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Trumix.com : Podcast : Science and Medicine : Science and Medicine

Geek Counterpoint

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Language: English
Category: Science and Medicine / Science and Medicine
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I attempt to provide background on science & technology issues that are poorly-covered (or not covered) by the mainstream media.


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GC061 So long, and thanks for all the fish...
Finis...

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[ Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:26:55 -0600 ]


GC060 Climate Change Impacts
Now that we've gone through the science behind climate change, and knocked down most of the kooks surrounding the issue, it's time to talk about what we're up against. In this episode, I spend a bit under 30 minutes laying out the most likely future impacts of climate change -- and while I wouldn't call it a catastrophe, things don't look too pretty. Since this is the eighth episode in a series, I'd recommend that before listening to this episode, you first listen to episodes 45, 47, 54, 56, 5...

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[ Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:43:14 -0600 ]


GC059 Climate Change Proponents
Since the opponents of the climate change consensus have had their turn, now it's time to give the supporters of the consensus a little working over. Since this is the seventh episode in a series, I'd recommend that before listening to this episode, you first listen to episodes 45, 47, 54, 56, 57, and 58....

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[ Sun, 13 May 2007 12:23:18 -0600 ]


GC058 Swindled!
A couple of Geek Counterpoint listeners (thanks, Travis and Bill!) pointed me to a show recently aired on BBC channel 4 called "The Great Global Warming Swindle." It purports to be a documentary, and is uniformly critical of the science behind climate change and the global warming concensus. It's generated a lot of heat both in British papers and online, and has been accused of playing fast and loose with the truth. Since video of the show is available online on both YouTube and Google video,...

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[ Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:41:05 -0600 ]


GC057 Climate Change: the Skeptics (part 3)
Now that we've simplified things by covering the more common arguments made by climate change skeptics, this episode is devoted to discussing some specific climate change skeptics and their arguments. Since this is the fifth episode in a series, I'd recommend that before listening to this episode, you first listen to episodes 45, 47, 54, and 56. In the next climate episode, it'll be time for some climate change proponents' turn in the barrel....

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[ Mon, 12 Mar 2007 18:23:02 -0600 ]


GC056 Climate Change: the Skeptics (part 2)
A continuation of episode 54's treatment of general points used by climate change skeptics. Since this is the fourth episode in a series, I'd recommend that before listening to this episode, you first listen to episodes 45, 47, and 54....

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[ Wed, 21 Feb 2007 06:33:21 -0700 ]


GC055 Space Weapons
When the Chinese government demolished one of its aging weather satellites a few weeks ago, they did more than just test out a potentially useful technology. They also cluttered up low Earth orbit with a huge amount of debris, and stirred up a comparable amount of controversy in the press. While nobody is yet quite sure what the motivation behind the test was (to send a message to the White House? to start discussions on a new space treaty?), there's been no shortage of speculation on the sub...

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[ Sat, 10 Feb 2007 07:15:31 -0700 ]


GC054 Climate Change: the Skeptics (part 1)
It's taken some time to do a reasonable level of fact checking, but my climate cats have now been successfully herded, so it's (finally!) time for another climate change episode. Since (at least in the media) the discussion over climate change has been boiled down to two "sides," I'll start with the case made by various parties skeptical of the mainstream view. Mind you, as in any argument, a given position is held by a variety of parties -- some sincere and rational, some sincere and irration...

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[ Mon, 22 Jan 2007 11:30:00 -0700 ]


GC053 Sergey Korolyov
Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of a giant of space exploration -- Sergey Korolyov (sometimes also transliterated as Sergei Korolev). For much of the 20th century, Korolyov was the prime driving factor behind the Soviet space program. He led the efforts to launch Sputnik, put Yuri Gagarin into orbit, and hold up the USSR's end of the race to the moon. Yet during Korolyov's life, even his existence was a Soviet state secret -- he was only ever publicly referred to as the "Chief Des...

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[ Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:55:37 -0700 ]


GC052 Antikythera Mechanism
Sure, it's not much to look at -- but this humble lump of corroded bronze completely demolished our previous understanding of the history of mechanical inventions. The Antikythera Mechanism was built late in the 2nd century BC, and is the earliest example ever found of a geared mechanism, but represents a level of mechanical technology not seen again for nearly 2000 years!...

