The United Nations' main judicial body says Israel must allow more aid into Gaza, but can the court's order be enforced? Many California fast food workers get a big raise Monday, but restaurant owners say the increase to $20 an hour puts them in a bind. And March Madness does it again: a Cinderella Final Four men's team, and an epic women's showdown Monday night.
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Today's episode of Up First was edited by Mark Katkov, Pallavi Gogoi, Alice Woelfle and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.
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The Bookmonger - Episode 501: ‘Swing Hard in Case You Hit It’ by Tim Murtaugh
John J. Miller is joined by Tim Murtaugh to discuss his new book, 'Swing Hard in Case You Hit It.'
The Intelligence from The Economist - The Intelligence: Surveilling China’s diaspora
There are fears about TikTok, but it’s not the only social media platform that the Chinese state might be using to monitor the rest of the world. That’s especially worrying for those in its diaspora who thought they were free. How monopolies are transforming America’s skiing industry (08:59). And just how much stuff are museums sitting on (15:37)?
Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+
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The Daily Detail - The Daily Detail for 4.1.24
The Daily Detail Easter Edition
- Features a debate held in Alabama in 2007 between atheist and evolutionist Richard Dawkins and professor of philosophy of science John Lennon, with the subject of the resurrection and Christ involved
Start the Week - The war between science and religion
The historian Michael Taylor looks back at the past tug of war between religion and science, and how the discovery of ancient bones challenged religious orthodoxy. Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin and the War Between Science and Religion is the story of a group of people whose insights tested beliefs about creation and cosmology, and ushered in the secular age.
But Nick Spencer from the thinktank Theos dismisses the idea that science has rightly relegated religion to the margins. In his new book Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity (co-authored with Hannah Waite) he argues that religious belief is uniquely placed to help people navigate a world dominated by scientific breakthroughs – from AI to aliens, gene editing to the treatment of mental health.
Professor Frances Flinter has been at the forefront of innovations in the treatment of genetic conditions for decades in her role at Guy’s & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. She is also a member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and says that medical decisions are rarely based purely on science, but involve thinking about what it means to be human.
Producer: Katy Hickman
NBN Book of the Day - Max Bennett, “A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains” (Mariner Books, 2023)
A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, Ai, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains (Mariner Books, 2023) tells two fascinating stories. One is the evolution of nervous systems. It started 600 million years ago, when the first brains evolved in tiny worms. The other one is humans' quest to create more and more intelligent systems. This story begins in 1951 with the first reinforcement learning algorithm trying to mimic neural networks.
Max Bennett is an AI entrepreneur and neuroscience researcher. His work combines insights from evolutionary neuroscience, comparative psychology, and AI. As each chapter describes how a skill evolved, it also explains whether(!) and how an AI system has managed to implement something similar. A recurring theme is how human brains and neural circuits have influenced AI architecture. The other side of this bi-directional connection is also intriguing. AI has often served as a litmus test, giving a clue how a not well understood neurobiological phenomenon might work, how plausible a hypothesis is.
The organzining principle of this book is a framework of five breakthroughs, which compares evolution to technological innovation. Like a new technology enables several innovative products, a new brain capability enables several new skills. For example, mammals show several new intelligent behaviors compared to their ancestors: vicarious trial and error, episodic memory, and planning. The foundation of all these novelties, is probably the same capability: simulation.
The five breakthroughs are:
- steering in bilaterians
- learning from trial and error in vertebrates
- simulating in mammals
- mentalizing in primates
- speaking in humans
This framework guides the readers through a time travel of 600 million years. We learn about the environment in which these capabilities evolved: Who were the first mammals and why did planning benefit them? We see what contemporary animals can and can't do: Fish aren't as dumb as folklore suggests. And we take a look at AI's baffling achievements and limitations: Why can AI write decent essays but not load a dishwasher?
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Everything Everywhere Daily - The Vestal Virgins
One of the most important gods in the Roman pantheon was the goddess Vesta.
Vesta was the goddess of the hearth and home, and her temple was one of the most important in ancient Rome.
It was attended by six women who were some of the most important in all of Roman society. They were given privileges that few in Rome were allowed, but it also came at a very steep price.
Learn more about the Vestal Virgins, the cult of Vesta, and its role in Roman society on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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What A Day - How Biden Can Move Voters on Immigration
Cesar Chavez Day was Sunday, and it’s the day when Americans honor the late Latino civil rights icon and labor activist. Chavez is most known for co-founding the United Farm Workers (UFW) — the nation’s first-ever farmworker union. He dedicated his life to the fight for better working conditions and wages for people who were part of the agricultural workforce — many of whom were migrants. And while Chavez’s track record on immigration is complicated, UFW is one of many organizations that currently advocates for the rights of undocumented workers, more pathways to citizenship, and overall immigration reform.
In this special episode, we host a roundtable with Dani Marrero Hi of La Uniòn del Pueblo Entro, Liza Schwartzwald of the New York Immigration Coalition, and Pulitzer Prize-winning immigration journalist Molly O’Toole. We talk about why our immigration system doesn’t work — and what’s at stake this November as both Biden and Trump make their case for how to fix it.
Show Notes:
- La Uniòn del Pueblo Entro – https://lupenet.org/
- New York Immigration Coalition – https://www.nyic.org/
- Journalist Molly O’Toole – https://twitter.com/mollymotoole
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
- Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
The NewsWorthy - Widespread Severe Weather, AT&T Data Breach & April Fools’ Day- Monday, April 1, 2024
The news to know for Monday, April 1, 2024!
We're talking about the major storm system that's expected to bring the risk of severe weather to millions of Americans. Also, we'll explain what's behind the biggest protest in Israel since the start of the war in Gaza...
Plus, what to know about next week's highly-anticipated solar eclipse, and about a data breach might have impacted millions of AT&T customers. We're also looking at how April Fools' Day is celebrated around the world...
Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes!
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Short Wave - The Two Sides Of Guyana: A Green Champion And An Oil Producer
For Guyana the potential wealth from oil development was irresistible — even as the country faces rising seas. Today on the show, host Emily Kwong talks to reporter Camila Domonoske about her 2021 trip to Guyana and how the country is grappling with its role as a victim of climate change while it moves forward with drilling more oil. (encore)
For more of Camila's reporting and pictures from her visit, check out "Guyana is a poor country that was a green champion. Then Exxon discovered oil."
Want to more about how countries around the world are grappling with climate change? Write us at shortwave@npr.org to let us know — your suggestion might become a future episode!
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For more of Camila's reporting and pictures from her visit, check out "Guyana is a poor country that was a green champion. Then Exxon discovered oil."
Want to more about how countries around the world are grappling with climate change? Write us at shortwave@npr.org to let us know — your suggestion might become a future episode!
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy