Poscasts Central Station
By Paul
Nine Lies about Global Warming. A related discussion at TCS; Are Global Warming and Katrina Linked?
Do Animals Think? is the title of Dr Clive Wynne's book in which he sets out his views on anthropomorphism and animal consciousness. Are they conscious in the way we are conscious? And, if not, what does consciousness mean for an animal?
The Trouble With Oil:The first in a two part series looks at the Oil Crisis of 1973, when OPEC's demand for a better return for its valuable resource combined with the Arab Oil Embargo to quadruple the price. Part 2
The Selfish Gene 30 years on; This year is the 30th anniversary of the publication of Richard Dawkins' book, The Selfish Gene, and to mark the occasion the London School of Economics hosted an event chaired by writer and broadcaster Melvyn Bragg. The speakers were Daniel Dennett, Sir John Krebs, Matt Ridley, Ian McEwan, and the guest of honour, Richard Dawkins.
Supposing God was a Lion; Well known as an Oxford don, C.S. Lewis was also a scholar of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University. He was a popular Christian writer whose works included books for children. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, now a film, is the first of the Narnian Chronicles which convey a strong Christian message. But are they evangelistic? And how reliable is the theology? Guests include Lewis' step-son Douglas Gresham, co-producer of the film version of Lewis' classic tale.
Happy birthday to the box ; Author Marc Levinson wants to celebrate an anniversary. It's 50 years since the first shipping container left port from Newark, USA. He tells us how this mundane item made the world smaller and the world economy bigger. A related post on the topic at Go Figure and Globalisation Institute. An interview with the author of the book
The Art of Healing Trauma; we know instinctively that we need to talk through unpleasant experiences, but the latest neuroscience can now explain why telling our story is a naturally curative process which actually reorganizes our brain after traumatic events
Poor health in China; Privatisation of health care in China has failed, and Beijing knows there may be social and political unrest as a result. The rich can buy good care - but for others the biggest concerns are incompetence, frayed services, and misery. In the case of a viral pandemic, weaknesses in the health system in China could affect the whole world.
TCS interview with Tyler Cowen, Alvin Toffler, Charles Murray, Tim Harford and Dan Yergin.
Chinese Brother of Christ; Hong Xiuquan (1814-64) believed he was the younger brother of Christ. He founded a mutual protection society and promoted the view that the Manchu Qing Dynasty were demons and idolaters. By 1850 Hong had around 20,000 Chinese followers gearing up for a rebellion. The Taiping Rebellion resulted in millions dead and, although deeply influenced by Christian beliefs, is seen today as a prototype for Mao's People's Revolution.
Socially Responsible Business; Australian economy has never been stronger, but how deeply do we think about the way we do business - about companies being socially responsible? How worried are we, for instance, about ensuring our overseas mining operations don't adversely impact on the locals? So, is business really becoming more sensitive to social issues - or is it just good for the public image?
Inhaling the Mahatma with Christopher Kremmer; Foreign correspondent, journalist and best-selling author of The Carpet Wars, Christopher Kremmer speaks about his latest opus, Inhaling the Mahatma. Described as 'a sprawling portrait of India at the crossroads', the book charts India's progress from Gandhian socialism to cyber economy, via religion, democracy and the occasional outbreak of violence, and also shares the author's life as part of a Hindu family of Old Delhi.
Greek politicians plan to restore Athens mosque and other stories
Thinking about think tanks ; The Centre for Independent Studies is marking its 30th anniversary this month. Political commentator with the The Australian, Paul Kelly, and executive director of the CIS, Greg Lindsay, reflect on the history and role of the organisation
Taxploitation? Sinclair Davidson, Professor of Institutional Economics at RMIT, and Peter Saunders from the Centre for Independent Studies say it's time for real income tax reform
The Australian Miracle ; Is Australia really the clever country? What if we're not quite as original as we think we are - and our real strengths lie in imitation, in the clever use of technology and in our ability to profit from other people's creativity? Author Thomas Barlow busts some myths about science, innovation and our national identity.
Happiness; Australia has everything: jobs, education, fair weather, and a multi-million dollar happiness industry dedicated to making us feel good about ourselves. But 'everything' also includes a high national rate of depression and teen suicide. So why aren't we happier?
Ballets Russes; When Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev took his legendary Ballet Russes dance company to Paris in 1909, they transformed the art of ballet.
'Cracking the century' - Healthy ageing and the search for an elixir of youth,
Torn Curtain - The Secret History of the Cold War; The cold war was both a geo-political contest and an ideological struggle. The contest of ideas was fought out within societies as vigorously - sometimes as viciously - as it was between east and west.
Interview with Alan Harvey; He doesn’t transplant whole brains, only bits of them. It’s safer. But Professor Alan Harvey at the University of Western Australia has often enjoyed wilder headlines. He is one of the pioneers of a field that hopes to improve the recovery of the victims of head injury and even to repair the torn nervous systems of paraplegics. His present quest, a life long passion, is to understand the neurological basis of music.