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[ Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:00:00 -0700 ]


GC051 Stardust Preliminary Results
Yes, I know -- I just talked about Stardust in episode 50. But in the meantime, the first batch of preliminary science papers was released on the 15th of December in the journal Science. There's a full set of material available (currently, at least, freely available) on the Science website, but many folks could probably use a bit of help in interpreting the news, and putting it into some sort of context.Tune in this week, and I'll try to explain it all to you. If you're new to the podcast, I'...

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[ Thu, 21 Dec 2006 07:59:48 -0700 ]


GC050 News Grab Bag #5
Yes, it's time for another "grab bag" episode to get everybody caught up on recent and semi-recent developments in topics I've covered in past episodes. This week's fodder includes updates on the following subjects: Mars -- see episode 41 (September 2006) Asteroids and comets and dinosaurs -- see episodes 16, 17 (January 2006), and 24 (April 2006) RFID -- see episode 13 (January 2006) "Intelligent Design" -- see episodes 4 (October 2005), 11 (December 2005), 40 (September 2006)...

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[ Fri, 08 Dec 2006 05:45:00 -0700 ]


GC049 Reactionless Drives
It's the holy grail of flight -- propulsion without the expenditure of reaction mass. A practical reactionless drive system would render wheeled vehicles (flying cars, anyone?), aircraft with wings, and rockets as we know them obsolete. But is it real? Can it ever be real?This episode covers the history of attempts at reactionless drives, and some recent news on a related controversy that "New Scientist" magazine unwittingly stirred up. In a first for this podcast, this episode has been rese...

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[ Wed, 29 Nov 2006 06:05:50 -0700 ]


GC048 A Tale of Two Caves...
I talked at length about the Neanderthals just a few months ago, and then as often seems to happen, a bunch of new Neanderthal news popped up shortly afterwards. Listen in this week, and you'll get caught up with some really interesting recent discoveries on our beetle-browed friends (and relatives?).Before you listen to this episode, I'd recommend you listen to the episodes on Piltdown (#9, 12/2005), Flores Man (#15, 1/2006), and the original Neanderthal episode (#36, 8/2006) first....

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[ Tue, 21 Nov 2006 06:38:26 -0700 ]


GC047 Climate Change and Logical Fallacies
This episode, the second in a series on climate change, is intended to give everybody a little background in logical fallacies. In particular, a number of logical fallacies seem to be particularly prone to use in news reports, political debates, and various pundits' writings on climate change -- so this episode will cover my own "top 10" list of climate change fallacies. With both episode 45 and then this episode under our belt, we'll be ready to start putting all sorts of climate-related argu...

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[ Mon, 13 Nov 2006 06:00:00 -0700 ]


GC046 Flying Aircraft Carriers
A few weeks ago, researchers finished the first exhaustive study performed of the wreck of the USS Macon, a U.S. Navy airship. What's unique about this particular wreck is that the Macon isn't alone on its piece of ocean floor off the California coast -- it's debris also contains the wreckage of four fighter aircraft. The Macon was one of a handful of flying aircraft carriers to have been in operation over the years. In the process of doing some research on the Macon, I discovered that there'...

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[ Wed, 01 Nov 2006 05:36:19 -0700 ]


GC045 Climate Change 101
At least in the U.S. (and judging by material on the net, increasingly in Canada and Australia as well), debate about climate change long ago left the scientific arena, and entered the world of politics. As a result, if you're trying to figure out for yourself where the truth lies, you're confronted with a confusing mess of information -- some of it is scientific, but much of it is pure garbage packaged as science. In the interest of helping people sort out solid science from the deliberate mi...

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[ Tue, 24 Oct 2006 06:29:00 -0600 ]


GC044 The 2006 U.S. National Space Policy document
A few days ago, the White House released an update to the United States' "National Space Policy" document. In a sense, an update is overdue as this document hasn't been tweaked since 1996, when Clinton was president. It's release got a number of folks spun up, labeling the document agressive and unilateral. Some commentators got even more excited, bringing North Korea into their commentary, and talking about the militarization of space, Orwell's 1984, the war in Iraq, and even stories of alle...

