…
Click here: (6 1/2 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Eric Nuzum is NPR’s refreshing, colorful director of programming and acquisitions. We spoke in an exceedingly noisy room, so this interview is short and loud. If it leaves you hungry for more, try this.
Click here: (2 1/2 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Karen Shiffman is senior associate producer for On Point, the smart, approachable NPR program hosted by Tom Ashbrook and produced at WBUR in Boston. She gives us a glimpse of its inner workings.
Click here: (5 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Click here for part 1 featuring the BBC’s Phil Harding, WHYY’s Elisabeth Perez-Luna and Jay Kernis, a senior veep at NPR.
Click here for part 2 with Michael Arnold of PRI, MPBN’s Nikki Shields and WUNC’s George Boosey.
Click here for part 4 with Iowa Pubic Radio’s Todd Mundt, Jackie Sauter with NCPR and Andrew Haeg of MPR.
Click here for part 5 with Maria Thomas of NPR and Lucio Mesquita of the BBC.

This is the final series of ThoughtCast interviews conducted at the Public Radio Program Directors conference in Philadelphia.

Maria Thomas is the VP and general manager of NPR digital media. As such, she oversees the development and distribution of NPR content to the Internet, mobile phones and the like. Need I say more?
Click here: (3 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Lucio Mesquita is the head of the Americas and Europe for the BBC World Service. He is thoughtful, almost philosophical, and in this interview he takes me to task for my quest for ‘purity’ in public broadcasting. He also discusses opera, soap opera, Shakespeare, silent movies, and of course, the BBC! I had to save the last word of my ‘Future of Public Radio’ series for Lucio.
Click here: (11:30 minutes) to listen to the interview.

Click here for part 1 featuring the BBC’s Phil Harding, WHYY’s Elisabeth Perez-Luna and Jay Kernis, a senior veep at NPR.
Click here for part 2 with Michael Arnold of PRI, MPBN’s Nikki Shields and WUNC’s George Boosey.
Click here for part 3 with the BBC’s Liliane Landor, On Point’s Karen Shiffman and Eric Nuzum of NPR.
Click here for part 4 with Iowa Pubic Radio’s Todd Mundt, Jackie Sauter with NCPR and Andrew Haeg of MPR.

 

 Standard Podcast [7:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Branching Out

I attended the Beyond Broadcast conference at Harvard Law School May 12th and and 13th and here are some of the participants I grabbed for a quick ThoughtCast interview: For starters, there’s Pat Aufderheide, the director of the Center for Social Media, and a professor at the School of Communication at American University, in Washington, D.C.
Click here: (7 minutes)

And click here to listen to the Beyond Broadcast conference hightlights on the WGBH Forum Network.

And there’s more:

Terry Heaton, president of Donata™ Communications
Jamie Biggar, with WGBH Interactive
Dan Fellini, managing producer, Public Interactive
Donna Liu, Founder of The University Channel
John Lester, the Second Life guru of Linden Lab
Mark Anderson, who covered the conference for Wired.com

more…

 

 Standard Podcast [29:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: this program was broadcast on KYOU, open source radio. Check it out!
Three Internet gurus talk with ThoughtCast about the “social architecture” of the web, and how it might bring people together, and/or pull them apart! The four of us spoke following a daylong conference on the subject.

David Weinberger is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, as well as the man behind Joho the Blog. He is also the author of “Small Pieces, Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web” and “The Cluetrain Manifesto,” and is currently working on a new book, “Everything is Miscellaneous.”

Chris Nolan, an independent, online journalist, is a former member of the mainstream media, and is known to have coined the phrase “stand alone journalism.” As the founder of Spot-on, a web site featuring diverse voices across the political spectrum, she embodies this practise of “stand alone” independent journalism on the web.

Stowe Boyd is president and chief operating officer of Corante, a new media company devoted to promoting social software on the web. A self-described “media subversive,” Stowe also pens the blog Get Real on Corante, in addition to his personal blog, A Working Model.
And there’s more: Corante has recently launched Corante Hubs and the related Corante Network.

coranteSSA

 

 Alberto Alesina [27:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Alberto Alesina

Whither the European Union? This is not a question we (in America) often ask ourselves. But perhaps we should. As we now live in an era of borderless commerce - and threats - it might be wise for us to know a bit more about how our key ally, Europe, is faring. Is the EU more than just a powerful economic bloc? Does it have political clout as well? What about a common foreign policy, and the means to back it up?
Harvard economist Alberto Alesina has devoted himself to these questions. In a book he co-authored with Francesco Giavazzi, he asks: The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline??
Click here: to listen. (27 minutes)

 

 Amartya Sen [28:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: this interview was broadcast Jan. 21 at 10:30 pm on WGBH.
To read a review of this program, click here:

Amartya Sen

Amartya Sen, the distinguished economist, philosopher, Nobel laureate and Harvard professor, talks with ThoughtCast about “Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny.”
This new book examines the unfortunate connection between violence and our tendency to identify with one key trait — our ethnicity, or religion, for example — to the exclusion of all others. Sen argues that we can combat this tendency by rejecting this narrowly defined, limited sense of identity, and embracing a broader, richer and more complex understanding of ourselves.
Amartya Sen was born in West Bengal, India (now Bangladesh) and teaches economics at Harvard University. He is known in the wider world for his work on the causes of famines.
Note: Susan Wennemyr served as associate producer on this program.

To listen to a panel on “Combating Global Poverty” that includes Sen, click here to access WGBH’s Forum Network.

 

 Standard Podcast [28:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Simon Blackburn

Simon Blackburn is the Cambridge University philosopher and author, most recently, of “Truth: A Guide.” Blackburn has also penned the well-regarded (and best-selling) books “Think” and “Being Good.” And he’s also responsible for “The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy,” and a text called “Lust”!! Tune in to hear his talk with ThoughtCast about why philosophy is good - and bad - for us, what’s wrong with the United States (government) and how the concept of “democracy” isn’t quite as marvellous as we tend to think!

Coming up: Simon Blackburn’s talk at the Harvard Book Store.

 

 Standard Podcast [30:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Note: