Month: July 2023

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Short Wave - What Geologists Love — And Lament — About Cult Classic ‘The Core’

20 years ago, the cult classic movie 'The Core' was released in theaters. From the start, it's clear that science is more a plot device than anything — but some scientists love it anyway. Today, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber has a friendly laugh with geologist Jackie Caplan-Auerbach about the creative liberties writers took to make the movie's plot work.

P.S. We're biased here, but we don't think you need to have seen the movie to enjoy this episode.

This edition of our periodic 'movie club' series, where we separate fact from fiction, was highly requested by you, our audience. If you want us to do the same for another movie you love, write us! We're at shortwave@npr.org.

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NPR's Book of the Day - Books by Vashti Harrison and Dolly Parton teach kids about self-love and courage

Today's episode is about two children's books with very big themes. First, author-illustrator Vashti Harrison speaks with NPR's Juana Summers about Big, which chronicles how words affect children – and particularly young, Black girls – as they grow older and their bodies change from baby to big kid. Then, Dolly Parton joins NPR's Melissa Block to discuss Billy the Kid Makes It Big, a story about a music-making dog (inspired by a real-life pet!) standing up to the bullies around him.
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It Could Happen Here - The Attacks on Jenin & Media Bias

Shereen and James discuss recent IDF attacks on Jenin and why new resistance groups are appearing in Palestine.

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Honestly with Bari Weiss - Affirmative Action, Gay Rights, and Free Speech: What The Supreme Court’s Rulings Mean for America

Last week, the Supreme Court handed down, as they usually do as the term comes to an end, a flurry of highly anticipated major decisions. Two of them made a lot of news: one effectively ended affirmative action in American higher education, and another ruled that a Colorado web designer could refuse to create a wedding website for a same-sex couple. 


The mainstream media’s prevailing sentiment over the last week has been that these are the sorry consequences of a conservative majority court. This court overturned Roe v. Wade last year in a major setback to women’s rights; now they’ve undone decades of precedent that helped historically disadvantaged students have a chance at the American dream, and they’ve weakened gay rights. 


When President Joe Biden was asked at a press conference last week whether or not this is a “rogue court,” Biden basically said yes. He muttered, “This isn’t a normal court.”  


Is that true? Is this court “not normal”? Or do these decisions actually reflect a legitimate reading of the Constitution? 


To help separate signal from noise and fact from hyperbole, today we have three legal experts from different sides of the political aisle to hash it out. Harry Litman is an attorney who has clerked for two Supreme Court justices, Thurgood Marshall and Anthony Kennedy. He is also a host of the podcast Talking Feds. Jeannie Suk Gersen is a professor at Harvard Law School and writer for The New Yorker. She clerked for David Souter. And Sarah Isgur is a columnist for The Dispatch and an ABC News contributor. She clerked for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and served as the Justice Department spokeswoman during the Trump administration.

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This Machine Kills - 266. Your Own Personal Intelligence

We look into a new startup – Inflection AI – that has raised $1.5 billion, was co-founded by tech elites, and just released an AI chatbot, Pi, that is meant to be your ultra friendly, personal companion, coach, creative partner and more. We place our bet that this won’t be the last time we hear about Inflection AI. Everything about this company — its funding partners, founders’ pedigrees, AI product, and public mission – points to Inflection AI becoming even bigger and unavoidable. Stuff we reference: ••• AI Funding Explosion: Inflection AI Nabs $1.3B, Runway and Typeface Also Raise Big https://news.crunchbase.com/ai-robotics/funding-explosion-venture-generative-ai-unicorn/ ••• Inflection AI https://inflection.ai/ Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)
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The Gist - Technology Revolutionizes Life But Not Incomes

Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson are the authors of the new book “Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity.” We discuss how history shows (through evidence) that progress depends on the choices we make about technology. Plus, a movie about a doll got a Texas senator and a Tennessee representative upset.

Produced by Joel Patterson and Corey Wara

Email us at thegist@mikepesca.com

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Consider This from NPR - Confronting Police Violence and Racism in France

The police killing in France of a 17-year old of North African descent sparked protests and violence across the country as well as a national conversation about racism and police brutality.

Rebecca Rosman reports from the Paris suburb of Nanterre where the police killing took place. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports from Marseille, the scene of some of the worst violence. And Ari Shapiro interviews Sebastian Roche, a sociologist who studies policing and race in France.

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.

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