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[ Sat, 14 Oct 2006 11:15:00 -0600 ]


GC043 Social Darwinism and Eugenics
So-called social "Darwinism" and eugenics are two intertwined topics that always seem to come up whenever somebody wants to insult, or at least disparage, the scientific community in general. Realistically, though, neither one is really "Darwinian," and both represent the misuse and abuse of some basic biological concepts when applied in social and political contexts. Tune in this week, and you'll be prepared to fend off that annoying creationist who likes to insist that Charles Darwin was som...

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[ Sat, 07 Oct 2006 22:06:00 -0600 ]


GC042 USAF Museum Tour
We recently had a family reunion of sorts in Ohio, and after some pretty stiff negotiations, I managed to finagle some time at the "National Museum of the U.S. Air Force" in Dayton. Anybody who's even slightly interested in military aviation, or the history of aviation, could easily spend a whole day here just looking at all the airplanes (and a few spacecraft). Also note that I've put up stills from this tour in the Geek Counterpoint "Flickr" pages. Tune in this week, and you'll get a sceni...

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[ Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:50:19 -0600 ]


GC041 "Mr. O" Goes to Mars
MRO, a.k.a. the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, just got into its science orbit. As a result, you should expect to soon see a flood of new images and other interesting data coming back from Mars (adding, of course, to the goodies already coming back from MGS, Odyssey, and the MER rovers). Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to get folks up to speed on the MRO spacecraft, the instruments it carries, and the mission of exploration that it is only now really starting....

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[ Tue, 19 Sep 2006 06:32:38 -0600 ]


GC040 News Grab Bag #4
This week's episode is a "grab bag," including news on three broad topics: * Stem cells -- see episodes 18 and 20 (February 2006), and episode 21 (March, 2006) * Evolution vs. "Intelligent Design" -- see episodes 4 (October 2005) and 11 (December 2005) * The "Hobbits" of Flores Island -- see episodes 15 (January 2006) and 30 (June 2006) Also, a brief commentary on Pluto, and a promo for the "UML in 7 minutes" podcast....

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[ Sun, 10 Sep 2006 07:05:00 -0600 ]


GC039 Politics and Science
This episode started as an examination of political interference in science. But while doing research for the episode, I ran across two studies on the brain activity involved in partisan politics, and decided to also look at what science has to say about politics (or at least, partisan thinking). Listen in this week, and find out how politics really is "all in your head." Before you listen to this episode, it'd help if you listened to last year's Haloween show (episode 5, 10/30/05, a bit too ...

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[ Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:00:00 -0600 ]


GC039 Politics and Science
This episode started as an examination of political interference in science. But while doing research for the episode, I ran across two studies on the brain activity involved in partisan politics, and decided to also look at what science has to say about politics (or at least, partisan thinking). Listen in this week, and find out how politics really is "all in your head." Before you listen to this episode, it'd help if you listened to last year's Haloween show (episode 5, 10/30/05, a bit too ...

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[ Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:00:00 -0600 ]


Geek Counterpoint Administrivia
Reminder of video episode (for non-iTunes subscribers), announcement of upcoming server swap (may see odd behavior in last week of August)...

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[ Sat, 26 Aug 2006 09:39:53 -0600 ]


Geek Counterpoint Administrivia
Reminder of video episode (for non-iTunes subscribers), announcement of upcoming server swap (may see odd behavior in last week of August)...

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[ Sat, 26 Aug 2006 09:39:53 -0600 ]


GC038 Yellowstone Video Tour
We recently got back from a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park, and I thought the park would make a nice subject for a quick video podcast episode -- OK, and it gave me an excuse to test out a new camcorder. Aside from the fun tourist aspects (although any place out of pager & cell phone range is a good vacation spot in my estimation), the geology and biology on display at Yellowstone are worth at least one episode. Expect an audio follow-up episode in the future. Tune in this week,...

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[ Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:50:25 -0600 ]


GC038 Yellowstone Video Tour
We recently got back from a family vacation to Yellowstone National Park, and I thought the park would make a nice subject for a quick video podcast episode -- OK, and it gave me an excuse to test out a new camcorder. Aside from the fun tourist aspects (although any place out of pager & cell phone range is a good vacation spot in my estimation), the geology and biology on display at Yellowstone are worth at least one episode. Expect an audio follow-up episode in the future. Tune in this week,...

