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All Songs Considered from NPR
New Music: Boards of Canada, A Sharon Van Etten-Shearwater Duet, Thundercat, More (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — Last month, the Scottish electronic duo Boards Of Canada released a series of mysterious recordings of a voice reading a set of numbers. Clever fans soon realized that the numbers were a code that, once entered, in order, online, revealed a video announcing Tomorrow’s Harvest, the group’s first new album in eight years. On this week’s All Songs Considered we finally get a preview of the album with a brand new Boards Of Canada song “Reach For The Dead.” Also on the show: Dark electronica from Natasha Kmeto; the wildly inventive, funktacular artist Thundercat; and singer Sharon Van Etten joins Jonathan Meiburg of the band Shearwater to cover the 1981 Stevie Nicks-Tom Petty song “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” We’ve also got a beautiful new tune from folk singer Laura Veirs and American Primitive-style guitarist Glenn Jones.
Book Reviews from The New York Times
Inside the New York Times Book Review: Summer Reading (Friday, May 31, 2013) — This week, Peter Lattman talks about the new memoir by the tennis star Jimmy Connors; Julie Bosman has notes from the field; Alexandra Jacobs discusses Patricia Volk’s Shocked; Anthony Gottlieb on Ruth R. Wisse’s No Joke: Making Jewish Humor; and Gregory Cowles has best-seller news. Pamela Paul is the host.
Books Podcast from NPR
NPR: 05-30-2013 Books (Thursday, May 30, 2013) — Stories: 1) ‘The Son’: A Texas Saga With Guilt And Gore To Go Around 2) Gateway Arch ‘Biography’ Reveals Complex History Of An American Icon 3) The Women Who Inspired Other Women With ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ 4) A Race Against Time To Find WWI’s Last ‘Doughboys’
Brain Stuff from HowStuffWorks.com
How does an Indiglo watch work? (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — An Indiglo watch works a lot like a neon sign, getting its signature “glow” from electroluminescence. Tune in to hear Marshall Brain explain the finer points of Indiglo watch technology in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.
What makes NASCAR engines different from other engines? (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — NASCAR engines are built for maximum efficiency, and they’re much more powerful than regular engines. Marshall Brain discusses five ways in which NASCAR engines differ from regular ones in this episode.
How do torpedo engines work if they’re underwater? (Monday, May 27, 2013) — Torpedo engines rely on special methods of propulsion to operate underwater. Find out what they are in this episode of BrainStuff.
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
Artistic Asheville (Friday, May 31, 2013) — Asheville is as famous for its funky, laid-back vibe as it is for its beautiful Fall colors and the Blue Ridge Parkway. Join Rachel and Kathryn to learn more about the sights, sounds and unique experience of visiting Asheville.
Culturetopia from NPR
Binge Viewing And A Summer TV Quiz (Friday, May 31, 2013) — This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, NPR Monkey See’s Linda Holmes and Stephen Thompson are joined by special guests Gene Demby and Kat Chow, of NPR’s Code Switch team. On the occasion of the new season of ‘Arrested Development,’ they’ll discuss the trend of binge viewing and the shows they’ve binge-watched. Favorites include ‘House Hunters,’ ‘Scandal,’ ‘Mad Men,’ ‘Friday Night Lights’ and more. And because it’s summer, they’ll turn to a quiz about the very goofy and weird television that always comes around at this time of year. All that, plus What’s Making Us Happy This Week.
Film Junk
Episode 419: Fast & Furious 6 and The Hangover Part III (Monday, May 27, 2013) — We fall asleep at the wheel for Fast & Furious 6 and watch The Hangover Part III stone sober, plus we also discuss Christopher Nolan directing a Bond movie, Strange Days, Albert Pyun’s Captain America, The Burning, Little Caesar, The Enforcer, Zodiac, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Family Tree and the All-Star Celebrity Apprentice finale.
Freakonomics Radio
Baby, You Can Program My Car (Wednesday, May 29, 2013) — A glimpse into our driverless future.
Ink & Quill
InQ Episode 72: ‘Hunger’ (Wednesday, May 29, 2013) — In this first person narration, the main character, whose name the reader never gets to discover, struggles with hunger. As his stomach remains empty, his head fills with delusions, inner monologues and streams of consciousness that lead the reader to wonder whether or not the narrator is sane. The question remains as to whether the hunger is the cause or the consequence of the narrator’s delusional state. Focusing mainly on social interactions and personal dilemmas, Hunger is a psychological novel in the same vein as Dostoevsky’s The Double, albeit not as dark. A must-read for anyone interested in the inner mechanisms of the human mind.
PopStuff from HowStuffWorks.com
Greatest Hits: Nostalgia for the Good old Games (Monday, May 27, 2013) — Both Tracy and Holly love new games, but they also fondly recall the early days of the video game industry. Take a trip down memory lane as talk turns to arcades, Wreck-it Ralph and why gamers get so attached to the titles.
Science Talk
Is There a Doctor in the Spaceship? (Tuesday, April 30, 2013) — NASA astronaut and medical doctor Michael Barratt spoke to schoolkids at the Family Science Days event at this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.
Sound Opinions
Sound Opinions with Wild Belle (Thursday, May 23, 2013) — Wild Belle brings its brand of reggae-inspired psychedelic pop to the studio. And later, the robots are back. Jim and Greg don their chrome helmets for a review of Daft Punk’s highly-anticipated new album Random Access Memories.
Stuff To Blow Your Mind from HowStuffWorks.com
Ventriloquism: The Science of Dummies (Thursday, May 30, 2013) — It’s time to rediscover ventriloquism, the surprisingly deft art of illusion that relies on a keen sense of comic timing and obsessive technique from the performer, as well as a buy-in into the illusion from the audience member. Why do we fall for it? What’s going on in the brain? All shall be explained in this episode of Stuff to Blow Your mind.
Extreme Mammals Part II (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — In this two-part Stuff to Blow Your Mind series, Robert and Julie discuss the amazing world of prehistoric mammals and count down their favorite weird warm bloods from the smallest to largest.
Stuff You Missed in History Class from HowStuffWorks.com
Boxer Rebellion (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — It was a culture clash of epic proportions. The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising, was a gruesome, violent slaughter of Chinese Christians and foreigners – followed by a gruesome, violent slaughter of the Boxers.
Heaven on Earth: the Brook Farm Community (Monday, May 27, 2013) — In the 1840s, Boston’s West Roxbury suburb — which was completely rural at the time — was home to an experiment in transcendentalist utopian living: the Brook Farm community. The idea was to create an environment of balance and equality.
Stuff You Should Know from HowStuffWorks.com
How Coffins Work (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — Sure, you’ve probably laid in one at the store or a funeral home, but how much do you know about receptacles used to bury the dead? We’ll bet you’ll learn plenty – like the difference between a coffin and a casket – in this episode.
How Police Chases Work (Tuesday, May 28, 2013) — Entire TV shows are dedicated to them and Americans love to watch a live one, but police chases aren’t as routine as they seem. While police assert chases are important tools, critics say cops engage in chases too often and too easily.
WNYC’s Radiolab
Shorts: Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl (Thursday, May 30, 2013) — This is the story of a three-year-old girl and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl is a legal battle that has entangled a biological father, a heart-broken couple, and the tragic history of Native American children taken from their families.