MP3/AUDIO NEWS DOWNLOAD
TWO WEEKS ENDING 24 MAY 2013

RATINGS... for each clip are out of a possible 5.

INDEX FOR 24 MAY 2013   (Or just keep scrolling down!)

Featured Stories

• Days of Destruction—Hedges, Berman, and Orlov on Collapse
• The Psychopathy of Our Oligarchic Elite
• Geoengineering—Can We Save the Planet by Messing with Nature?
• Eldon Taylor:  What You Believe Matters

All Story Categories

• Financial, Empire & Elites
• Media, Internet & Privacy
• Energy, Peak Oil, Sustainability & Resilience
• Nuclear
• Environment
• Food, Nutrition, Organics & GMOs
• Agriculture & Gardening
• Cool & Cosmic
• Music & Fun

FINANCIAL, EMPIRE & ELITES

Progressive Commentary Hour

The Psychopathy of Our Oligarchic Elite — 20 May 2013 — There is clearly something wrong with the upper crust—the wealthy and powerful people who are society's movers and shakers. Are they sociopaths or psychopaths? What is the difference between the two terms? Why are they so without empathy; why are they so driven to acquire wealth and power? Two analysts discuss the topic. Joel Bakan, who is a lawyer and professor of constitutional and economic law; and Christopher Bayer, who is a psychologist best known as the "Wall Street Psychologist" because of his 30 years spent treating financial executives.
Download/Listen   1:00:00

Global Research News Hour

The Looming Specter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — 20 May 2013 — Though political candidates may talk endlessly about protecting American jobs, fighting corporations on outsourcing, and "fixing" America's trade agreements, once in office, it's a rare politician who isn't fully behind corporate-friendly trade agreements. Discussing trade agreements in general—and the new Trans-Pacific Partnership in particular—are Stuart Trew, trade campaigner for the Council of Canadians; Kristen Beifus of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition; and Kuala Lampur-based analyst Nile Bowie.
Download/Listen   59:46

Progressive Radio News Hour

Eric Draitser on Geopolitics and Empire — 18 May 2013 — Eric Draitser offers an excellent, wide-ranging discussion on geopolitics and the ills of empire. Topics include the interplay between the US, Israel, China, and Russia in the Middle East/Central Asia resource wars; the role the captured media plays in keeping the populace from seeing the true nature of the US empire; a comparison between the actions of FDR and Obama; and the trend towards "monopoly of force" by the state.
Download/Listen   55:50

CounterSpin

Marcy Wheeler on AP-DOJ, Robert Greenwald on the War on Whistleblowers — 17 May 2013 — (1) An analysis of recent media performance. ~~ (2) Marcy Wheeler explains how the Justice Department's investigation of the AP poses a threat to freedom of the press and the public's right to know, also calling into question the facts of the bomb-plot story and the Justice Department's rationale for investigating AP. ~~ (3) The Obama administration has pursued government whistleblowers with a vengeance. A new documentary tells those stories and explains how such actions undermine investigative journalism. Filmmaker Robert Greenwald explains.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   28:00

Democracy Now

Obama's Attacks on Free Speech Worse Than Nixon's? — 17 May 2013 — The Justice Department's disclosure that it had secretly subpoenaed phone records from the Associated Press has prompted a wave of comparisons between President Obama and Richard Nixon. Four decades ago, the Nixon administration attempted to block The New York Times from publishing a secret history of the Vietnam War leaked to the newspaper by whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg. James Goodale, who was the general counsel at Times during Nixon's "Pentagon Papers" crackdown, offers a clarion call to the journalist community to wake up and recognize that if Obama continues this direction unchecked, he will have succeeded where Nixon failed.
Watch  |  Download/Listen   18:43

Democracy Now

Independent Senator Decries Obama Administration's Broad Interpretation of War Powers — 17 May 2013— During a Senate hearing revisiting the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which was enacted by Congress days after 9/11, a Pentagon official predicted the war against al-Qaeda and "affiliated combatants" could last up to 20 more years. After hearing what sounded like a scripted exchange between Senator Lindsey Graham and Pentagon officials outlining broad powers for the administration to unilaterally engage in wartime operations, Maine Senator Angus King called it the "most astounding and most astoundingly disturbing" thing he had heard since he's been in Congress.
Watch  |  Download/Listen   8:38

ExtraEnvironmentalist

Max Haiven on the Financialization of Higher Education — 07 May 2013— College debt is skyrocketing in the United States, while job opportunities sought by graduates are dwindling, leading to a growing number of indebted youth who are bitter about their time in higher ed. Critical theorist Max Haiven discusses how modern ideas of higher education have been deeply damaged by the logic of the financial sector. Then Kio Stark talks about the themes in her recent book Don't Go Back to School: A Handbook for Learning Anything, including how self-learners can master skills without going through institutions of higher education.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   2:22:53

