Month: July 2022

Posted on

Short Wave - Against All Odds, The Pumpkin Toadlet Is

Being small has its advantages ... and some limitations. One organism that intimately knows the pros and cons of being mini is the pumpkin toadlet.

As an adult, the animal reaches merely the size of the skittle. At that scale, the frog's inner ear is so small, it's not fully functional. That means when the frog moves, it's haphazard and seems kind of drunk. And so today, with the help of Atlantic science writer Katie Wu, we investigate: If a frog can't jump well, is it still a frog?

Read Katie's piece in The Atlantic, A Frog So Small, It Could Not Frog: https://bit.ly/3bydh1g

Watch pumpkin toadlets poorly fling themselves around in this video from the Florida Museum: https://bit.ly/3bFAXRv

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Read Me a Poem - A Very Specific Excerpt from “Maud” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Amanda Holmes reads the eighth stanza of the sixteenth part of “Maud,” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Have a suggestion for a poem by a (dead) writer? Email us: podcast@theamericanscholar.org. If we select your entry, you’ll win a copy of a poetry collection edited by David Lehman.

 

This episode was produced by Stephanie Bastek and features the song “Canvasback” by Chad Crouch.


See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Posted on

Opening Arguments - OA610: Elon’s Twitter Deal Was a Complete Blunder. It’s Not Happening.

As Andrew flagged for us before any other sources (that I saw), Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter was never a guarantee. Well, now it's moved from not a guarantee to very unlikely. Today, we look at what happened. Also, there are two interesting possibilities being debated online. For one, that he'll be able to get out of it because of the "bots," and on the other side, that he may be forced to buy Twitter by a judge. Are either of these possible or even likely? Find out! In the first segment, we talk about our amazingly successful fundraiser ($160,000+ raised!) and what's going on in Texas right now. hint: it's not good. Links: Interactive Map: US Abortion Policies and Access After Roe, 1925 Texas abortion law, ACLU TRO, Ken Paxton Writ of Mandamus, TX supreme court says no, Twitter agreement 4/22, Twitter 10-Q 3/31/22, Musk SEC letter, IN RE IBP INC. v. TYSON FOODS INC

Posted on

Consider This from NPR - Songs Of The Summer In A Time Of Protest

It may be too soon to crown the "song of the summer". NPR Music's Stephen Thompson says there's no one quality that the songs that carry that title have... it's a collective feeling, a shared vibe.

For so many Americans on this July 4th, songs of the summer and songs of protest feel one and the same.

NPR's Ann Powers is a music critic, and Shana Redmond is a professor at Columbia University, and the author of "Anthem: Social Movements And The Sound Of Solidarity In The African Diaspora." They explain the role of protest music in this moment.

In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Amarica's Constitution - Special Episode – Prediction and Prescription

The Supreme Court term came to a roaring end, and we couldn’t wait a week - so here we are with an extra episode for you.  At least three huge decisions came down, and we begin to assess them.  The newspapers are ablaze with outrage and shock - but are our listeners equally shocked?  We look at the opinions through the lens of our body of work - particularly appropriate now since this marks the 1 and a half year mark of Amarica’s Constitution.  In addition to the now-final Dobbs opinion, we look at the role of Justice Kavanaugh, and how it compared with expectations and predictions.  Lots more for you in this special additional episode.

Posted on

Federalist Radio Hour - Naomi Schaefer Riley On The Federal Government’s ‘New Trail Of Tears’

On this episode of The Federalist Radio Hour, Naomi Schaefer Riley, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum, joins Federalist Western Correspondent Tristan Justice to discuss her book "The New Trail of Tears: How Washington Is Destroying American Indians."

You can find Riley's book here: https://www.naomiriley.com/books/the-new-trail-of-tears/