Archive for December, 2012
Predicting Earth’s Deadliest Natural Disasters
A 7.3-magnitude quake struck off Japan’s eastern coast on Friday, it triggered a tsunami alert in the same region of northeastern Japan that was devastated by last year’s massive quake and tsunami. The Geo Quiz wants you to name that region.
South Korea’s K-Pop Beyond Gangnam Style
The “Gangnam Style” music video by South Korean musician PSY is now the most watched online video ever. But what most viewers don’t know is that “Gangnam Style” is just the tip of the iceberg in a massive government-backed effort to export Korean pop music, or K-pop, all over the globe.
Leaving Yangon: Myanmar Metropolis in Time Warp
I didn’t really feel the Yangon time warp until I left it. On Tuesday, after seven days in Myanmar and 55 minutes in the air, I landed in Bangkok where the reverse culture shock hit–a shock of the familiar, of the bustling, of the, well, the commerce.
PRI’s The World: 12/06/2012 (Iran, France, Brazil)
Tanks and barbed wire keep the protesters away from Egypt’s presidential palace. Also, catfish that behave like killer whales in southern France. Plus, an Iranian musician braves a fatwa to embark on his first North American tour.
Tanks Around Cairo Palace
Egyptian soldiers have surrounded the presidential palace in cairo with barbed wire and tanks, after ordering all protesters to leave. It’s the latest escalation in tensions between Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi and his opponents. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times, who is in Cairo.
Egypt’s Military Winner in New Draft Constitution
University of Chicago law professor Tom Ginsburg has taken a careful look at Egypt’s draft constitution. He says there’s one big winner in the document: Egypt’s military.
The Ghosts of History
Dutch historical consultant Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse found some old WWII era negatives at an Amsterdam flea market a few years ago. She decided to mash up the old photos with their present day locations. The result is a project called Ghosts of History.
Cartoon Slideshow: Three Middle East Crises
There are three dramas unfolding across the Middle East and you can see them all represented in this cartoon slideshow.
Letting Your Computer Buy You Gifts
Game developer Darius Kazemi has written a program that randomly purchases items from an online retailer and sends them to his home. His first surprise shipment included a recording of avant-garde European music. And he liked it.
Remembering Architect Oscar Niemeyer
Brazil is mourning the passing of architect Oscar Niemeyer. The man who gave the capital Brasilia its distinctive curved buildings died Wednesday at the age of 104. Anchor Marco Werman talks about Niemeyer’s legacy with Lawrence Vale, a professor of urban design at MIT.
Part IV: The Infectious Connection
Cancer can be triggered by infectious diseases, especially in impoverished parts of the world. Scientists in the US and Africa are working to unravel how viruses and bacteria cause malignancies. By breaking that cycle, they hope to prevent tumors from forming in the first place.
Music Heard on Air for December 6, 2012
Tunes spun on The World between our reports for December 6, 2012. Artists featured are: Orsten, Lorelei Loveridge, Vieux Farka Toure, Kaya Project.
Pigeon Hunting Catfish, the ‘Freshwater Killer Whales’
Some catfish in France’s Tarn river come on land to hunt pigeons. Those catfish and their unusual hunting behavior is the topic of a new study.
EU Coal Resurgence Means Bigger Climate Challenge
Coal use is at 40-year lows here in the US but it’s another story in Europe, where it’s on the rise. And as The World’s Gerry Hadden reports from Spain, that means trouble for the European Union’s commitment to cutting CO2 emissions to combat global climate change.
Smog Hovers Over West Asian Capital
The smog and air pollution that’s been lingering over Iran’s capital is bad enough to cause headaches and breathing problems. So the government has closed schools and offices for a few days and is encouraging residents to clear out of the city.
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