There's been a lot of coverage about the risks electric cars may pose to infrastructure like bridges and car parks. We look at how much heavier EVs are. Plus we look at a new study that suggests a link between breastfeeding and improved grades at GCSE level. Also is throat cancer now primarily caused by a sexually transmitted disease - and are 600 million bottles going to litter Scotland because of disagreements with the UK government over the new Deposit Return Scheme?
A clear-eyed examination of the open access movement: past history, current conflicts, and future possibilities. Open access (OA) could one day put the sum of human knowledge at our fingertips. But the goal of allowing everyone to read everything faces fierce resistance.
In Athena Unbound: Why and How Scholarly Knowledge Should Be Free for All(MIT Press, 2023), Peter Baldwin offers an up-to-date look at the ideals and history behind OA, and unpacks the controversies that arise when the dream of limitless information slams into entrenched interests in favor of the status quo. In addition to providing a clear analysis of the debates, Baldwin focuses on thorny issues such as copyright and ways to pay for “free” knowledge. He also provides a roadmap that would make OA economically viable and, as a result, advance one of humanity’s age-old ambitions. Baldwin addresses the arguments in terms of disseminating scientific research, the history of intellectual property and copyright, and the development of the university and research establishment. As he notes, the hard sciences have already created a funding model that increasingly provides open access, but at the cost of crowding out the humanities. Baldwin proposes a new system that would shift costs from consumers to producers and free scholarly knowledge from the paywalls and institutional barriers that keep it from much of the world. Rich in detail and free of jargon, Athena Unbound is an essential primer on the state of the global open access movement.
Peter Baldwin is Professor of History at UCLA, and Global Distinguished Professor at NYU.
Caleb Zakarin is the Assistant Editor of the New Books Network.
In an eye-opening and powerful episode, Andy talks to Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), one of the most powerful members of Congress, about the debilitating anxiety he faced for years and his road back. Smith tells Andy about the fight against his inner voice that stirred his self-hatred, no matter how much he accomplished and how many people he helped. In his own revealing moment, Andy shares his own challenges with anxiety with Adam and his listeners.
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At a Miami courthouse Tuesday, former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 felony counts that he allegedly kept classified documents from his time in office. The historic case makes Trump the first-ever former U.S. president to be criminally charged by the federal government. L.A. Times senior legal affairs columnist Harry Litman joins us to talk about what comes next, and the complications ahead.
And in headlines: a Russian airstrike killed at least 11 people in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's hometown, a newly-released autopsy found that Olympic champion Tori Bowie died from childbirth complications, and Pat Sajak is retiring as host of “Wheel of Fortune.”
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
On today's show, Tyler O'Neil sits down with Richard Gamble, founder of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention.
Gamble speaks about his project to erect an immense monument to prayers that God has answered, both in history and recently, in England. The structure will consist of one million bricks, each tied to an answered prayer. Visitors can look up the prayers on their phones by scanning each brick. He has the land and 90% of the funding for the project.
In celebration of Pride month, we’re bringing you some extra episodes of the Outward podcast. This week, host Christina Cauterucci talks to two people who recently visited every lesbian bar in the United States: Krista Burton, author of the newly published book Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America, and Naomi Gordon-Loebl, a writer and sommelier. They discuss the purpose of lesbian bars, trends in dyke-bar decor, and whether lesbian bars are still sexy.
Homeschooling is more popular than ever — and for decades, it’s been seen as a haven by a movement of conservative Christians. But isolating children from the world doesn’t just mean tribalism and fear of “government schools” — the lack of regulation can also lead to abuse. We talk to one former home school student about the conservative Christian world that raised him, and how some of its tenets have now gone mainstream.
Guests:
Peter Jamison, enterprise reporter with the Washington Post.
Aaron Bealls, former homeschooler and public-school parent in Loudoun County, Virginia
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