Canadians don’t know how to celebrate? “You’ve to to be kidding me, eh?” says Andrea Crossan, producer and reporter for The World. Andrea was in her hometown, Vancouver, to cover the games for The World. Read her Reporter’s Notebook, and listen in to her coverage.
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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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The United States today unveiled the design for a brand new embassy in London. The US has had an embassy in central London for some 200 years. But space and security concerns are forcing a move to slightly less swanky, but more secure, digs across the Thames River. Later today, The World’s Laura Lynch reports on the winning design (pictured), submitted by Philadelphia-based firm Kieran Timberlake. Download MP3
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You never know where your next great meal might come from. This might look like an unassuming dry cleaners in Barcelona. But it hides a delicious secret: a restaurant in the back that is quickly becoming the talk of the town. In this episode of our Talking Travel podcast with Lonely Planet, we chat about “underground dining.” That, plus a discussion on whether a virtual Trans-Siberian Railway can live up to the real thing.
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In the aftermath of last month’s earthquake, rebuilding Haiti will likely take years. Designers and architects across the globe want to help. In fact, they’ll be holding an series of brainstorming sessions across the globe tomorrow. The World’s Clark Boyd reports on “Global Pecha Kucha Night for Haiti.” Download MP3 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.
This week, we tackle a thorny issue: the use of robots on the battlefield. Now, you already know that drones are flying over Afghanistan, and robots are disarming IEDs in Iraq. But what about sending robots into the field to do actual combat? What is they were armed? How could you program them to make life-and-death decisions? All interesting questions that we try to get a handle on in WTP 278. Also, the newspaper YOU make, and an update on Global Pecha Kucha Night for Haiti.
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Can a robot be programmed to make life-and-death decisions on the battlefield? Some researchers are currently working to develop software that will help robots make moral and legal decisions on their own. Later today, we speak with Ronald Arkin, a professor of computer science at Georgia Tech who has just completed a three-year research project for the Army looking into the use of ethical battlefield robots. Download MP3Audio 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.
The standard view of Japanese popular culture, at least here in the US, is that it’s wacky, chaotic and impossible to fathom. For instance, there’s a video doing the rounds online that features actors dressed up as peasants singing American jazz standards, with Japanese lyrics. The World’s Alex Gallafent finds out what it all means. Download MP3 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.
Hundreds of language programs at public schools have become victims of shrinking budgets. Not Chinese. We visit an inner city high school where 400 students are learning Chinese. Also, don’t be fooled: the language of love is not universal, not unless you keep you mouth shut. That’s the view of an American woman who endlessly misunderstands the amorous words of her German-speaking lover. Plus, bodice-ripping our way out of the recession: romance novels are more popular than ever.Download MP3
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This is no ordinary soccer ball. It’s called sOccket, and it’s got some tech inside that allows it to store up energy while it’s being kicked around. After 15 minutes, the ball’s stored up enough juice to power an LED light, or even charge up something else. Too cool. In this week’s podcast, we’ll talk to one of the people behind the sOccket. We’ll also hear about a high-tech treadmill for training Swedish skiers, and we’ll “embed” with some folks looking to keep information flowing into and out of Iran. We end with a segment on listeners Mark Dytham and Astrid Klein in Tokyo. They are architects who are trying to crowdsource new design and building ideas for post-earthquake Haiti. Wow.
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In this episode of Talking Travel, we talk about the heavy rains and flooding that have threatened the lives and livelihoods of those living in the shadow of Machu Picchu in Peru. Lonely Planet’s Robert Reid and Tom Hall assess the short-term and long-term damage to Peru’s tourism industry, and offer listeners some alternate spots to take in South America’s ancient ruins. Hosted by The World’s Clark Boyd. Photo: Martin St-Amant – Wikipedia
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The Swedish cross-country team has gotten some high-tech training help from the country’s Winter Sports Research Center. They’ve been training on a high-tech treadmill designed to realistically recreate the course they’ll be skiing during the Winter Games in Canada. Programming that treadmill required some sophisticated GPS measurements (pictured), as The World’s Clark Boyd explains. Download MP3 (Photo: Matej Supej)
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We’ve got a great mix of stories on this week’s podcast. We take you inside a Crisis Camp for Haiti meeting in Montreal, to hear how concerned people thousands of miles away are helping the relief effort. Also, two great stories about design and technology: one concerns an ancient footbridge across the Nile, and the other the humble, but dangerous, British pint glass. And we end with some research into potential links between Internet addiction and depression.
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As Obama enters the second year of his presidency, he’s dropped some expressions — “war on terror”, “Af-Pak”, even “Middle East”. His administration has invented a few too: “remotedly piloted aircraft” (drones) and “overseas contingency operations” (wars). Also, a special screening of Avatar in Ecuador for indigenous groups. What did these Shuar and Achuar speakers think of Avatar’s invented language, Na’vi? Finally, a new online satirical movie is all the rage in China. It features a Chinese double-entendre phrase aimed at avoiding government censorship. The movie also includes a fantastic “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” rant.
