Month: September 2016

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the memory palace - Episode 96 (Canali)

The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Learn more at radiotopia.fm.

Notes * I’ve read a bunch about the canals over the years, but the most fun I’ve had was going through the New York Times’ archive and just searching for Canals and Mars and reading article by article through the years, watching the debates, seeing conjecture reported as news, and then watching it all unravel. * For more on Lowell, I recommend Percival Lowell: the Culture and Science of Boston Brahmin, by David Strauss.

Music * This one features two appearances by X-Ray, by Youth Lagoon. * One from September, by Giles Lamb. * And a long one by Red Dawn, by Enzo.

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - WS More or Less: Who Won the US Presidential Debate?

Polling on the first TV debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump appears to be divided over who won it. But not all polls are equal. If the people being polled aren?t representative of the population at large, then their responses may not tell you anything useful. And when internet polls can be hijacked by online activists, they can throw up some pretty strange results.

(Photo: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton first presidential debate. Credit: Getty Images)

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The Gist - The Rules According to Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell’s career has been all about ideas—but what he really specializes in is their packaging and delivery. On The Gist, Gladwell tells the story behind his earliest obsessions and explains what he’s learned trafficking in unconventional theories. He is working on the second season of his hit Panoply podcast, Revisionist History.

For the Spiel, a contrarian take on Donald Trump’s comments about former Miss Universe Alicia Machado. 

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The Gist - A Budding Storyteller Turns In His “Homework for Life”

Storyteller Matthew Dicks has one rule for getting better at telling stories: At the end of every day, scribble down the moment that makes the most promising tale. Today on The Gist, we hear from a listener who followed that advice. 

For the Spiel, a bungled marriage proposal at the New York Yankees game. 

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The Gist - Where’s the Beef in Trump’s Ground Game?

In The Gist, PBS NewsHour correspondent Lisa Desjardins surveys the presidential campaigns’ get-out-the-vote efforts: “The first caveat is a lot of the rules don’t apply to this campaign.” 

In the Spiel, are presidential debates like the NFL Scouting Combine? They’re not enough to show if a player will be good on the field, but they're enough to show a player has no business being there in the first place?

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