Talks

Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Orbital Path

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On Rand’s Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (1967) and “The Objectivist Ethics” (1961).  

First Rand grounds everyday human knowledge, largely by dismissing the concerns of other philosophers (even those whom she unknowingly parrots) as absurd. Then she uses this certainty to argue for her semi-Nietzschean vision of Great Men who master their emotions and rely only on themselves. Mark, Wes, Dylan, and Seth are satisfied with neither effort.

Warning: This attempt to make sense of Rand’s texts will likely offend any Randians out there, and our reading numerous passages from her alleged “texts” may offend the rest of you. When in doubt, curl up in the fetal position and moan “A=A!” over and over again until the bad sounds stop.

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Ayn Rand on Living Rationally - Partially Examined Life

When I first heard Asimov's interview with Bill Moyers I was fascinated by his words so I decided to record an improvised piano soundtrack, trying to reflect his ideas with music as they occur through out the interview.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEHtt5sGbTw

Isaac Asimov - What's The Real Knowledge

If you were a movie star in the market for a mansion in 1930s Los Angeles, there was a good chance you might call on Wallace Neff.

Neff wasn't just an architect--he was a starchitect. One of his most famous projects was the renovation of  Pickfair, the estate owned by the iconic silent film actress Mary Pickford, and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. When the couple moved into Pickfar, the house sat on a nameless street in an empty neighborhood called Beverly Hills. If you were lucky enough to be invited to dinner at Pickfair you might find yourself seated next to Babe Ruth, the King of Spain or Albert Einstein. Life magazine called Pickfair “only slightly less important than the white house, and much more fun.” Neff designed estates for Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland and Groucho Marx. His Libby Ranch is now owned by Reese Witherspoon.

But at the end of his life, Wallace Neff lived in a 1,000 square foot concrete bubble. And Neff believed that this simple dome was his greatest architectural achievements.

Los Angeles-based reporter David Weinberg spoke with historian Jeffrey Head, author of No Nails, No Lumber: The Bubble Houses of Wallace Neff.  David also spoke with Kathy Miles, who grew up in Igloo Village; Steve Roden, an artist and current resident of the last remaining bubble house in the US; and architect Stefanos Polyzoides, who has his practice in a classic Spanish/Mediterranean-style Wallace Neff building.

We also hear from Dakar-based producer Juliana Friend, who was nice enough to go check on the bubbles over there.

A different version of this story originally aired on KCRW as part of their Independent Producer Project.

David Weinberg is also the brains behind Random Tape, an audio experiment in, well, random tape.

99% Invisible-89- Bubble Houses

An introduction to and summary of Frithjof Bergmann’sNew Work, New Culture, read by Mark Linsenmayer. The full episode on this topic will be posted in a few weeks.

Precognition of Episode 83: Fritjhov Bergmann's New Work, New Culture - Partially Examined Life

About a year ago I travelled across America for the BBC. I visited Airports, Amusement parks, Highways and Community Colleges in order to understand how the priority queue is changing the American experience of waiting in line. ***A version of this piece aired on the BBC World Service, part of their “Real America” series.  <a href="https://www.scrollkit.com/s/aUGM5mO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Click for more info</a> or VISIT toe.prx.org

Waiting In Line

Today, NASA's New Horizon Mission reached its destination 7,800 miles away from Pluto– but it's a journey that's been nearly a decade in the making. Back in 2006, right before New Horizons launched, Ira Flatow talked to Alan Stern, Principal Investigator, about what he hoped to learn.

#SciFriArchive: Alan Stern talks New Horizons in 2006

“Earth is the cradle of humanity, but one cannot live in a cradle forever.” That phrase, penned by the Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, is often invoked by those who believe humanity is destined for the stars. But just how realistic is the interstellar dream? In his new novel, Aurora, sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson shines the microscope on interstellar colonization and concludes that Earth may be the only place where humans will ever be happy and healthy. As he tells Ira, “There is no Planet B.”

Read an excerpt at http://sciencefriday.com/aurora

A Sci-Fi Writer Keeps His Eye on ‘Spaceship Earth’

Download "Wonka Bar" on Apple Music: smarturl.it/WonkaBar

Get the single "Bad Things With Jamaicans" http://smarturl.it/CharleyMarleyBTWJ  - watch the video here https://youtu.be/X8hRcD6NhNg

FOLLOW CHARLEY MARLEY
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Charley Marley - Wonka Bar

Was there a science, technology, or environmental book from 2015 that made you think, laugh, or gape in amazement? Now’s the time to celebrate it. Join Ira as we build our list of the Best Science Books of 2015 with help from Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Deborah Blum and Brain Pickings editor Maria Popova. 

