Month: June 2019

Facebook’s 'like' button is ubiquitous across the web. It’s how user data is collected, meaning adverts and newsfeeds can be targeted more effectively. Some say there’s nothing to worry about, but others point to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, suggesting how Facebook might shape our opinions. But is there something else we should be worried about? Approval from our friends and family can be addictive – so is the pursuit of “likes” on social media the reason we’re glued to our mobile phones? Tim Harford asks how should we manage our compulsions in this brave new online world.

Want a warm and waterproof wetsuit? Then take a look at how the sea otter does it! It’s all down to air-trapping hairs. Ideally, surfers want something that is flexible and easy to wear, which sheds water as quickly as possible when you are out of the sea and will keep you warm when you are in it. With Patrick Aryee. www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals #30Animals

Enron collapsed nearly 20 years ago, but chances are something you use today was affected by emails sent by 150 of the company’s top employees. These emails — about meetings and energy markets but also affairs, divorces, and fraud — have helped create new technologies, fight terrorism, and added to our understanding of how we communicate. But should these emails have been released in the first place? PLUS: “Uncut” reveals Enron’s former CFO’s second act.

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June is Black Music Month, so Brittany and Eric decided to celebrate with a music-themed edition of Six Degrees of Black Separation… with a twist: the loser has to write and perform a song on a topic of the winner’s choosing. Will Eric FINALLY belt out that R&B slow jam about Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Ball? Will Brittany pen a ballad about The Real Housewives of Atlanta? Listen to find out!

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The Population Bomb, published by Stanford biologist Paul Ehrlich in 1968, predicted that populations would grow more quickly than food supplies, causing mass starvation. Ehrlich was wrong: food supplies kept pace. And that’s largely due to the years Norman Borlaug spent growing different strains of wheat in Mexico. The 'green revolution' vastly increased yields of wheat, corn and rice. Yet, as Tim Harford describes, worries about overpopulation continue. The world’s population is still growing, and food yields are now increasing more slowly – partly due to environmental problems the green revolution itself made worse. Will new technologies come to the rescue?

The cartwheeling spider acrobat that could help us explore Mars. This is no ordinary spider and it has led to an extraordinary robot design, perfect for space exploration. With Patrick Aryee. www.bbcworldservice.com/30animals #30Animals The audio for this podcast was updated on 7th June 2019.