The Real World of Money

Andrew Gause on Privacy, Money Market Funds, More — 15 May 2013 — Andrew Gause's topics include... Invasion-of-privacy scandals are nothing new to the USG; why we all live in a fish bowl; why digital currency gains market share each year relative to cash; why money market funds may be risky; why the "Empire" (New York) financial numbers are not a good barometer for the US as a whole; how "use taxes" can trap you.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   1:00:00

C-Realm Podcast

How the Interests of Capital Trump Human Needs — 15 May 2013— KMO and Ben McLeish discuss the overlapping concerns of the C-Realm project and the Zeitgeist Movement. Ben discusses the differences between "market efficiency" and actual efficiency and invokes the historical example of Edwin Armstrong, the inventor of FM radio, to illustrate what happens to visionaries in a capitalist milieu who try to put actual efficiency before the maximization of profit. Later, Ben uses the example of John Snow and the cholera outbreaks in 19th-century England to illustrate the tensions between the societal priority of meeting basic human needs and the priority of facilitating economic transactions even when doing so will cause avoidable human death and suffering.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   1:00:00

MEDIA, INTERNET & PRIVACY

On The Media

The Future History of the Newspaper Industry — 17 May 2013 — For as long as the newspaper industry has existed, people have been prognosticating about what it would look like in the future. Some of the predictions have been surprisingly accurate; others, laughably wrong. Matt Novak explains.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   5:33

ENERGY, PEAK OIL, SUSTAINABILITY & RESILIENCE

ExtraEnvironmentalist

Days of Destruction—Hedges, Berman, and Orlov on Collapse — 20 May 2013 — Three titans of the collapse discussion provide a ton of great points here. Key observations from Chris Hedges and Morris Berman include how Obama is merely a brand for the corporate state—a state that is inexorably driving the masses to serfdom; as well as how The Powers That Be keep the masses ignorant and sated on infotainment so those who are informed and speak up are seen as troublemakers. Dmitry Orlov contrasts the authorities' over-reactive lockdown after the Boston bombing to less drastic reactions in other, much more dangerous situations. He also talks about how to penetrate the wall of denial among family and friends; and explains why it's important to invest most of your money (and yourself) in tools, materials, and methods that allow you to live well without money.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   2:15:15

(GP comment:  Except for Hedges' clueless sidebar analysis of the gun issue in the US, this is excellent.)

The Lifeboat Hour

The Five Horsemen of the Global Apocalypse — 12 May 2013 — Michael Ruppert reframes the "Four Horsemen" meme: in the unfolding collapse of industrial civilization, the horsemen are climate chaos, plague-level diseases, radioactive contamination, drought, and war—the interwoven threads in our carpet of doom. He also gives food contamination/adulteration (especially GMOs) an honorable mention. He spends the hour discussing these topics, as well as the meta-theme of how life can be so generally good at the same time our long-term prospects are f*cked.
Download/Listen   56:17

(GP comment:  Ah, yes, that would be the benefit of living within the walls of an empire that exploits the rest of the world.)

Living On Earth

Solar Shines On — 03 May 2013 — Thanks to incentives and growing awareness, solar panels are becoming increasingly popular across the country. Helen Palmer had an array assembled on her roof last year, and in this update she explains how, among other benefits, the panels have almost eliminated her electricity bills.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   7:46

Sea Change Radio

Fighting Power Gridlock — 07 May 2013 — How do we advance sustainable practices in a world driven by the profit motive? Ezra Garrett, the Chief Sustainability Officer for California's Pacific Gas and Electric company, explains how public policies that mandate the use of renewable energy sources can be appropriate tools for guiding private power generators towards sustainability. In particular, Garrett explains how PG&E plans to reach California's mandated threshold of 33% renewables in the next seven years.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   30:00

NUCLEAR

TUC Radio

Post-Fukushima Increases in Thyroid Disease in Newborns on the West Coast of the USA — 08 May 2013 — In March 2013, an article was published in the Open Journal of Pediatrics stating that in the 15 weeks after the fallout from Fukushima began arriving in the US, the number of newborns with hypothyroid disease increased by 28% on the US West Coast. Similar birth problems in the rest of the country declined 3% during the same period, making the West Coast increase statistically significant. Joseph Mangano, co-author of the report, discusses the results.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   29:00

TUC Radio

Ken Buesseler on Fukushima Ocean Impacts — 14 May 2013— Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discusses the increase in radionuclide contaminants in the Pacific Ocean from the meltdown at Fukushima. The level of radioactive cesium in the water off Fukushima increased nearly 70-fold, and even though the levels of radioactive isotopes have come down in the past year, they have not returned to pre-accident levels. Buesseler says it also shows that there is a constant inflow of new radioactivity from the ruined nuclear plant as well as from the groundwater and rivers that flow through Fukushima province into the ocean. As of March 2013, radiation in water near the plant was still a thousand time higher than it once was.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   29:00

