Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Required Listening

Last week was the 35th Anniversary of Quirks and Quarks, Canada's national science radio program. While I would recommend you listen to it every week, I am going to specifically charge you with listening to a clip from the 35th anniversary special. If you are not feeling inclined to listen to the whole thing (which I strongly recommend), you can download part 2 and skip to the interview with Dr Mark Federman which begins at 20:12. Dr. Federman does a remarkable job of framing the challenges facing our species today in a way which is accessible to anyone living in the developed world but doesn't lose any of its urgency. He manages to sound concerned without sounding alarmist. This interview is an excellent example of how Quirks and Quarks is able to frame important questions about scientific subject matter in a way that all Canadians can understand. Bob McDonald, the host, is a national treasure. Also, I want his job.

2 comments:

Rob (a.k.a. Dad) said...

Downloading the episode now - looking forward to listening to all of it, but the last segment in particular :-)

Good luck with becoming the next Bob McDonald - you've got the geek part down pat ;-)

Danny H said...

Nerrrrrrrrrrrrd :D