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[ Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:50:25 -0600 ]


GC037 What's in a Name?
Planetary science used to be so simple. Our solar system had 9 planets, and a bunch of little leftover scraps called asteroids and comets. But over the last few decades, improvements in observing technology have helped astronomers to discover hundreds of new objects -- and they don't all fit the old, tidy categories (many of them don't even fit well into new categories). Since we now know of a dizzying variety of objects both in our solar system and elsewhere, astronomers have been caught up ...

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[ Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:16:00 -0600 ]


GC037 What's in a Name?
Planetary science used to be so simple. Our solar system had 9 planets, and a bunch of little leftover scraps called asteroids and comets. But over the last few decades, improvements in observing technology have helped astronomers to discover hundreds of new objects -- and they don't all fit the old, tidy categories (many of them don't even fit well into new categories). Since we now know of a dizzying variety of objects both in our solar system and elsewhere, astronomers have been caught up ...

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[ Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:16:00 -0600 ]


GC036 Meet the New Man
2006 has been dubbed "The Year of the Neanderthal," since the first official discovery of Neanderthal remains was made 150 years ago this month in a limestone quarry in Germany's Neander Valley, east of Dusseldorf. Listen in this week, and you'll learn where things currently stand with respect to Neanderthal's place in our family tree, as well as learn how science's view of the species has changed over the intervening decades. Before you listen to this episode, make sure you've listened to the...

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[ Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:40:56 -0600 ]


GC036 Meet the New Man
2006 has been dubbed "The Year of the Neanderthal," since the first official discovery of Neanderthal remains was made 150 years ago this month in a limestone quarry in Germany's Neander Valley, east of Dusseldorf. Listen in this week, and you'll learn where things currently stand with respect to Neanderthal's place in our family tree, as well as learn how science's view of the species has changed over the intervening decades. Before you listen to this episode, make sure you've listened to the...

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[ Wed, 02 Aug 2006 22:40:56 -0600 ]


GC035 Inflatable Spacecraft
Now that Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis 1 module is in orbit, the concept of inflatable spacecraft is starting to get a little bit of press attention. Genesis 1 is not the only inflatable space vehicle ever made -- and definitely not the only one ever proposed. It's not the first, or the biggest -- but it's by far the most ambitious. Tune in to this week's episode, and I'll give you the history of inflatable spacecraft, a quick description of Genesis 1, and what's known of Bigelow Aerospace's pl...

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[ Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:15:47 -0600 ]


GC035 Inflatable Spacecraft
Now that Bigelow Aerospace's Genesis 1 module is in orbit, the concept of inflatable spacecraft is starting to get a little bit of press attention. Genesis 1 is not the only inflatable space vehicle ever made -- and definitely not the only one ever proposed. It's not the first, or the biggest -- but it's by far the most ambitious. Tune in to this week's episode, and I'll give you the history of inflatable spacecraft, a quick description of Genesis 1, and what's known of Bigelow Aerospace's pl...

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[ Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:15:47 -0600 ]


GC034 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was a French biologist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and can be credited with a number of advances in the study of species origins and (in particular) invertebrate biology. Lamarck was an early proponent of evolution via natural causes, decades before Darwin's introduction of natural selection as the mechanism behind it. Despite Lamarck's bona fide contributions to science, he's now remembered mainly in connection with the discredited theory of evolutionary c...

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[ Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:25:27 -0600 ]


GC034 Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was a French biologist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and can be credited with a number of advances in the study of species origins and (in particular) invertebrate biology. Lamarck was an early proponent of evolution via natural causes, decades before Darwin's introduction of natural selection as the mechanism behind it. Despite Lamarck's bona fide contributions to science, he's now remembered mainly in connection with the discredited theory of evolutionary c...

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[ Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:25:27 -0600 ]


GC033 Quantum Mechanics
This is the third in a scattered series of episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to quantum mechanics. This episode makes references to general relativity (ep. 27 -- May, 2006), so make sure you've listened to that episode first if you're new to the podcast....

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[ Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:05:16 -0600 ]


GC033 Quantum Mechanics
This is the third in a scattered series of episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to quantum mechanics. This episode makes references to general relativity (ep. 27 -- May, 2006), so make sure you've listened to that episode first if you're new to the podcast....

