Month: March 2025

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NBN Book of the Day - Webb Keane, “Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination” (Princeton UP, 2025)

Revolutions in technology are fundamentally transforming what it means to be human. Or are they? As Webb Keane points out, before humans consulted ChatGPT, they propitiated oracles. Before they fell in love with robot boyfriends, they ventured into the forest to marry nature spirits. 

In his new book Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination (Princeton UP, 2025) Keane combines anthropology and philosophy to show us what is new and what is not in our current technological moment. Using a broad comparative perspective he shows us how shamans, hunters, priests, and doctors have long responded to the existential questions which drive our current technological obsessions: Where is the line between human and non-human? How do humans find meaning in our interactions with non-humans? By widening our intellectual imagination, Keane shows us how many of our current intellectual dilemmas about technology are not new -- and are far more deep than enduring than we might have previously suspected.

Webb Keane is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan.

Alex Golub is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

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Strict Scrutiny - Pod Save the Separation of Powers

Leah, Melissa, and Kate once again wade through the latest malevolence from the Trump White House in a segment they’re now calling “Pod Save the Separation of Powers.” Then, they turn to what’s going on at One First Street, covering some new opinions, as well as this week’s arguments, including a case about “reverse discrimination.”

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What A Day - In Trump vs. Zelenskyy, Putin Wins

European leaders met for an emergency summit in London Sunday to shore up support for Ukraine and wrest control of ceasefire talks with Russia. The rushed gathering came on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s disastrous Oval Office meeting Friday, where he was publicly berated by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance for being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘gambling with World War III.' While the Oval Office blowup shocked the Western world, Kremlin officials praised Trump for his 'commonsense' approach to ending the war. Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Obama, talks about how Trump’s actions benefit Russia and leave the U.S. weaker.

And in headlines: Israel halted all aid to Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire expires, Elon Musk and the DOGE bros sent federal workers another email asking them to justify their jobs, and Trump signed an executive order making English the official language of the U.S.

Show Notes:

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The NewsWorthy - Oval Office Blowup, Official U.S. Language & Hollywood’s Biggest Night – Monday, March 3, 2025

The news to know for Monday, March 3, 2025!

We’re talking about a rare moment of public hostility in the Oval Office, with President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky butting heads in front of TV cameras. We’ll cover what the White House now has to say about it and what happens next.

Also, what’s changing now that English is becoming America’s official language and where dozens of wildfires forced evacuations over the weekend.

Plus, the biggest moments from last night’s Oscars, ways to save now that spring break has become pricier than ever, and a sports redemption story for the ages—from prisoner to champion.

Those stories and even more news to know in about 10 minutes! 

 

Join us every Mon-Fri for more daily news roundups! 

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The Best One Yet - 🌆 Sesame Street: The Trojan Horse of TV

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Once upon a time, American kids had a problem—OK, two. They were watching way, WAY too much TV and they were falling way, way behind in school. But then a trailblazing producer and her psychologist friend asked a bold question: What if we used the first problem to solve the second? The result: Sesame Street, home of Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert & Ernie, and a social-media superstar named Elmo. Since Sesame Street’s debut in 1969—the same year as the moon landing!—the show’s helped educate more than 150 million kids in 70 different languages while breaking racial barriers along the way. It’s also taught us the meaning of friendship, the value of neighbors, and the joy of a good rubber ducky. And it was only possible thanks to audacious creators, educators, and one shaggy-looking puppeteer named James Maury Henson (but you can call him Jim). Learn about Kermit The Frog’s commercial past, why the only bets worth making are contrarian ones, and why Sesame Street is the best idea yet.


Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet for the untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — and the bold risk takers who made them go viral.


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Short Wave - What It’s Like Taking Alzheimer’s Drugs

There are now two fully approved drugs on the market that can, sometimes, slow down the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Both have been shown to slow down the mental decline of Alzheimer's by more than 25%. But that's in a group of patients—an individual may do much better, or not be helped at all. NPR Science Correspondent Jon Hamilton has been talking to people who've taken these drugs. Today he has the story of two patients to receive them.

Interested in more human health stories? Contact us at shortwave@npr.org.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - How tourist destinations recover after terrorism

Mardi Gras is in full swing. It's a crucial time for the New Orleans' economy, but the celebrations are cast behind the shadow of the recent terrorist attack. Today on the show, we talk about how terrorism impacts tourism and why some places recover faster than others.

Related episodes:
Do dollar store bans work (Apple / Spotify)

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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Why Women Kill

A survey of people incarcerated in California found that 20 percent of women in for homicide had killed their abusive partners. How have self-defense laws failed women in abusive relationships—and how can they be reformed to save lives?


Guest: Rachel Louise Snyder, journalist, author of No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us, and professor at American University.


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme and Rob Gunther.

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The Economics of Everyday Things - 82. Chain Restaurant Recipes

A fast-food burger has to taste the same — and cost the same — thousands of times a day at restaurants across the country. Zachary Crockett mans the fryer.

 

  • SOURCES:
    • John Karangis, vice president of culinary innovation at Shake Shack.
    • Walter Zuromski, owner and chief culinary officer of the Chef Services Group.

 

 

  • EXTRAS:
    • "Truffles," by The Economics of Everyday Things (2023).