P.M. Edition for Dec. 12. Leaders of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup shared numbers that show that their banks’ Wall Street operations are on track to have one of their best years ever. WSJ Wall Street editor David Benoit discusses what’s driving it. Plus, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, President Trump says he’s considering Kevin Warsh or Kevin Hassett to lead the Federal Reserve starting next year. And why have politicians, who just a few years ago were sounding the alarm about climate change, softened their warnings? We hear from WSJ chief economics commentator Greg Ip about what’s behind the shift. Alex Ossola hosts.
Smashing up guitars is a classic rock star activity, but how about drowning them? 7-year-old listener Cornelius has set CrowdScience a challenge: to find out what happens if you play a guitar underwater. Could this be the next avant-garde music sensation?
Host and amateur musician Caroline Steel tackles Cornelius’ question with the help of one increasingly soggy guitar. The UK’s National Physical Laboratory is our first port of call, with a guitar-sized water tank at the ready, and acoustic scientists Dr Freya Malcher and Ben Ford helping tackle our questions.
Since an acoustic guitar’s sound is amplified by its internal chamber, what happens as that chamber starts to fill with water? How about if the whole guitar - strings, body and all - is submerged? What difference does it make if our ears are listening above or below the water? And can special water-adapted microphones help us explore this unusual question, before our guitar disintegrates?
Our guitar then heads off on tour to Denmark, where the band Between Music have teased out questions just like these for their underwater music project, Aquasonic. We talk to violinist and Innovative Director Robert Karlsson, and singer Nanna Bech, who also plays a unique subaquatic instrument. With their help, we discover how to get the best out of a submerged guitar, and find out whether other instruments are better suited to the life aquatic.
Presenter: Caroline Steel
Producers: Cathy Edwards and Florian Bohr
Editor: Ben Motley
National Physical Laboratory: Underwater Acoustics - https://www.npl.co.uk/research/underwater-acoustics
Between Music: Aquasonic - https://www.betweenmusic.dk/aquasonic
Photo – Caroline Steel and Nanna Bech in an Aquasonic aquarium playing a guitar. Copyright BBC.
Irving Finkel is a scholar of ancient languages and a longtime curator at the British Museum, renowned for his expertise in Mesopotamian history and cuneiform writing. He specializes in reading and interpreting cuneiform inscriptions, including tablets from Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian contexts. He became widely known for studying a tablet with a Mesopotamian flood story that predates the biblical Noah narrative, which he presented in his book “The Ark Before Noah” and in a documentary that involved building a circular ark based on the tablet’s technical instructions.
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep487-sc
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
OUTLINE:
(00:00) – Introduction
(00:43) – Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections
(09:53) – Origins of human language
(15:59) – Cuneiform
(23:12) – Controversial theory about Göbekli Tepe
(34:23) – How to write and speak Cuneiform
(39:42) – Primitive human language
(41:26) – Development of writing systems
(42:20) – Decipherment of Cuneiform
(54:51) – Limits of language
(59:51) – Art of translation
(1:05:01) – Gods
(1:10:25) – Ghosts
(1:20:13) – Ancient flood stories
(1:30:21) – Noah’s Ark
(1:41:44) – The Royal Game of Ur
(1:54:43) – British Museum
(2:02:08) – Evolution of human civilization
NPR recently met with a senior Hamas leader on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar as the organization prepares to negotiate the next stage of the Gaza ceasefire. He says Hamas is willing to lay down its weapons for up to ten years. Our correspondent gives us the highlights of the conversation.
Chicago’s budget showdown continues, Indiana’s legislature bucks Trump redistricting trend, and ICE agents were out in force in west suburban Elgin.
In the Loop breaks down those stories and more in the Weekly News Recap. Our panel today: Tom Schuba, Chicago Sun-Times watchdog reporter; Monica Eng, Axios reporter; David Greising, Better Government Association president.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Plus: Broadcom’s stock slides after the chip maker's latest earnings report. And Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was arrested at a public event, according to her foundation. Pierre Bienaimé hosts.
On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute and former special assistant to the president for economic policy at the White House, joins Federalist Senior Elections Correspondent Matt Kittle to discuss Obamacare's consequences for American healthcare, explain how ongoing subsidies fuel inflation, and outline the future of healthcare policy reform.
The Federalist Foundation is a nonprofit, and we depend entirely on our listeners and readers — not corporations. If you value fearless, independent journalism, please consider a tax-deductible gift today at TheFederalist.com/donate. Your support keeps us going.
The UN says a powerful storm is sweeping through Gaza, leaving 800,000 people in danger from deluged camps and collapsed buildings. (130)
Long description (no character limit and should always end with the words below): The UN says a powerful storm is sweeping through Gaza, leaving 800,000 people in danger from deluged camps and collapsed buildings.
Also: an Australian minister accuses Reddit of trying to protect its profits, after it launches a legal challenge against the country's landmark social media ban for under-16s; how a growing number of young women are challenging the Iranian authorities; why the low-budget French videogame "Clair Obscur" has seen off its bigger American rivals to sweep the Game Awards; why conservationists fear some of the world's rarest apes, the Tapanuli orangutans, may have been destroyed in a devastating cyclone; and how changes in polar bear DNA could help protect the Arctic animals from climate change.
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight.
Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment.
Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
