Back in 1999, ZDTV launched Big Thinkers, a weekly cable TV program that featured half-hour interviews with thinkers on the bleeding edge of science and technology. The show didn’t have the longest run. But it did manage to shine the spotlight on some important minds – Michio Kaku (theoretical physicist), Sherry Turkle (MIT psychoanalyst), Lawrence Lessig (law professor & free culture advocate), and Esther Dyson (technology investor), to name a few. Big Thinkers was perfect Open Culture material before the days of Open Culture. So we’re paying a little tribute to the show. Above, you will find an episode dedicated to Daniel Dennett, the American philosopher and cognitive scientist who has done extensive research on the philosophy of mind. Part 1 appears above, and Part 2 and Part 3 here. Finally, you can watch other Big Thinkers episodes (including those mentioned above) on this YouTube channel.
Journalism for Our Century
As journalists try to find their footing in the new digital environment, News21, a Carnegie and Knight initiative, has started “incubating” eight journalism schools across the country and helping students develop new forms of investigative reporting in multimedia formats. Above, we have Spilling Over, a piece of digital reporting that lays bare the emotional toll the BP Oil spill has taken on a Louisiana community. The eight minute video report was assembled by a News21 team at the University of North Carolina. NPR has more on the News21 project, and the News21 website features other student projects. H/T to Mike S. for another superb find…
Christopher Walken: Radio Host for a Day
The Leonard Lopate Show hits the airwaves every weekday in New York City, typically presenting four interviews with cultural figures. If you tuned in this Monday, you found Leonard on vacation and actor Christopher Walken filling in. We know Walken can act. But can he carry a radio show? Listen in on the web, iTunes, or stream below…
Why the World Needs WikiLeaks (According to Julian Assange)
After yesterday’s post, I’ll never get a sniff of a TED conference. But even so, we’ll keep featuring Ted Talks from time to time, and so why not today? Above, we have TED’s Chris Anderson interviewing Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website that made headlines last month when it released the Afghan War Diaries, all 92,000 pages worth. During the 19 minute interview, Assange talks a little more about the philosophy behind WikiLeaks, how the organization decides when to release information (or not), how the site has changed world events, and what some more ordinary leaks look like. No matter what stance you take on WikiLeaks, the interview is worth a watch. You’ll only hear more about them down the line.
Reporting the Good News
You’ve heard the complaint before. Why do papers only report the bad news? And why does the good news go unnoticed? If you’ve ever had this thought, then today is (kind of) your lucky day. Here’s what happens when the New York Times goes happy . Watch the video above, and visit the paper online…
And, of course, if you want some true sources of good news, you can visit the following sites recommended by one of our readers: Good News Network and Good News Daily.
“The Best Magazine Articles Ever”
“The Best Magazine Articles Ever” – Sure the list is subjective. It’s all in English, and heavily slanted toward male writers. But you can’t quibble with this. This curated collection features pieces by some of the finest American writers of the past generation. We’ve highlighted 10 notables ones from a much longer list available here.
1 ) John Updike, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.” The New Yorker, October 22, 1960.
2) Norman Mailer, “Superman Comes to the Supermarket.” Esquire, November 1960.
3) Tom Wolfe, “The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!” Esquire, March 1965.
4) Hunter Thompson, “The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.” Scanlan’s Monthly, June 1970.
5) Stewart Brand, “Space War: Fanatic Life and Symbolic Dearth Among Computer Bums. Rolling Stone, December 7, 1972.
6) David Foster Wallace, “The String Theory.” Esquire, July 1996.
7) Jon Krakauer, “Into Thin Air.” Outside Magazine, September 1996.
8) Susan Orlean, “Orchid Fever.” The New Yorker, January 23, 1995.
9) Malcolm Gladwell, “The Pitchman.” The New Yorker, October 30, 2000. (Yup, he’s Canadian, I know.)
10) Katie Hafner, “The Epic Saga of The Well.” Wired, May 1997.
via @caitlinroper
US Government Opens Tech/Culture
Today’s ruling is bound to get a lot of buzz, but probably for the wrong reasons. According to new rules set forth by The Library of Congress (which oversees the Copyright Office), iPhone owners can now legally “jailbreak” their device and download software that Apple/AT&T disapproves of. That will get the headlines. But we shouldn’t lose sight of this: This far-reaching ruling goes well beyond the iPhone itself and also allows (among other things) “college professors, film students and documentary filmmakers to break copy-protection measures on DVDs so they can embed clips for educational purposes, criticism, commentary and noncommercial videos.” (The quoted material comes from the AP, not the ruling itself). In short, these new guidelines give consumers greater latitude to decide how they want to use computers, gadgets and media they’ve purchased. And they clear up some legal murkiness that has surrounded these issues, particularly within universities, for some time. A good day for government … and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which pushed for these protections.
PS Does this still mean that Apple can void your warranty if you jailbreak your iPhone? I’m not sure whether that goes away or not…
Daniel Schorr’s Introduction to Twitter
Daniel Schorr, a legendary journalist who made his mark during the Watergate era, died today at age 93. Throughout the past several decades, Schorr never learned to use computers or word processors. Rather, he stuck with his trusty typewriter. But, when Twitter took off last year, he wasn’t averse to giving it a try. Above, Schorr gets his introduction to Twitter and starts his account.
Let me also flag two items for you: You can read Schorr’s very first article as a reporter, which appeared in The Christian Science Monitor way back in May 1948. Also, NPR (where Schorr reported during his final years), has dug up an unexpected piece: Frank Zappa inviting Schorr on stage to deliver a political message and sing a few lines. Good stuff. RIP Mr. Schorr.
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