Cyrus Farivar | PRI's The World

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Cyrus Farivar

This tag is associated with 15 posts

Tech Podcast 274: Mapping Haiti, Google and China

By Clark Boyd ⋅ January 25, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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This week’s podcast features more news on different tech efforts to help relief workers in Haiti. We look at Open Street Map, and Project EPIC’s “Tweak the Tweet.” We also delve into Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom, and get two in-depth views of Google’s recent announcements about China. Also, let us not forget the power of radio in Haiti.

Tech Podcast: Tech aids Haiti relief efforts

By Clark Boyd ⋅ January 15, 2010 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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This week, we look at two major stories. The first is the relief effort in Haiti, which was hit by a devastating earthquake earlier this week. We examine the importance of getting telecommunications back up and running, both for aid groups and for locals. Also, we talk about how US aid groups are turning to text messaging to raise funds. Our other big story is Google’s announcement that it may pull out of China completely.

Tech Podcast 266: The Strange Case of Blogger Hossein Derakhshan

By The World ⋅ November 6, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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The centerpiece of this week’s podcast is a look at the strange case of Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan. He was jailed a little more than a year ago after returning to Iran. We hear about the twists and turns his life has taken in recent years. We also hear about some new research on Persian blogs, and about the world’s smallest FM transmitter! Oh, and a guy who has most of his life recorded digitally…and loves it.

Tech Podcast 265: “Internet’s” birthday, 40 years of modulated anarchy

By Clark Boyd ⋅ October 30, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments ⋅ Transcript

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This week, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. We hear from UCLA’s Leonard Kleinrock (pictured), and others who worked to send that first message between two computers, hundreds of miles apart. We get the international perspective from Chinese blogger and activist Isaac Mao. And we also hear about the ‘Net’s next step, Internationalized Domain Names.

Iranian blogger still in prison after a year

By The World ⋅ October 28, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

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Reporter Cyrus Farivar has an update on the plight of Hossein Derhakhshan, a pioneer of the Iranian blogosphere. He was arrested in November 2008 during a visit back to Iran.

Tech Podcast: Viktor Mayer-Schönberger

By The World ⋅ October 19, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments ⋅ Transcript

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The highlight of our technology podcast this week is an interview with author Viktor Mayer-Schönberger about his new book, called Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in The Digital Age. It’s a fascinating look at how digital technologies, and especially the growing capacity for storage, has made us forget how to forget. Listen in, and then weigh in with your comments. Download MP3

I’mHalal: The Muslim search engine

By The World ⋅ October 15, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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In Islam, something that is “haram” is considered forbidden. The opposite of haram is “halal,” which means permissible. Now, a new Internet search engine is trying to help practicing Muslims sort out the various levels of what is forbidden, offering up “clean” search results. It’s called I’mHalal, and it claims to be the world’s first custom-designed “Islamic search engine.” Cyrus Farivar has the story. Download MP3

EU vs. Iran, smart electricity meters, and nanotech update

By The World ⋅ October 2, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments ⋅ Transcript

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On this week’s podcast, we take you to France and Britain to look at the prospects of developing a smart electricity meter, one that could change the amount of electricity you consume. Also, one Dutch politician is asking the European Union to take a tough line of sales of Internet filtering equipment to Iran. And we have a lengthy report on nanotechnology.

Iraq readies for possible Internet crackdown

By The World ⋅ September 14, 2009 ⋅ 3 comments ⋅ Transcript

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Iraq has been undergoing tumultuous changes since 2003. Some of them have occurred on line. The first changes came with the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government, and its censors. Six years of Internet freedom followed. But now, Iraqi legislators are considering pulling in the reigns. Cyrus Farivar reports. Download MP3

Recreating pre-war Nagasaki in 3D, Ars Electronica 2009, and A Brief History of GPS Drawing

By Clark Boyd ⋅ September 4, 2009 ⋅ One comment ⋅ Transcript

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On this week’s podcast, we’re off to Linz, Austria to hear about some of the exhibits at annual Ars Electronica Festival. One you can see here at left: that’s right, turn your own urine into fertilizer. If you like that one, wait until you hear the other story from Linz…Also, we hear about the 3D re-creation of pre-war Nagasaki, Japan. And we end with a brief history of GPS drawing, brought to you by listener Brett Stalbaum.

Going after hi-tech piracy

By The World ⋅ July 15, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Cyrus Farivar reports on a new type of political party that’s springing up in countries across Europe. The Pirate Party wants to reform intellectual property law in the cyber world, and membership is growing.
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Pirate Parties Go Global

By Clark Boyd ⋅ July 14, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

The Pirate Party began in Sweden. Its political goals are to reform copyright and patent laws, and to campaign for citizen privacy, both online and in the real world. Now, the movement’s gone global. Cyrus Farivar reports. >>>Listen to the story

Helping Iranians bypass web censorship

By The World ⋅ July 7, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Correspondent Cyrus Farivar reports on how technology activists around the globe are working to help Iranians bypass their government’s Internet censorship.
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Twitter confusion in Iran

By admin ⋅ June 25, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Reporter Cyrus Farivar tries to sort out fact from fiction in the flurry of online communication coming out of Iran.
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EU Puts Hurt on Intel, Persian Bloggers on Saberi’s Release, Google Oceans Goes Deep, and SixthSense at MIT

By Clark Boyd ⋅ May 18, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment ⋅ Transcript

Pranav Mistry of MIT This week, MIT’s SixthSense human-computer interface aims to the web, well, wherever you want it. Also, the European Union puts some financial hurt on chip-maker Intel. Persian bloggers weigh in on the release of journalist Roxana Saberi. And Google Oceans goes deep. Listen