Science
David Foster Wallace Tells Us About Freedom
()What do you get when you get a college diploma? To hear David Foster Wallace tell it, you get a muscle that will help you forever after — in shopping lines, overcrowded parking lots, in traffic jams. This muscle, he says, frees you when the world gets painfully dull.
Dan Pallotta: Do We Have The Wrong Idea About Charity?
Fundraiser Dan Pallotta says nonprofits are rewarded for being frugal, not for what they get done.
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Special Series
Joe's Big Idea
How do ideas become inventions and innovations? An NPR experiment explores.
TED Radio Hour
Ron Finley: How Can You Give A Community Better Health? ()
May 17, 2013 Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. He hopes to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."
TED Radio Hour
Mark Bezos: When Is the Right Time To Give? ()
May 17, 2013 Volunteer firefighter Mark Bezos tells a story of an act of heroism that didn't go quite as expected — but that taught him a big lesson: Don't wait — give now.
Krulwich Wonders...
What Did I Do Last Summer? Oh, I Discovered How To Make Babies Without Sex. And You?()
May 17, 2013 Sex is nice, but can animals make babies without it? One summer, two little boys, their tutor and the tutor's two friends did an experiment to explore this question. What they discovered, back in 1740, shocked the world.
Shots - Health News
A Small Shock To The System May Help Brain With Math()
May 16, 2013 The results are preliminary, and alpha parents seeking an edge for their children shouldn't risk electrocution. Still, the findings are provocative and may lead researchers down a new road.
Shots - Health News
Human Scent Is Even Sweeter For Malaria Mosquitoes()
May 16, 2013 Scientists used a Dutch woman's dirty stocking to learn that mosquitoes infected with malaria find humans hard to resist. Like a fungus that turns ants into zombies, the parasite seems to change the behavior of the mosquitoes for its own benefit.
Shots - Health News
Cloning, Stem Cells Long Mired In Legislative Gridlock()
May 16, 2013 The news that scientists have successfully cloned a human embryo seems almost certain to rekindle a political fight that has raged, on and off, since the creation of Dolly the sheep. It's a fight that has, over the past decade and a half, produced a lot of heat and light and not a lot of policy.
Research News
Water Trapped For 1.5 Billion Years Could Hold Ancient Life()
May 16, 2013 Scientists have discovered water that was sealed in Canadian bedrock for nearly half of Earth's history. It may contain the descendants of ancient microbes. The discovery could give scientists new insights into early life on Earth and inform the search for life on other planets.
The Two-Way
NASA Says Kepler's Planet-Searching Days May Be Numbered()
May 15, 2013 The mission launched in 2009 to hunt for Earth-like planets circling distant stars may be coming to an end because of a faulty part in the space telescope.
