Data centers are huge structures. They hold computers and equipment that are the backbone of the digital age. They make possible the computational power and data storage needed to train AI models, store content, and operate the cloud-based services that many of us rely on. Some say that data centers and the innovations that come from them are key to solving huge issues facing the world right now. But data centers also prompt a lot of environmental concerns from pollution to massive water consumption. Today, we're going to talk about a new report that says big data centers run by huge companies like Amazon and Google could actually be good for the environment in a key way - they could use their power for good and become mobilizers of clean energy and updated grids. The report’s authors are Merritt Cahoon and Ian Hitchcock from the Deep Tech at Duke Initiative. 

Subscribe/transcript/resources: https://sanford.duke.edu/story/yes-data-center-next-door-can-be-good-neighbor-podcast

Yes, the Data Center Next Door Can Be a Good Neighbor

In the early 20th century many new immigrants to the U.S. had blonde hair and blue eyes yet were not considered “white.” In this episode: who’s considered “white” in America – how it’s changed, what it means and how it may be changing still. 
www.waysandmeansshow.org/
Music by David Schulman and Sound of Picture. Also, Chopin Waltz in A minor B.150 Opus Posth. P. Barton, FEURICH piano performed by Paul Barton. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Who Is White?

Barry Lam speaks with Ray Madoff about conditional bequests and dynasty trusts (trust funds) and how they are legal instruments designed to execute the wishes of the dead. Barry then discusses the policy options for those who are convinced that we should not honor the wishes of the dead.

Episode 1(Bonus):  Wishes of Dead : Dynasty Trusts

With a small gesture of good will toward Syrian refugees, one woman incurred the wrath of evangelical Christians on social media. The resulting chaos helped write the next chapter in a thousand year-old controversy concerning Christianity, Islam, their shared origins, and the nature of God. Guest voices include Larycia Hawkins, Michael Mangis, Karly Bothman, Paul Griffiths, and Amir Hussain.

Episode 4: The Name of God (Released Feb. 14, 2017)

Two records from 1983 achieved minor novelty fame, and then faded away, only to emerge 20 years later as the originators of a curious genre of pop music in the age of social media. This peculiar genre raises questions: how do we think about genre, musical aesthetics, and artistry in the time of industrially-produced music and digital reproduction? Guest voices include Jordan Roseman, aka DJ Earworm, Steve Stein, aka Steinski, philosopher Chris Bartel, and musicologist Christine Boone.

Episode 5: The Cops of Pop (released Feb. 21, 2017)

Barry sits down with Steve Stein to talk through the entire Lesson 1 and Lesson 4 mixes from 1983 and 1986.

Episode 5: (Bonus) Steinski's Lesson 1 and Lesson 4

After years of unusual episodes dating back to her childhood, Anita went to the doctor and was told there was nothing medically wrong with her. "She had a gift," she was told, and she should be tested down the street, at an ESP lab. Parapsychology is the scientific study of telepathy, clairvoyance, telekinesis, precognition, and spirits. Or is it? The field has been pushed to the fringes of science for decades now. In two episodes, I first follow the study of psychics, and then the mainstream sciences of human nature, to see if they differ enough to make one worthy of belief, and the other scorn.

Episode 6: Hackademics I (Released Mar. 7, 2017)

One scientist decided to put the entire field of psychology to test to see how many of its findings hold up to scrutiny. At the same time, he had scientists bet on the success-rate of their own field. We look at the surprising paradoxes of humans being human, trying to learn about humans, and the elusive knowledge of human nature. Guest voices include Brian Nosek of the Center for Open Science, Andrew Gelman of Columbia University, Deborah Mayo of Virginia Tech, and Matthew Makel of Duke TiP. A philosophical take on the replication crisis in the sciences.

Episode 7: Hackademics II: The Hackers (Released Mar. 14, 2017)

Does history make statesmen or do statesmen make history? A conversation with Bruce Jentleson about his forthcoming book The Peacemakers: Lessons Learned from 20th Century Statesmanship.
Subscribe to Policy 360: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/policy-360/id1170662136?mt=2
More about the podcast: http://policy360.org/
Music: "The Zeppelin" by Blue Dot Sessions [http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blue_Dot_Sessions/] /Creative Commons[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/]

Leadership With Bruce Jentleson

On October 5, Duke University inaugurated its tenth president, Vincent E. Price. That gave Duke the opportunity to celebrate for a couple days in its own style. Duke Magazine produced this audio postcard in cooperation with the Duke Office of News and Communications.

Yes, the Data Center Next Door Can Be a Good Neighbor

Sanford School @ Duke