Tech Podcast: The laser turns 50

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For this week’s podcast, we celebrate the 50th birthday of “Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation,” aka the laser! Where would all of us Pink Floyd fans be without this not-so-humble technology? But seriously, we’ll look at the laser’s past, and future. Also, we have an oil spill update, we unmask Latvia’s digital Robin Hood, and we’ll hear about how the Japanese might choose robots over immigrants in caring for the county’s aging population. (Photo: Jeff Keyzer via Wikipedia).

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Latvian Nazi unit commemorated

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The wounds of World War II are still deeply felt in the Baltics. That was evident in Latvia today where veterans gathered to commemorate troops who had died defending Latvia against Stalin’s Soviet invaders. The annual ceremony angers some in Latvia because the troops being commemorated fought in two Waffen SS divisions on the side of Nazi Germany. The BBC’s Damien McGuiness is in Latvia’s capital Riga. Download MP3 (Photo: German Bundesarchiv)

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• Country profile: Latvia

Economic woes

Another European country with economic woes figures in today’s Geo Quiz. We’re searching for a country at the edge of the Baltic Sea. Its neighbors include Russia, Estonia and Belarus. Its economy was on the upswing until about 2007.

Tech Podcast: Germans prepare for RoboCup 2010

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In this week’s podcast, we feature a listener-generated segment on robotic soccer. Tell me, is there anything more awesome than teams of three kid-sized robots trying to score goals against one another? Absolutely not is the answer. We’ll hear from the FUmanoids, the German team that is currently the #2 team in the world. We’ll also talk about Google’s Europe woes, and about Latvia’s virtual “Robin Hood.”

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Baltic Island seals

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Geo Quiz takes us out to sea. If you travel clockwise around the Baltic Sea, you can visit any of the Baltic countries: Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, Germany, and finally Denmark. Download MP3

See photos of the grey seals

Creeping Protectionism and Failing Economies in Eastern Europe

“The biggest threat to the system (today): suppose everybody now tries to turn inward… then I think the degree of integration of the global economy, this time, is so large, that it would be extremely difficult, it would just collapse in on itself.” These were the words of economist Barry Bosworth at the Brookings Institution, spoken in January. Are we starting to see protectionism today? Will countries repeat the mistakes of the 1930’s? Listen to the Global Economy Podcast