Is Freud's Legend and Analysis in Decline?; The impact that Sigmund Freud has had on twentieth century thinking and ideas has been immense. Even people who have never read a word written by Freud quite often refer to his terms in their everyday communication: the ego, penis envy, the unconscious, repressed memories and of course, Freudian slips. In the 1990s, a culmination of things resulted in a massive debate that threatened to undermine the foundations of psychoanalysis, not least the proliferation of new books published which attacked Freud, his method of psychoanalysis, his lack of evidence and scientific blunders.
The toddler who escaped from the child-care centre; The case of the two-year-old who escaped from the child- care centre and the $200 fine that went all the way to the Victorian Supreme Court. Who was to blame; the child- care workers or their employer?
Intellectually disabled, sex and consent; We look at an issue rarely discussed - sex and consent for people with an intellectual disability. A man with Down syndrome is persuaded to have group sex with his three male friends - all have an intellectual disability. His parents believe all four men are victims of a failure to teach proper sexual behaviour. They ask - what is the duty of care for managers and staff of supported accommodation?
How useful is FOI legislation for an opposition looking for ammunition? Astralian Example
So what makes a good GP? Do you want a bedside manner or someone with a passion for cutting edge medicine? Are doctors too focussed on sickness rather than preventative health care?
How the Bible became a Book; The role of writing in establishing the authority of the Hebrew Bible: Semitic linguist Shelly Harrison on William M. Schniedewind's book, How the Bible became a Book: The Textualisation of Ancient Israel. What does it contribute to scholarly debate over when the Hebrew Bible was first set down in writing?
Delivering Crime Prevention; The Director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics, Don Weatherburn points out the importance of evidence- based research in preventing crime.
The Israel–Palestine conflict part 1: elections and Part 2 -territory and the right to exist
Beijing Faces; Journalist Elise Potaka is learning Mandarin, and last year she lived in Beijing for six months. Beijing is impossible to really understand from any single perspective; it is a city in continual flux, a city of 24-hour building sites where in a matter of weeks, whole streetscapes can change as multi- story apartment buildings rise on the ruins of demolished neighbourhoods. Beijing is also a city of migrants, with millions of people from every province of China pouring into the city, pursuing the age-old promises of the city: jobs, a new start, the possibility of making it big.
Catholics and condoms; International responses to Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini: a Jesuit,and one of the intellectual heavyweights in the College of Cardinals, who has come out in support of using condoms in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
Lemon juice and AIDS and other science stories; Since 2002 Professor Roger Short has been promoting lemon juice as a safe, cheap and effective microbicide for use in HIV-AIDS prevention and as a spermicide. However, claims were made at a recent conference that lemon juice causes lesions in the uterus, although Professor Short's research with monkeys has not shown these results.
From Stardom to Sufism: Diane Cilento; Born in Queensland, Diane Cilento made it big in the movies in the 1950s and 60s, being nominated for an Oscar for her role as the seductive Molly in Tom Jones in 1963. She married 'James Bond', Sean Connery, but later turned her back on stardom to embark on a life of spiritual discovery. It's been a journey that included a pilgrimage to Mecca in 2005. From Gurdjieff to Sufism, Diane's awakening has been profound.
Globalisation and Sport; Globalisation now describes just about everything, from the way we do business to the way we watch football. So what are the implications for sport in a world where global is rapidly replacing local?
Going totally Dutch; The Australian Socceroos are off to the World Cup with a secret weapon in their Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, who was a part of one of football's great innovations, the Dutch idea of 'total football'.
China, Africa, and Oil; Rising global energy demands have caused China to turn to Africa as a major supplier of oil. This cfr.org podcast looks at the extent of China's African ties
Iraq; Press freedom - a grand struggle of ideasl Just back from Iraq, Fairfax journalist Paul McGeough says the war on terror is being used as an excuse to attack press freedom, undermining one of the pillars of society.
The Battle for Babylon and Iraq conflict; a 2 part documentary from BBC
Economic Perspectives on the Iraq War; webcast at AEI
Steven Englander; chief currency strategist for the Americas at Barclays Capital Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Tom Keene about global currencies, the impact of the U.S. dollar on global economies, and the March U.S. trade deficit, which narrowed for a second month in March to $62 billion, according to the Commerce Department
Ohio losing faith with President ;President George W Bush's reshuffling of his White House team is part of an attempt to salvage a reputation which seems to be sinking fast. But Justin Webb in Washington says it is too late to be tinkering with the staff: most Americans have already consigned President Bush to history.
Why the United States Has No National Health Insurance; Sociologist Jill Quadagno talks about the political, economic and historical reasons behind America's lack of a national health insurance program
Promoting Democracy: Fourteen Points for the 21st Century;Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright considers U.S. policy in Iraq
A New Era at the Federal Reserve:Some Challenges and Opportunities for Change
The Rise of the Corporate State in Russia; Featuring Andrei Illarionov, former Economic Adviser to President Vladimir Putin.
Business and Development; Development doesn’t just take place in World Bank projects around the world. It also relies on a network of government, private business, and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs. Cooperation between these sectors has become increasingly important to development, as it becomes more clear that the problem of global poverty must be fought on many levels and in many different areas. To explore the problem of these partnerships, the World Bank Institute sponsored an April 2006 conference on “Business, NGOs, and Government: Strategic Engagement to Meet the Millenium Development Goals.”
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