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[ Mon, 10 Jul 2006 17:05:16 -0600 ]


GC032 Net Neutrality
There's a battle under way in the U.S. Congress over Net Neutrality -- and it's got broad implications for all internet users, regardless of where they live. Unfortunately, the mass media haven't been paying much attention to the debate, and some of the internet-based coverage tends to be a bit TOO focused to give a balanced view of things. In this week's episode, I attempt to give you some context in the form of an overview of the arguments on both sides of the debate. While Net Neutrality p...

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[ Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:16:00 -0600 ]


GC032 Net Neutrality
There's a battle under way in the U.S. Congress over Net Neutrality -- and it's got broad implications for all internet users, regardless of where they live. Unfortunately, the mass media haven't been paying much attention to the debate, and some of the internet-based coverage tends to be a bit TOO focused to give a balanced view of things. In this week's episode, I attempt to give you some context in the form of an overview of the arguments on both sides of the debate. While Net Neutrality p...

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[ Fri, 23 Jun 2006 17:16:00 -0600 ]


GC031 Stuck in the ITAR
Many a blog entry has been written in complaint about the difficulties of working in space with the U.S., or about the hurdles U.S. aerospace companies face in dealing with partners abroad. As is often the case, these difficulties come from good intentions, and revolve around a valid need -- for regulations on export of sensitive technologies. The crux of things is a set of U.S. State Department regulations known as ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), a 4-letter word in many circle...

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[ Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:05:51 -0600 ]


GC031 Stuck in the ITAR
Many a blog entry has been written in complaint about the difficulties of working in space with the U.S., or about the hurdles U.S. aerospace companies face in dealing with partners abroad. As is often the case, these difficulties come from good intentions, and revolve around a valid need -- for regulations on export of sensitive technologies. The crux of things is a set of U.S. State Department regulations known as ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), a 4-letter word in many circle...

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[ Sun, 18 Jun 2006 09:05:51 -0600 ]


GC030 News Grab Bag #3
This week's episode is a "grab bag" of news on three broad topics: * RFID (see episode 13) "best practices," and in practice * The "Hobbits" of Flores island (see episode 15), and other dwarves * Asteroids (see episodes 23 and 24), and their impacts...

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[ Sun, 11 Jun 2006 16:29:53 -0600 ]


GC030 News Grab Bag #3
This week's episode is a "grab bag" of news on three broad topics: * RFID (see episode 13) "best practices," and in practice * The "Hobbits" of Flores island (see episode 15), and other dwarves * Asteroids (see episodes 23 and 24), and their impacts...

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[ Sun, 11 Jun 2006 16:29:53 -0600 ]


GC029 The NSA and SNA
Anybody that's been keeping up with the news lately (at least in the U.S.) has heard about the recent allegations that the NSA is collecting call routing information on most phone calls made within the U.S. Social network analysis (SNA) seems to be the leading candidate for the presumed use of all this data. So in this week's episode, I struggle mightily to keep my personal politics in check (this isn't a political podcast, after all) while discussing a bit of the mechanics of SNA, as well as ...

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[ Sat, 03 Jun 2006 17:13:03 -0600 ]


GC029 The NSA and SNA
Anybody that's been keeping up with the news lately (at least in the U.S.) has heard about the recent allegations that the NSA is collecting call routing information on most phone calls made within the U.S. Social network analysis (SNA) seems to be the leading candidate for the presumed use of all this data. So in this week's episode, I struggle mightily to keep my personal politics in check (this isn't a political podcast, after all) while discussing a bit of the mechanics of SNA, as well as ...

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[ Sat, 03 Jun 2006 17:13:03 -0600 ]


GC028 Love at Goon Park
A quick overview of an excellent book by the same name -- a description of the career of Harry Harlow and his studies of the science of affection, with special attention to the conflict between Harlow and the then-prevailing view of the subject. Whether you love Harlow or hate him, the animal studies that he and his students conducted resulted in dramatic changes in science's views of affection and the life-long impacts of children's home environments. It's a good example of paradigm shifts in...

