Listening material

Some good stuff recently.

This American Life. This podcast has stories exploring a particular theme every week. A couple of weeks ago the episode was called "The Human Spectacle". I was particularly fascinated by the first segment, which was about a Japanese reality show. Just mind-blowing. I also liked the third one, which basically talked to Iraqis from different cities, discussing what it was like to live in Iraq right now. It's not available for download any longer, but can be streamed here.

Bannockburn Begins. A BBC Radio 3 documentary about the battle of Bannockburn. It discusses the battle itself and its context, but also its significance and the impact it's had. Really interesting stuff. Download mp3 here (right click & "save target as / link as").

The Infinite Monkey Cage's latest episode, "Are Humans Uniquely Unique?", discusses the ways in which we're different from other animals. I love this programme; it's interesting and hilarious at the same time. Download mp3 here (right click & "save target as / link as").

Word of Mouth. This episode is about situations in which it's really important to weigh your words. They interview oncologists and cancer patients, a journalist involved in a particularly sensitive story (the guy worked in the Scum and the Daily Heil, though, so I'm not sure how much I believe him about having actually taken care with his words) and someone reporting during peace negotiations. Thought-provoking. Download mp3 here (right click & "save target as / link as").

Inside Health had an episode is about the risks and benefits of breast cancer screening programmes. No easy conclusions about whether it's worth it for individual women to attend, but it made the case well that it's something we need to think about. Download mp3 here (right click & "save target as / link as").