What happens when there is no leader? Starlings, bees, and ants manage just fine. In fact, they form staggeringly complicated societies, all without a Toscanini to conduct them into harmony. How? That’s our question this hour. We gaze down at the bottom-up logic of cities, Google, even our very own brains. Featured: author Steven Johnson, […]
Author Archives: Lulu Miller
City X
July 1, 2008 – 1:04 am
This week, a piece from one of our favorite radio-makers, Jonathan Mitchell. “City X” is a history of the modern shopping mall through perspectives of people living in a real, yet unnamed, city. Using a sound rich audio mosaic of observations and ruminations, all scored to Muzak, the universal mall experience comes to life, for […]
Earworms
June 17, 2008 – 1:01 am
First, we asked you to tell us what song gets stuck in your head. Then, we asked you how you got it out. Finally, we made a podcast. Thank you to everyone who called in, shared their secret techniques, and sang without shame. Your suggestions ranged from the hilarious (Darth Vader breathing) to the malicious […]
Open Outcry
May 20, 2008 – 1:21 am
On this week’s podcast, Jad presents a piece by one of his favorite producers: Ben Rubin.
Rubin created this audio portrait called “Open Outcry” as a part of a sound installation called Sonic Garden commissioned to celebrate the reopening of the Winter Garden, an atrium space within the World Financial Center, after 9/11.
The trading floor […]
You and Your Irrational Brain: An evening of experimentation under the stars
May 12, 2008 – 10:39 am
THIS EVENT IS FULL!! WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING RESERVATIONS
The World Science Festival and WNYC Radio present You and Your Irrational Brain, a live, outdoor event (rain or shine) Thursday, May 29th at Water Taxi Beach in Long Island City, Queens, NY.
Have you ever wondered why you might think it’s okay to steal a pen […]
Jad and Robert: The Early Years
May 6, 2008 – 1:43 am
Ever wonder how Jad and Robert met? Well it all began with an everyday encounter where they discovered they both went to the same small liberal arts college in Ohio. For this week’s podcast, the guys go on stage at Oberlin College to tell the tale of their meeting and how they started tinkering around […]
Robert gets a Webby!
May 5, 2008 – 3:08 pm
This just in: Robert Krulwich was selected as an Official Honoree of the 12th Annual Webby Awards, for the animated component to his NPR stories about carbon. Krulwich and his video team (animator Odd Todd, Aneal Mundra, and BPP Video Producer Win Rosenfeld) were honored in the Online Film and Video - Best Use of […]
Pop Music
April 22, 2008 – 1:46 am
Why do some songs mercilessly stick in our heads and repeat themselves over and over? What makes these hooks so hooky? And how does a songwriter will a song forth from the ether? In this episode, nightmarish stories of musical hallucinations, songs that transcend language, and the triumphant return of the Elvis of Afghanistan.
If […]
Getting Older Every Year
April 21, 2008 – 3:29 pm
If you do not see the video please install the latest flash player.
In light of Jad’s recent birthday, we thought we’d share this video. It’s sort of like a video version of “Nancy Grows Up” from our Time episode.
(So-Called) Life
April 8, 2008 – 1:32 am
What are the consequences when humans start playing with life? The human imagination has always dreamed up fantastic creatures, but now biotechnology is making it easier and easier for us to actually create forms of life that have never existed before. In this episode Radio Lab looks at the uneasy marriage between biology and engineering, […]