In the aftermath of a shattering illness, Lonni Sue Johnson lives in a "perpetual now," where she has almost no memories of the past and a nearly complete inability to form new ones. The Perpetual Now is the moving story of this exceptional woman, and the groundbreaking revelations about memory, learning, and consciousness her unique case has uncovered. Lonni Sue Johnson was a renowned artist who regularly produced covers for The New Yorker, a gifted musician, a skilled amateur pilot, and a joyful presence to all who knew her. But in late 2007, she contracted encephalitis. The disease burned through her hippocampus like wildfire, leaving her severely amnesic, living in a present that rarely progresses beyond ten to fifteen minutes. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Remarkably, she still retains much of the intellect and artistic skills from her previous life, but it's not at all clear how closely her consciousness resembles yours or mine. As such, Lonni Sue's story has become part of a much larger scientific narrative&mdash;one that is currently challenging traditional wisdom about how human memory and awareness are stored in the brain. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; In this probing, compassionate, and illuminating book, award-winning science journalist Michael D. Lemonick uses the unique drama of Lonni Sue Johnson's day-to-day life to give us a nuanced and intimate understanding of the science that lies at the very heart of human nature.

The Perpetual Now by Michael D. Lemonick, read by Kaleo Griffith

Economics professor Alan Krueger — former chairman of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers — tells PAW’s Allie Wenner about his research on the economics of the music industry, including his opinions about the secondary market for concert tickets, how online streaming has reversed the downward trend in revenue for recordings, and why he thinks Taylor Swift is an “economic genius.”

PAWcast: Professor Alan Krueger on ‘Rockonomics’ (September 2018)

Bruce Schneier is a public-interest technologist, and his latest book "Click Here to Kill Everybody" seeks to explore risk and security questions in today's hyper-connected world with smart thermostats, "Internet of Things" home devices, self-driving cars, and other "mini computers" that are easily hackable and pose grave security threats. 

In this interview, Mr. Schneier explains why tech today is fundamentally different as it’s no longer the same mechanical or electromechanical device but rather all hackable computers; why the "surveillance capitalism" business model of big tech companies in fact encourages security flaws; how open source and decentralization technology can go a long way helping address the issues; and his vision for a secure “Internet+” future and some of the sensible and realistic policies that we can implement... 

We also touch on the current COVID-19 crisis and the contact tracing technology that is gaining increasing attention. Mr. Schneier calls it a "dumb idea" and explains why between false positives and our current lack of testing capacity, contact tracing technology does little to address the real issue. A brilliant contrarian, Mr. Schneier provides convincing arguments for antitrust measures against unethical tech business models and harsh critiques on the tech policymaking environment today. 

In addition to over a dozen of published books, Mr. Schneier has also written hundreds of articles, essays, and academic papers. His influential newsletter "Crypto-Gram" and his blog "Schneier on Security" are read by over 250,000 people. He is a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University; a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School; a board member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, AccessNow, and the Tor Project.

Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World

Two in-depth interviews every week with scholars, policy makers, and business executives on frontier ideas & urgent issues in our world.

Sponsored by the Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance and the Griswold Center for Economic Policy Studies at Princeton University. 

Hosted by Tiger Gao '21 and other undergraduate Princetonians. 

Visit us on policypunchline.com

Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World

Policy Punchline

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