It’s been hard to keep up with my podcast listening with my normal routine disrupted and working at home with kids I can’t tune out the way I do my co-workers. Podcasts have actually been a good source of news on the pandemic, imo, because they’re discrete, thoughtful packages of news on current events as opposed to the deadly trickle of fear and unknowing on tv.
Anyhow, here are some other things worth listening to this week:
Fresh Air :: The Case For Abolishing The Electoral College
A historical look at how the US elects the President, why states have chosen a winner-takes-all model, and why it’s logical to reform the election to represent the popular vote.
Science Talk :: David Quammen: How Animal Infections Spill Over to Humans
An interview from 2012 about how infectious disease jumps from other animal species to humans and how that makes it difficult to eliminate those diseases. Lots of fascinating facts including the first transmission of HIV from chimpanzee to human in Cameroon way back in 1908!
Smithsonian Sidedoor :: The Last Man to Know It All
Prussian scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt had a huge influence on how Americans relate to their natural environment and inspired the origin of National Parks.
Running Tally of Podcast of the Week Appearances in 2020
- Anthropocene Reviewed – 2
- Afropop Worldwide – 1
- BackStory – 2
- Best of the Left – 2
- Decoder Ring – 1
- Fresh Air – 3
- Futility Closet – 2
- Have You Heard – 1
- Hidden Brain – 2
- Hit Parade – 1
- Hub History – 1
- LeVar Burton Reads – 1
- Memory Palace – 1
- More Than Enough – 4
- 99% Invisible – 1
- 60-Second Science – 1
- Radio Boston – 1
- Risk! – 1
- Science Talk – 2
- Smithsonian Sidedoor – 1
- This American Life – 1
- Throughline – 4
- The Tomorrow Society – 1
- Twenty Thousand Hertz – 2
- Wedway Radio – 1
- What Next – 2
Panorama of the Mountains 