Find the full list at http://sciencefriday.com/books2015 

The Best Science Books of 2015

Host Michelle Thaller talks with astronomer and author Phil Plait of Slate's Bad Astronomy blog about this conundrum: why are humans so quick to give aliens the credit for mysteries of the cosmos?

About the Show: Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.  

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Episode 1: Must Be Aliens

Nathan Gilmour (Christian Humanist podcast) and Rob Dyer (God Complex Radio) join Mark and Wes for to discuss the reasonableness of religious belief reading:

Antony Flew, "The Presumption of Atheism" (1976)
Norwood Russell Hanson, “The Agnostic’s Dilemma” (1971)
Steven Cahn, "The Irrelevance of Proof to Religion" (1969)
Alvin Plantinga, “Is Belief in God Properly Basic?” (1981)
Merold Westphal, "Sin and Reason" (1990)
Basil Mitchell “Faith and Criticism” (1994)
Peter van Inwagen, "Clifford's Principle" (1994)
William Alston "Experience in Religious Belief" (1991)
Richard Swinburne, "The Voluntariness of Faith" (1981) and “The World and Its Order” (1996)
Paul Helm, "Faith and Merit" (1999)
These were all published as the final chapter of the Oxford reader edited by Helm, Faith and Reason.

What is reasonableness, and is it compatible with religious faith, if we take "faith" to mean accepting a claim without evidence? Clearly, there are smart, thoughtful people on both sides of the issue, but why should that be, if one could glean correct opinions about religious matters from our shared experience of the world? Or if the evidence is insufficient either way, aren't there still some standards of reasonableness we can appeal to for what the wisest course of action to take is when we don't have sufficient evidence?

In this half, we focus on Flew, who compares the situation to a court of law, where we presume innocence; likewise, we should presume atheism. Cahn tells us why believers don't care about proofs for the existence of God. Hanson thinks we would all accept as proof of God if He appeared before us publicly, which means we treat His existence as an empirical proposition and should't remain agnostic any more than we suspend judgment about never-observed physical phenomena like egg-laying bats. Westphall argues that original sin means that there is no "natural light of reason" that would allow us to objectively determine without revelation anything out religious matters.

Is Faith Rational? (Part One)

Dr. Michelle Thaller talks to Prof. Lisa Randall, a theoretical particle physicist at Harvard, about her new book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe. The scientists explore what caused the dinosaurs' extinction and the role dark matter plays in the universe and our world.

About the Show: Astronomer and host Michelle Thaller takes a look at the big questions of the cosmos and what the answers can reveal about life here on Earth. Produced by Lauren Ober. From podcast powerhouse PRX, with support from the Sloan Foundation.

Visit our site: orbital.prx.org

Episode 2: Mass Extinctions Get Personal

The most rare objects in the night sky are only visible in some extreme places. Dr. Michelle Thaller introduces us to Dr. Anna Moore, a scientist whose trips to Antarctica help us better understand the solar system.

Learn more about the show at orbital.prx.org.

Episode 3: The Most Dramatic Sky

Astronomer Michelle Thaller talks with Ashley Davies, a research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, about the importance of volcanoes in the creation of Earth and how the study of volcanoes in space can help us understand life here. Davies has journeyed to remote volcanoes like Mt. Erebus in Antarctica and Erta Ale in Ethiopia as a way to help map volcanoes like those on Jupiter's moons, Io and Europa, and in turn come that much closer to understanding how life began.

Episode 4: In Praise of Volcanoes

In this special Mother's Day episode, Michelle talks with her mom about what it was like raising a space-obsessed daughter in Wisconsin and watching her grow into a scientist.

Orbital Path is produced for PRX by Lauren Ober. Subscribe iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Image: Michelle's sister (top L), Michelle (top R), and their mom in the '80s.

Episode 5: Michelle & Her Mom

The latest MIT Communications Forum, The Craft of Science Fiction, featured Joe Haldeman, four-time Nebula Award winner and author of The Forever War, his forthcoming novel The Accidental Time Machine and many other books.

This forum was moderated by CMS Director Henry Jenkins.

Joe Haldeman, "The Craft of Science Fiction"

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