What do lasers, photovoltaic cells, the transistor, digital cameras, cell phone technology, the communication satellite, computer networking, radio astronomy, and the UNIX operating system have in common?
They were all invented or developed at the same place by the greatest collection of scientists and engineers ever assembled.
Learn more about Bell Labs, the greatest research laboratory in history, on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
The regime got its quarry—a widely read, dissident blogger and his girlfriend—but faces international condemnation for its piratical means. How to pressure what is increasingly a pariah state? Our correspondent in the Democratic Republic of Congo surveys the damage from a sudden volcanic eruption; another could come at any time. And why more music-copyright disputes are ending up in court.
Abortion bills are making their way through the statehouses of the U.S. Last Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Before that, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson instituted a ban on abortions from fertilization. And in the midst of these fights at the state level, the Supreme Court has announced it will take up a case challenging Roe v. Wade out of Mississippi.
With a conservative supermajority on the court, how imperiled is abortion access? Is it time to prepare for a world without Roe v. Wade?
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
Some PFWTM say The New York Times is in talks to acquire The Athletic, but we think it’s pulling a George Costanza and whipping up a news super app. Bowery hit a $2.3B valuation in the biggest vertical farming deal in (kale) history. And Chia raised $61M to create a greener cryptocurrency — it’s “farming,” not “mining”.
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Abortion bills are making their way through the statehouses of the U.S. Last Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Before that, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson instituted a ban on abortions from fertilization. And in the midst of these fights at the state level, the Supreme Court has announced it will take up a case challenging Roe v. Wade out of Mississippi.
With a conservative supermajority on the court, how imperiled is abortion access? Is it time to prepare for a world without Roe v. Wade?
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
Wales has given one vaccination dose against Covid 19 to a larger proportion of their population than any other country except a couple of super tiny ones. They?ve given one vaccine dose to over 80% of their adult population. We explore some reasons why they seem to be doing so well.
The UK continues to do poorly at Eurovision ? we take a look back over the years to examine why the UK used to do well, and why it doesn?t any more.
Waiting lists for NHS treatment across the UK have grown ? but why are things so bad in Northern Ireland?
Is it true that 42% of young people are living at home with their parents? We find out what a young person is and why they haven?t flown the nest.
Researchers report in the journal Science that they appear to have some clues about the origin of Earth's plutonium - which has been long debated. Correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains that traces of rare forms of iron and plutonium have been found in extraterrestrial debris that had sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, hauled up by an oil company, then donated for research. By comparing the iron and the plutonium, scientists found the plutonium was likely forged in a cosmic cataclysm, perhaps a rare kind of supernova, and then rained down on Earth.
Ever find yourself existentially musing? Wondering about the state of the cosmos? Drop us a line at shortwave@npr.org and we might jump into a wormhole with you.
Linda Colley is a luminary in the fields of British and imperial history, and the Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University. Her captivating new book The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World(Liveright, 2021) narrates a sweeping global history of written constitutions from the 18th to the 21st century. Bold, imaginative, and strikingly original, it challenges established accounts and uncovers the close connection between constitution-making and warfare. Colley brings to the fore historiographically neglected sites and actors, from Catherine the Great to Sierra Leone's James Africanus Beale Horton and Tunisia's soldier-constitutionalist Khayr-al-Din. The monograph focuses on the myriad ways in which constitutions crossed boundaries and intersected with wider political, cultural, and socioeconomic forces in all corners of the globe. By displaying both the emancipatory and the repressive effects of modern constitutions, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen retells the serpentine story of successful and failed attempts to redefine the functions and limits of state governments.
Vladislav Lilic is a doctoral candidate in Modern European History at Vanderbilt University.
On this week’s Security Unlocked we’re featuring for the second and final time, a special crossover episode of our sister-podcast, Security Unlocked: CISO Series with Bret Arsenault.
Lululemon has been on the forefront of athleisure wear since its founding in 1998, but while many of its customers look at it exclusively as a fashion brand, at a deeper level this fashion empire is bolstered by a well thought out and maintained digital infrastructure that relies on a hard working team to run it.
On today’s episode, Microsoft CISO Bret Arsenault sits down with Venki Krishnababu, SVP of Global Technology Services at Lululemon. They discuss the ways in which technology plays into the brand, how Venki lead a seamless transition into the remote work caused by the pandemic, and how he’s using the experiences of the past year to influence future growth in the company.
In This Episode You Will Learn:
Why Venki feels so passionately about leading with empathy
Why Venki saw moving to remote work as only the tip of the iceberg; and how he handled what laid below.
Specific tools and practices that have lead to Venki’s success
Some Questions We Ask:
What is the biggest lesson learned during the pandemic?
How does one facilitate effective management during this time?
How does Lululemon view the future of in-person versus remote work?
