Category: Listen

Listened to The World, Remade from On the Media | WNYC Studios

How the pandemic has shaped our future: from the built environment, to the way we work, to the way we learn.

With vaccinations underway, we’re edging closer and closer to the end of the pandemic. This week, On The Media looks at how the pandemic has shaped what’s possible for the future — from the built environment to the way we work to the way we learn.

1. Sam Kling [@SamKling2], American Council of Learned Societies public fellow, on whether cities like New York were bound to become hubs for disease. Listen.

2. Vanessa Chang [@vxchang], lecturer at California College of the Arts, explains how pandemics of the past have been instrumental in shaping architecture; Mik Scarlet [@MikScarlet] delineates the social model of disability; and Sara Hendren [@ablerism], author of What Can A Body Do?: How We Meet the Built World, describes how the wisdom of people with disabilities can inform the redesign our post-pandemic world. Listen.

3. OTM reporter Micah Loewinger [@micahloewinger] tells the story of how distance learning saved his friend's life. Listen.

Listened to A Brief History of Timekeeping from On the Media | WNYC Studios

2020 is over. But is it really?

We spend our lives bound to a clock and calendar that tell us what to do and what to expect. But now, millions of Americans are newly jobless, untethered from structure and predictability. Hundreds of of thousands fight a virus that could cut their time on earth dramatically short. And all of us wait out a life-stoppage of unknown duration. And so, we may find ourselves outside of time. Passing it, but no longer marking it. Anthony F. Aveni, professor emeritus of astronomy, anthropology, and Native American studies at Colgate University, says that to understand our current time consciousness, we have to return to a land before time — or at least, time as we know it. Aveni and Bob talk about the history of timekeeping, and how we might find our orientation during this collective time-out.

This is a segment from our April 24th, 2020 program, On Matters of Time and Space.

Listened to Unlearning White Jesus from On the Media | WNYC Studios

Examining the consequences of 'White Jesus' in America.

In a time where monuments are being toppled, institutions and icons reconsidered, we turn to a portrait encountered by every American: "White Jesus." You know, that guy with sandy blond hair and upcast blue eyes. For On the Media, Eloise Blondiau traces the history of how the historically inaccurate image became canon, and why it matters.

In this segment, Eloise talks to Mbiyu Chui, pastor at the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Detroit, about unlearning Jesus's whiteness. She also hears from Edward Blum, author of The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America, about how the image came dominate in the U.S., and psychologist Simon Howard on how White Jesus has infiltrated our subconsciouses. Lastly, Eloise speaks to Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, womanist theologian and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary, about the theology of the Black Christ.

This is a segment from our October 1st, 2020 program, God Bless.

Read Here’s the full transcript and audio of the call between Trump and Raffensperger by Amy Gardner and Paulina Firozi (Washington Post)
Listen to the full Jan. 2 phone call. This audio has been edited to remove the name of an individual about whom the president makes unsubstantiated allegations. (Obtained by The Washington Post) About 3 p.m. Saturday, President Trump held an hour-long call with Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, in which he repeatedly urged him to alter the outcome of the presidential vote in the state. He was joined on the call by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and several lawyers, including longtime conservative attorney Cleta Mitchell and Georgia-based attorney Kurt Hilbert. Raffensperger was joined by his office’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, and Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs. The Washington Post obtained a copy of a recording of the call. This transcript has been edited to remove the name of an individual about whom Trump makes unsubstantiated claims.

Interesting to note that Trump does 95% of the speaking on this call and most of it both bullying and repeating the same small handful of lies. What an abhorrent loser clown he is.

Listened to Say Something in Welsh: Old Course 1, Lesson 3 from saysomethingin.com

To finish - cwpla
To buy - prynu
To come - dod
To sleep - cysgu
To take - cymryd
To see - gweld
I'm going to speak - Dw i'n mynd i siarad
I'm not going to speak - Dw i ddim yn mynd i siarad
You're going to speak - Ti'n mynd i siarad
You're not going to speak - Ti ddim yn mynd i siarad
I spoke - Wnes i siarad
I didn't speak - Wnes i ddim siarad

Listened to Say Something in Welsh: Old Course 1, Lesson 1 from saysomethingin.com

Vocabulary

I'm trying - dwi'n trio
I'm not trying - dwi ddim yn trio
To like - hoffi
To speak - siarad
Welsh - Cymraeg
To go - mynd
To stay - aros
To do - gwneud
To say - dweud
To be able - gallu
To know - gwybod
To want - moyn
You're speaking - ti'n siarad
Reviewing
Listened to Nos Wener Ffion Emyr, 04/12/2020 from BBC Radio Cymru
Ffion Emyr yn tanio'r penwythnos gyda dwy awr o gerddoriaeth.
Dwy awr o gerddoriaeth a sgyrsiau difyr. Tybed pwy sydd yn gallu gwneud y coctêl gorau yng Nghymru ar nos Wener?
Hefyd, mae Gwawr Eleri James yn dewis cân i'w ffrindiau; ac mae Manon Williams yn hel atgofion am ei diwrnod priodas.
Listening out of curiosity while working in the kitchen.

phone screenshot of BBC Radio Cymru featuring Ffion Emyr and her show

Read - Reading: The History of the English Language by Seth Lerer (The Great Courses)

Lecture 35: Linguistics and Politics in Language Study
Get a compelling introduction to Noam Chomsky, the founder of modern linguistics, and to the social, cognitive, and philosophical implications of his work. The legacy of Chomskyan linguistics, you'll discover, goes far beyond the technical terms of the discipline to embrace a politics of language study itself.

  • 97.2%
Noam Chomsky 1950’s & 60’s:

  • Deductive instead of inductive approach
  • Deep/surface structures
  • Transformational generative grammar (theory about language)

Saussure: langue and parole

Chomsky used competence and performance

Aspect over tense

Listened to Behavioral Economics When Psychology and Economics Collide, Lecture 2: The Rise of Behavioral Economics from Great Courses
Grasp how behavioral economics uses methods from both economics and psychology to better understand biases and anomalies in decision making—factors that “rational choice” models don’t explain. Learn three core experimental principles of behavioral economics, and about Prospect Theory, which helps explain what human beings value.
8% done; Finished lecture 2
Still some overview and basic intro. Hope it picks up soon.
Listened to Behavioral Economics When Psychology and Economics Collide — Lecture 1: What Is a Good Decision? by Scott HuettelScott Huettel from The Great Courses
Begin by examining “rational choice” models of decision making from traditional economics, which assume consistent, foresighted, and self-interested decision makers. Then consider how this concept fails to explain many human decisions that appear counterintuitive or paradoxical. Identify two fundamental limitations that challenge our decision-making process.
4% done; Finished Lecture 1
Fairly facile introduction from my perspective. Didn’t learn anything new here.
Listened to 166: Ambient Struggles (feat. May-Li Khoe & Andy Matuschak) from Design Details
Today's show is a rare two-person episode featuring previous-guest May-Li Khoe and newcomer Andy Matuschak. In this episode we do things a bit different, digging into tough topics like fear, learning how to learn, designing with convictions, working on the right problems, and so much more.

Some interesting broad philosophy, but nothing significant for what I was hoping for on learning or memory.