A glimpse into the Persian blogosphere

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Persian language bloggers, both inside and outside the country, have been weighing in on the day’s events in Tehran. Those bloggers are the subject of some new research carried out by The BBC World Service Trust and a Persian social media website called Balatarin. Marco Werman hears more from The World’s technology correspondent Clark Boyd. Download MP3

• The BBC World Service Trust Iran Project
• Cyrus Farivar on detained Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan

WTP 262: Moon crash, Peruvian fog nets, Nobel Prize in physics, and Trongs!

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A listener-centered episode this week. Tech Podcast listener and inventor Eric Zimmerman shares his low-tech solution to a high-tech problem; namely, how do manage to answer your cell phone when you’re eating buffalo wings and your fingers are covered in sauce? Trongs. Also, NASA crashes into the moon (on purpose), and Peru tries to harvest water with fog nets. And, we have a technological nod to the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics.

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‘Created in China’ series

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China’s Communist Party has been celebrating 60 years in power. During those decades, the party has shown a remarkable ability to reinvent itself and pragmatically adjust to the times, without letting go of the core levers of authoritarian power. In the final part of the series, Mary Kay Magistad reports on whether China’s Communists can continue to deliver economic growth and still maintain tight political control. Download MP3

• ‘Created in China’ series page
• Mary Kay’s 2007 series on ‘Young China’
• Pictures of China’s anniversary celebration

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

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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.

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‘Created in China’ series

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China has been staging mass celebrations to mark 60 years since the Communist Party came to power. One of the themes was how much progress China has made. In part IV of her series, Mary Kay Magistad explores how innovation in China is coming and will have to come from the private sector. Download MP3

• ‘Created in China’ series page
• Mary Kay’s 2007 series on ‘Young China’
• Pictures of China’s anniversary celebration

‘Created in China’ series

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We continue our series ‘Created in China’ with a look at the roots of innovation, at how Chinese children are or are not encouraged to be creative, and how that’s evolving as the government makes innovation more of a priority. Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing. Download MP3

• Illustrated transcript of part III
• ‘Created in China’ series page
• Mary Kay’s 2007 series on ‘Young China’

Created in China: part III

Innovation comes not just from infrastructure and investment – it comes from a culture that encourages originality and creativity, rewards risk-taking and tolerates failure. In the People’s Republic of China, that is still a work in progress. Today, we continue our series “Created in China” with a look at the roots of innovation, at how Chinese children are or are not encouraged to be creative, and how that’s evolving as the government makes innovation more of a priority. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

‘Created in China’ series

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China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph. China was among the first to harness fossil fuels, and map the stars. And then, about 500 years ago, it lost its innovative edge. Now China hopes once again to lead the world in creativity. In part II of her “Created in China” series, Mary Kay Magistad looks at how the government in Beijing is trying to spur innovation. Download MP3

• Illustrated transcript of part II
• Created in China Series page
• Mary Kay’s 2007 series on “Young China.”

Created in China: Part I

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China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph. China was among the first to harness fossil fuels, and map the stars. And then, about 500 years ago, it lost its innovative edge. Now China hopes once again to lead the world in creativity. In this five-part series, The World’s Asia Correspondent Mary Kay Magistad examines the history of Chinese innovation. Download MP3

• Read the transcript and see photos

Created in China

China invented paper, printing, the compass and the seismograph. China was among the first to harness fossil fuels, and map the stars. And then, about 500 years ago, it lost its innovative edge. Now China hopes once again to lead the world in creativity. In this five-part series, The World’s Asia Correspondent Mary Kay Magistad examines the history of Chinese innovation.

Iraqi Internet Bill, Africa Connected, NComputing, and Autism Detection Software

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Fibre-optic broadband Internet access has come to East Africa by way of an undersea cable. We explore “Connected Africa,” and hear a number of viewpoints. Also, the Iraqi parliament mulls a measure that might restrict what citizens can and can’t see online. We have an interview with Stephen Dukker of NComputing, a company that wants to turn your PC into, well, 10 or 12 PCs. And we end with some software designed to detect early signs of autism in the speech patterns of children.

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A closer look at the missile defense plan

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Anchor Marco Werman speaks with the BBC’s Jonathan Marcus about some of the new technologies…and new strategies… that are part of President Obama’s missile defense plan.