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[ Tue, 16 May 2006 06:38:40 -0600 ]


GC028 Love at Goon Park
A quick overview of an excellent book by the same name -- a description of the career of Harry Harlow and his studies of the science of affection, with special attention to the conflict between Harlow and the then-prevailing view of the subject. Whether you love Harlow or hate him, the animal studies that he and his students conducted resulted in dramatic changes in science's views of affection and the life-long impacts of children's home environments. It's a good example of paradigm shifts in...

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[ Tue, 16 May 2006 06:38:40 -0600 ]


GC027 General Relativity
This is the second in a scattered series of episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to general relativity. This episode makes lots of references to special relativity (ep. 22 -- March, 2006), so make sure you've listened to that episode first if you're new to the podcast. The graphic for this week's show comes courtesy of Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes....

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[ Fri, 05 May 2006 16:36:48 -0600 ]


GC027 General Relativity
This is the second in a scattered series of episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to general relativity. This episode makes lots of references to special relativity (ep. 22 -- March, 2006), so make sure you've listened to that episode first if you're new to the podcast. The graphic for this week's show comes courtesy of Nick Strobel's Astronomy Notes....

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[ Fri, 05 May 2006 16:36:48 -0600 ]


GC026 Down With The Old Canoe! (pt. 2)
This week, I wrap up my treatment of the loss of the Titanic with a simplified (if not brief) failure analysis. How the ship broke up and sank is fairly straightforward -- so I don't spend much time on that. On the other hand, the decisions that went into how the ship was built and operated are less often discussed, and far more pertinent to the modern day -- so they are the focus of this episode. It's been nearly 100 years since the Titanic sank, but you'll learn how some of the mistakes tha...

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[ Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:05:01 -0600 ]


GC026 Down With The Old Canoe! (pt. 2)
This week, I wrap up my treatment of the loss of the Titanic with a simplified (if not brief) failure analysis. How the ship broke up and sank is fairly straightforward -- so I don't spend much time on that. On the other hand, the decisions that went into how the ship was built and operated are less often discussed, and far more pertinent to the modern day -- so they are the focus of this episode. It's been nearly 100 years since the Titanic sank, but you'll learn how some of the mistakes tha...

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[ Sat, 22 Apr 2006 07:05:01 -0600 ]


GC025 Down With The Old Canoe! (pt. 1)
April 15 is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and it's been just over 20 years since the ship's wreck was found, so I thought it'd be a good time to talk about some aspects of the tragedy that aren't often discussed, but still hold lessons for our day. Listen in, and you might learn a thing or two about the loss of (what one satirical rag has tagged) "the world's largest metaphor." I'm a bit of a Titanic buff, so since I tend to get a bit chatty on the subject, this is the first o...

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[ Sat, 15 Apr 2006 08:07:48 -0600 ]


GC025 Down With The Old Canoe! (pt. 1)
April 15 is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and it's been just over 20 years since the ship's wreck was found, so I thought it'd be a good time to talk about some aspects of the tragedy that aren't often discussed, but still hold lessons for our day. Listen in, and you might learn a thing or two about the loss of (what one satirical rag has tagged)"the world's largest metaphor."I'm a bit of a Titanic buff, so since I tend to get a bit chatty on the subject, this is the first of t...

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GC024 A Bad Day on the Beach
No sooner had I uplinked last week's episode, than related news showed up. This, a study doubting the asteroid theory of dinosaur extinction. Disappointingly, the study was presented non-critically by a number of media outlets (even popular "science" magazines). In particular, it was presented as "new" hypothesis, when it's really just the latest volley in a long-running exchange of scientific articles and press releases. I try to give everyone a little background on all this, and the underl...

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[ Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:26:10 -0600 ]


GC024 A Bad Day on the Beach
No sooner had I uplinked last week's episode, than related news showed up. This, a study doubting the asteroid theory of dinosaur extinction. Disappointingly, the study was presented non-critically by a number of media outlets (even popular "science" magazines). In particular, it was presented as "new" hypothesis, when it's really just the latest volley in a long-running exchange of scientific articles and press releases. I try to give everyone a little background on all this, and the underl...

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[ Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:26:10 -0600 ]


GC023 Quantifying Chicken Little
We've all heard or read about some scare or another based on the potential future impact of an asteroid or comet. Often, the core issue behind such scares (leaving aside an occasionally over-excited member of the press) is weak communication between astronomers and the mass media. Not that it's due to any lack of trying. In this episode, I give you a bit of background on two impact risk scales -- one intended for communications between astronomers, and the other specifically meant for "public...

