In 1968, American high jumper Dick Fosbury introduced a new way to compete in the high jump. His new technique worked so well that he won an Olympic gold medal, and within a few years, everyone used his method of high jumping.
Fosbury’s innovation isn’t the only one in the track and field world. There have been several other technique innovations in other events, which have been shown dramatically improve performance.
Learn about the track and field techniques which would smash world records (if they weren’t illegal) on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Freeman Dyson (1923–2020)—renowned scientist, visionary, and iconoclast—helped invent modern physics. Not bound by disciplinary divisions, he went on to explore foundational topics in mathematics, astrophysics, and the origin of life. General readers were introduced to Dyson’s roving mind and heterodox approach in his 1979 book Disturbing the Universe, a poignant autobiographical reflection on life and science.
"Well, Doc, You're In": Freeman Dyson’s Journey through the Universe(MIT Press, 2022) (the title quotes Richard Feynman’s remark to Dyson at a physics conference) offers a fresh examination of Dyson’s life and work, exploring his particular way of thinking about deep questions that range from the nature of matter to the ultimate fate of the universe. The chapters—written by leading scientists, historians, and science journalists, including some of Dyson’s colleagues—trace Dyson’s formative years, his budding interests and curiosities, and his wide-ranging work across the natural sciences, technology, and public policy. They describe Dyson’s innovations at the intersection of quantum theory and relativity, his novel nuclear reactor design (and his never-realized idea of a spacecraft powered by nuclear weapons), his years at the Institute for Advanced Study, and his foray into cosmology. In the coda, Dyson’s daughter Esther reflects on growing up in the Dyson household. “Well, Doc, You’re In” assesses Dyson’s successes, blind spots, and influence, assembling a portrait of a scientist’s outsized legacy. Contributors: Jeremy Bernstein, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Esther Dyson, George Dyson, Ann Finkbeiner, Amanda Gefter, Ashutosh Jogalekar, David Kaiser, Caleb Scharf, William Thomas.
Matthew Jordan is a university instructor, funk musician, and clear writing enthusiast. He studies the history of science and technology, driven by the belief that we must understand the past in order to improve the future.
We’ll tell you what to expect from the Federal Reserve today as another interest rate hike is likely, and how the Supreme Court intervened on efforts in Congress to see Trump’s tax returns.
Plus: remembering rapper Takeoff, Amazon just added new music benefits to its Prime membership, and why and where you can now see what many companies pay their workers…
Those stories and more news to know in around 10 minutes!
As Democrats make their final push on the campaign trail ahead of Election Day, election deniers are making their presence known in person. In Florida, two former members of the Proud Boys were hired as poll workers in Miami-Dade County – a third was dismissed because he’s facing charges for his involvement in the Jan. 6th riot.
School board elections have a huge impact on local communities, but rarely get the same coverage as other, higher-profile races. Maria Salamanca, a progressive school board candidate for Orange County Public Schools in Florida, tells us why she’s running.
And in headlines: Migos rapper Takeoff was fatally shot in Houston, Benjamin Netanyahu held an early lead in Israel’s latest general election, andSenator Lindsay Graham must testify before a Georgia grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in that state.
Crooked Coffee is officially here. Our first blend, What A Morning, is available in medium and dark roasts. Wake up with your own bag at crooked.com/coffee
It finally happened. After months of "maybe, maybe not," Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. Now the question is, what happens next?
In the past, Musk said he thought Twitter should follow the same free speech laws that exist within America’s public square, says Jake Denton, a research associate with The Heritage Foundation’s Tech Policy Center. The indication from Musk is that “he will stick to that,” Denton says.
Denton, who is currently locked out of his own Twitter account, joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to explain why he is cautiously optimistic about Musk’s takeover of Twitter and to describe the changes that might be coming to the social media platform.
If you’re worried about a recession or just want to strengthen your finances, Laura covers seven steps to take now to ease the impact of a future hardship.
Joe Biden won Colorado by 13 points, which is why Jim O’Dea is running for the Senate as a moderate Republican—one who will stand up to Donald Trump. It’s a message that isn’t winning support from Democratic voters, and may well be undermining his appeal to Republicans.
Guest: Jim Newell, senior politics writer at Slate.
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 Amicus—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.
Is the world’s energy situation as bad as we think? What’s going on with student debt relief? And why aren’t we paying more attention to Iran? We’re joined by Reza Aslan, leading expert in world religions, writer, and professor, to talk about the current, and former, Iranian struggles for freedom.
