Do you ‘plank?’ Why the Internet Trend is Gaining Popularity

What is this woman doing? “Planking,” of course. It’s a new global craze that involves, well, lying face down and then sharing a photo of the event on various social networks. Find out where its popular, and more importantly why on the latest edition of our weekly Technology Podcast.

The future of fuel?

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Being Wrong: A Conversation with Kathryn Schulz

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Author Kathryn Schulz likes to call herself “the world’s leading ‘wrongologist.’” Her book, Being Wrong, details the role that wrongness plays in our lives, and how different cultures and individuals deal with not getting it right. In this special edition of our technology podcast, you can hear Kathryn discuss her book. Download MP3 (19:33)

Tech Podcast: Social networks past, present and future

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Ah, a good old-fashioned wedding, organized entirely via Facebook and Twitter. In a special BBC series, we’ll take a look at “The Secret History of Social Networking.” We’ll find out how social networks got started, and where they might be headed. Download MP3 (27:04)

Tech Podcast: 3D printing for the masses?

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“Tea. Early Grey. Hot.” That’s what Captain Picard would ask for, and (usually) that’s what the Star Trek replicator gave him. Well, the Thing-o-Matic’s not quite that sophisticated, but it can print 3D objects. On this episode of The World’s Technology Podcast, we’ll find out if the 3D printing revolution has truly come to our desktops. Download MP3 (22:01)

Tech Podcast: Robotic limbs assist in Japan

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In this episode of our Technology Podcast, you’ll hear about some amazing new robotic technologies in Japan. Some are designed to help stroke victims walk again. Others are built to help the blind take walks. We’ll also tell you about mobile banking in Haiti, and Cuba’s own homegrown Wikipedia site. Download MP3 (29:54)

Tech Podcast: Leaks, leaks and more Wikileaks

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In this episode of our weekly Technology Podcast, you’ll get an in-depth look at the past, present and future of the whistle-blowing site Wikileaks. We’ve assembled a group of respected netizens to help us better understand what the Wikileaks phenomenon, and the backlash against it, means. Download MP3 (32:26)

Tech Podcast: SIPRnet and the WikiLeaks cables

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Australian Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks. These days, he also happens to be on Interpol’s most wanted list. Earlier this week, WikiLeaks released more than 250,000 US State Department cables. In this edition of our weekly Technology Podcast, you’ll hear about the supposedly secure Intra-net system, called SIPRnet, that held those files, and about the one man who allegedly accessed them, and then gave them to WikiLeaks. (Photo: Espen Moe) Download this episode (25:48)

Tech Podcast: Decoding the Stuxnet worm

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The Stuxnet computer worm has made waves worldwide since it was discovered back in June. Global teams of computer forensics experts have been trying to determine more precisely what the worm’s targets were, and who might have created it. You’ll get an in-depth journey into that computer code in this week’s Technology Podcast. Download this episode (34:39)

Tech Podcast: New study on Tetris and trauma

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Can playing a visual video game like Tetris help ease the effects of trauma? Some researchers at the University of Oxford are trying to answer that question. You’ll hear from them in this week’s technology podcast.Download this episode (19:55)

Tech Podcast: Citizen science hits the high seas

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British Royal Navy logbooks from World War I hold the kind of raw weather data that climate scientists need to run their climate modeling programs. Now, a new project is enlisting the help of citizen scientists everywhere to digitize that information. Plus, you can learn about some really cool history in the bargain. All that and more on this week’s Technology Podcast.

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Tech Podcast: A Nobel for the Internet?

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The Internet, the late Senator Ted Stevens famously quipped, is “just a series of tubes.” Well, now this set of fat data pipes has its very own nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Will it win? We’ll talk about the chances on this month’s podcast round-up of great global technology stories.

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Tech Podcast: Blogger may face death penalty in Iran

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On this week’s technology podcast, we’ll have an update on Hossein Derakhshan, aka Hoder. Widely considered to be the “godfather” of Persian-language blogging, Hoder is now in an Iranian prison. Reports from his family inside the country say he may be facing the death penalty. We’ll have that story, plus a whole lot more global tech goodness.

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Tech Podcast: WikiLeaks’ ‘Afghan War Diary’

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In this week’s technology podcast, we take an in-depth look at WikiLeaks, and their decision to release some 91,000 classified documents from the war in Afghanistan onto the Internet. We also have an interview about Google Maps and border disputes, and hear about so-called conflict minerals. We end with an update on the extradition battle of British hacker Gary McKinnon.

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Tech Podcast: Ricky Gervais talks podcasting

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In this week’s episode of The World’s Technology Podcast, we reach back in time to February 2006 for an encore performance. At the time, the mad comedy trio of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington were rocking the world of podcasting with their crazy episodes. The World’s Clark Boyd managed to get himself invited to the party for half an hour.

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