TUC Radio

Akio Matsumura:  What Did the World Learn from the Fukushima Accident? — 22 May 2013— Akio Matsumura makes the case that TEPCO is clearly overwhelmed by the task of managing the Fukushima nuclear disaster and, in actuality, has no credentials for handling such a disaster responsibly. Matsumura points to reactor number 4: The entire structure is leaning, the damaged frame is missing large parts of the outer walls, and the collapse of the spent-fuel pool, which is suspended 100 feet in the air by design, is a nightmare waiting to happen.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   29:00

ENVIRONMENT

Radio EcoShock

Will Climate Drive the Next Financial Implosion? — 15 May 2013 — Two new reports say climate change could cause the next financial crisis. If the world decides that carbon emissions must be drastically curtailed to avoid a climate apocalypse—as scientists advise—the sudden capital flight from fossil-fuel-based companies could bring on a financial meltdown.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   1:00:00

(GP comment:  Nice try. But the insane financial markets brought us to this point—and they control the world's political systems—so the postulations here are rather silly.)

FOOD, NUTRITION, ORGANICS & GMOs

AGRICULTURE & GARDENING

Food Sleuth Radio

Cynthia Connolly on Soil Management vs. Irrigation — 02 May 2013 — Cynthia Connolly, owner and operator of Ladybird Organics Farm and president of Monticello Vineyards and Winery—Florida's only organic farm winery—describes how worm castings and soil management have eliminated her need for expensive irrigation.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   28:15

NPR

Growing Vegetables From Seeds the Right Choice For Many Gardeners — 20 May 2013 — More and more gardeners are bypassing "starts" the local nursery and instead growing their veggies from seed. Seeds are often cheaper, and they give gardeners a bigger choice of varieties. Sasa Woodruff checks out the seedy action at a community garden in Venice, California.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   3:57

COOL & COSMIC
(AND POSSIBLY CATASTROPHIC!)

Awakening to Conscious Co-Creation

Eldon Taylor:  What You Believe Matters — 01 May 2013 — Eldon Taylor explains why what you believe matters, revealing the importance of choosing your beliefs and the effect this has on the quality of your life. Such strategies can influence how long you will live and how your DNA expresses itself. It's a web that continually builds upon itself, often trapping us where we don't want to be. But when you discover the full power of your beliefs, you will finally understand why your life is the way it is, and you will be empowered to reorient as necessary.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   57:55

MUSIC & FUN

The Sunrise Ocean Bender

Remember When We Did The Moonshot? — This is an OK set of space rock and prog—not bad, not great, but worth a listen. Once you get past the way-long, overwrought, live double-bill from Deep Purple ("Space Trucking") that introduces the set, things get better, with top tracks including...."Paradise of Your Mind" by Captain Billy's Whizbang // "No Secret Destination" by SRC // "Move On" by Stray // "Hush" by Deep Purple // "Heavy Metal Acid Head" by White Manna // "Hilly Fields (The Mourning)" by Nick Nicely.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   2:00:00

Fresh Air

Bing Crosby—From The Vaults, Surprising Breadth — 13 May 2013 — Four albums of reissues and archival recordings from Bing Crosby's own vaults are getting a high-profile release. They demonstrate that his influence on modern singing is so huge, we barely notice it anymore. He could sing anything—from Latin to Hawaiian to the Great American Songbook
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   8:14

Fresh Air

100 Years Of Woody Herman — 16 May 2013 — Clarinetist/saxophonist Woody Herman's career ran from the 1930s into the 1980s. He is best know for his big-band sound but the bandleader also dabbled in rock 'n' roll, doing his best to change to reflect the times. Herman would have turned 100 in May 2013.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   8:06

NPR

Left Without New Star Trek Episodes, Fans Create Their Own — 16 May 2013— Into Darkness, the latest movie in the Star Trek continuum is now in theatres, more than 40 years after the final episode of the original Star Trek series aired on television. Some fans moved on, but others spent the intervening decades pining away for Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and the rest of the crew of the Starship Enterprise, as well as the fun plots and familiar settings of that first series. To that end, a volunteer band of fans has collected old sets and costumes—and made some of their own—and started creating new Star Trek spin-offs, just for fun.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   4:00

Fresh Air

Daft Punk Brings It Down to a More Human Level — 22 May 2013 — Daft Punk's new album, Random Access Memories, finds the French duo changing its process in an effort to make its songs sound more human, more accessible. They enlist guest stars such as Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers and evoke echoes of classic artists like Air, Steely Dan, and The Buggles.
Go to page  |  Download/Listen   7:50

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