Month: May 2014

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Sir Roger Bannister’s ?impossible? feat

Sir Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes 60 ago. It's one of the most famous records of the 20th Century, one that the passage of time has shrouded in legend. Was the four-minute mile really considered an 'impossible' physical barrier? Are motivational speakers like Anthony Robbins right to claim that the year after it was broken, the power of positive thinking helped dozens of runners to break the four-minute barrier. More or Less speaks with Sir Roger Bannister to separate myth from reality and find out exactly what propelled him to his famous feat. This programme was first broadcast on the BBC World Service.

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Serious Inquiries Only - AS29: Reaction to Reaction to Greta Christina, and Debate with Elijiah T

AS28 received a ton of feedback. So many people felt comfortable to confess their possible unpopular opinions, which I look at as a great accomplishment for the show. In a very long Tommentary, I talk about all the messages I received about the show, and make several points about feminism and atheism, again. Also, don’t … Continue reading AS29: Reaction to Reaction to Greta Christina, and Debate with Elijiah T →

The post AS29: Reaction to Reaction to Greta Christina, and Debate with Elijiah T appeared first on Atheistically Speaking.

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World Book Club - Harlan Coben

This month chart-topping US writer and showman Harlan Coben will be talking to Harriett Gilbert and a studio full of his readers about his page-turner of a thriller, Six Years.

Jake Fisher, a lovelorn professor of political science searches out the girl of his dreams who suddenly dumped him for another man six years ago and begged him not to contact her. When he finds himself entangled with a bunch of ruthless killers and criminals from the underworld Jake knows he should back off but passion for his lost love draws him further into a terrifying web of intrigue and murder.

Hear what Harlan has to say about how he creates such tightly coiled plots and why the sound of an upstairs toilet flushing is the scariest noise you can hear.

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Stuff They Don't Want You To Know - The Future of Death

Will someone alive today live forever? Can science create real-life zombies? Are there any real examples of the 'walking dead' around today?

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Start the Week - Simon Armitage on Greek Tragedy

Anne McElvoy talks to the poet Simon Armitage about his dramatisation of The Last Days of Troy. His play, based on Homer's epic, reveals how cycles of conflict and revenge, pride and self-deception continue throughout history. Greek myth is at the heart of a new opera, Thebans, in which the playwright and poet Frank McGuinness draws on the tragedy of the mythical monarch Oedipus and his daughter Antigone. Natalie Haynes explores what happens when troubled teenagers become enthralled by Greek tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge in her debut novel, while Kenan Malik goes on a quest for a moral compass. Producer: Katy Hickman.