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[ Thu, 30 Mar 2006 12:06:39 -0700 ]


GC023 Quantifying Chicken Little
We've all heard or read about some scare or another based on the potential future impact of an asteroid or comet. Often, the core issue behind such scares (leaving aside an occasionally over-excited member of the press) is weak communication between astronomers and the mass media. Not that it's due to any lack of trying. In this episode, I give you a bit of background on two impact risk scales -- one intended for communications between astronomers, and the other specifically meant for "public...

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[ Thu, 30 Mar 2006 12:06:39 -0700 ]


GC022 Special Relativity
As I mentioned in the last episode (#21), I've got a whole list of topics I'd like to discuss that require at least a cursory background in modern (non-Newtonian) physics. So this week's episode is the first in a scattered series of 3 episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to special relativity (listen closely, and you'll see just how special it is...). This episode makes lots of references ...

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[ Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:57:37 -0700 ]


GC022 Special Relativity
As I mentioned in the last episode (#21), I've got a whole list of topics I'd like to discuss that require at least a cursory background in modern (non-Newtonian) physics. So this week's episode is the first in a scattered series of 3 episodes that I'm in aggregate titling "20 Minute Lessons in 20th Century Physics." Tune in this week, and I'll give you a brief introduction to special relativity (listen closely, and you'll see just how special it is...). This episode makes lots of references ...

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[ Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:57:37 -0700 ]


GC021 News Grab Bag #2
This week's episode contains updates to previous episodes based on recent news, and a little bit of news about Pluto (I don't have enough material for an episode all about Pluto, so it gets tossed in here). I also go through the results of the "Topics" survey I had on the website last month. Just to sweeten the pot, I wrap up with previews of coming attractions (physics fans -- rejoice!)....

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[ Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:43:53 -0700 ]


GC021 News Grab Bag #2
This week's episode contains updates to previous episodes based on recent news, and a little bit of news about Pluto (I don't have enough material for an episode all about Pluto, so it gets tossed in here). I also go through the results of the "Topics" survey I had on the website last month. Just to sweeten the pot, I wrap up with previews of coming attractions (physics fans -- rejoice!)....

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[ Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:43:53 -0700 ]


GC020 Gone to the Dogs
Now that we've got a little background in stem cells (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, make sure you listen to episode 18), let's talk about recent news. This week's topic is South Korea's own Hwang Woo-Suk -- his meteoric rise to prominence, and his even faster fall from grace. The story has patriotism, vast sums of money, and international prestige on one hand; lies, arrogance, coercion, and scientific fraud on the other -- a modern greek tragedy all tidily packaged in one man. ...

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[ Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:36:03 -0700 ]


GC020 Gone to the Dogs (Scientists Behaving Badly #2)
Now that we've got a little background in stem cells (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, make sure you listen to episode 18), let's talk about recent news. This week's topic is South Korea's own Hwang Woo-Suk -- his meteoric rise to prominence, and his even faster fall from grace. The story has patriotism, vast sums of money, and international prestige on one hand; lies, arrogance, coercion, and scientific fraud on the other -- a modern greek tragedy all tidily packaged in one man. ...

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[ Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:36:03 -0700 ]


GC019 Vision Problems
The White House just released its proposed 2007 budget for NASA, and it seems the administration has an interesting perspective on both science and its own "Vision for Space Exploration" (VSE). While the Bush administration isn't reducing anything it's asking NASA to do as part of VSE, the White House is increasingly reluctant to actually provide money for any of it. As a result, since the space shuttle continues to overrun every "official" estimate ever made of its future costs, NASA's space ...

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[ Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:45:00 -0700 ]


GC019 Vision Problems
The White House just released its proposed 2007 budget for NASA, and it seems the administration has an interesting perspective on both science and its own "Vision for Space Exploration" (VSE). While the Bush administration isn't reducing anything it's asking NASA to do as part of VSE, the White House is increasingly reluctant to actually provide money for any of it. As a result, since the space shuttle continues to overrun every "official" estimate ever made of its future costs, NASA's space ...

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[ Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:45:00 -0700 ]


GC018 Stem Cells