Yom Kippur: Kids and bikes in Tel Aviv

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Today is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar. In Israel, the “day of atonement” means that much of the country simply stops. Stores are closed, there’s no school, no newspapers and no Israeli television. And much less traffic. In and around Tel Aviv, the holiday has turned into a festival of bicycles for children. The World’s Matthew Bell will have our story.Download MP3

• See more of Matthew’s photos
• See some videos Matthew shot
• More information about Yom Kippur

Apollo 11 computers, net cables for Africa, and bamboo bicycles

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Finally, Technology Podcast 251 is ready for your earbuds. We have a great line-up. First, we hear about the “beatniks and little old ladies” who, quite literally, wove together the Apollo 11 computer systems 40 years ago. We’ll also take an in-depth look at the undersea fiber-optic cables that went live in East Africa, and how it might affect Internet access on the continent. And we’ll end with bamboo bicycles from Zambia.

Download MP3

Amsterdam: The World’s Most Bike-Friendly City?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Many U.S. cities are trying to get more residents out of cars and on to bikes. But how far could this go? Kathleen Schalch takes us to a place where people are more likely to hop on a bike than to get behind the wheel.