Month: September 2014

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The Gist - True Tales of Andy Warhol’s Sex Couch

Today on The Gist, we talk about Andy Warhol’s erotic films with McGill University professor Ara Osterweil, who explains how movies like Couch and Blow Job transformed American visual culture. Osterweil is the author of Flesh Cinema: The Corporeal Turn in American Avant-Garde Film. For the Spiel, the kid who kicked a cat and the luxury of outrage. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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The Gist - Louisiana Isn’t Boot-Shaped Anymore

Today on The Gist, we discuss the legacy of Attorney General Eric Holder with former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Plus, Brett Anderson explains why Louisiana isn’t shaped like a boot anymore. In a recent feature for Matter, he collaborated on the making of a new map. For The Spiel, 10 objections that defined history. Illustration by Matthew Woodson for Matter. Source: U.S. Geological Survey’s National Land Cover Data (2011). Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS MoreOrLess: How do we calculate the distance to the sun?

Two young listeners emailed the programme to ask how we calculate the distance to the sun. We decided to invite them and their parents to More or Less towers where Andrew Pontzen, an astrophysicist at University College London was on hand to explain the answer. A BBC nature documentary stated that there are 14,000 ants to every person on earth, and that were we to weigh all of these ants they would weigh the same as all the people. Can this be true? Tim Harford and Hannah Moore investigate with the help of Francis Ratnieks, professor of apiculture at the University of Sussex.

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Start the Week - Karen Armstrong on War and Religion

Karen Armstrong argues against the notion that religion is the major cause of war. The former nun tells Tom Sutcliffe that faith is as likely to produce pacifists and peace-builders as medieval crusaders and modern-day jihadists. But Justin Marozzi charts the violent history of Baghdad and asks what role religion had to play there. The philosopher Christopher Coker explores how warfare dominates our history, and argues that war, like religion, is central to the human condition. Producer: Katy Hickman.

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The Gist - His Friends Know He Cheated. Does She?

Today on The Gist, the science journalist’s version of “who wore it better.” We compare the Wall Street Journal’s report with the N.Y. Times’ report on the same research from the journal Nature. Ben Lillie from Story Collider explains who did the best job of representing the research. Then Slate’s Emily Yoffe joins us for a Post-Post-Prudence Impact Statement with past letter writer “Please No Baby Daddy” from The Gist Episode 15. For the Spiel, we name our new Lobstar of the Antentwig. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - The Barnett Formula

This week Tim explains the Barnett Formula with a bit of help from Money Box's Paul Lewis. He looks at Ed Balls sleight of hand in his speech to the Labour Party Conference. Is Ed Miliband's promise on NHS funding really worse than the funding increases delivered by Margaret Thatcher? And how do we know how far away is the sun really is?

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The Gist - Where Did the Fade-Out Go?

Today on The Gist, what happened to the good old days of newsmen keeping quiet about their death threats? Danielle Citron, author of Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, explains why online threats are commonly discussed and more rarely policed. Plus, William Weir explains the sad, gradual decline of the fade-out in popular music. For the Spiel, Mike’s wild worldwide warzone wackiness headlines. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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The Gist - Why Economists Don’t Have Many Friends

Today on The Gist, we ask the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg whether ISIS is indeed an existential threat to the Middle East. Then, Adam Davidson of NPR’s Planet Money explains how economists talk about taxes when the rest of us aren’t around. Plus, a snappy Spiel about race and long snapping. Get The Gist by email as soon as it’s available: slate.com/GistEmail Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/slate…id873667927?mt=2

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