August 13, 2010
Turn On. Tune In. Drop Out.
"If I were at work right now, I'd be paid to have these thoughts." With that thought, Zack Booth Simpson dropped out of high school — then started reading biology textbooks and designing video games. Now he's at a university — not as a student, but as a researcher, combining living organisms with computer programming. Produced by Lindsay Patterson.
July 09, 2010
The Science of Sculpture
Don Ingber is a cell biologist from Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital. One day he saw a piece of modern sculpture, Kenneth Snelson's "Needle Tower" — and Eureka! — it inspired a scientific breakthrough. Produced by Lu Olkowski. Originally aired: May 12, 2006
- Comments [3]
June 18, 2010
Darwin: A Life in Poems
On the Origin of Species is 150 years old, but the work of Charles Darwin remains as influential as ever. Darwin's great-great-granddaughter, Ruth Padel, tells her famous ancestor's life story all in verse. One poem describes Darwin's awe at the sealife that washed up on the deck of the Beagle. Another tackles how Charles' scientific ideas did not square with his wife Emma's deep religious faith.
(Entire program originally aired: November 20, 2009)
June 18, 2010
Ruth Padel: "Survival of the Fittest"
Padel reads from her collection, Darwin: A Life in Poems.
June 18, 2010
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
"Set the sails; I feel the winds a'stirring." So begins the song, "Charlie Darwin," by the rock band The Low Anthem. Frontman Ben Knox Miller describes how the band came up with the tune and its darker message, "Who could heed the words of Charlie Darwin? Fighting for a system built to fail."
June 18, 2010
Spencer Wells
Where did we come from? Evolutionary biologist Spencer Wells is pretty close to the answer. He's the National Geographic "Explorer-in-Residence" and heads an initiative called the Genographic Project. His new book is called Pandora's Seed. By collecting DNA samples from people around the world, he's tracing the paths of human migration, and he's uncovered some startling facts about homo sapiens' early history: we almost didn't make it.
June 18, 2010
Museum of God
Amateur paleontologist Jon Halsey isn't afraid to turn over a few rocks. By digging in areas near his home outside of Dallas, he's been able to amass an extensive collection of fossils which he stores in his garage. He calls the collection "The American Museum of God," revering the power he believes is behind his discoveries. Lindsay Patterson went digging with Halsey in the bed of the Sulfur River.
- Comments [1]
May 21, 2010
The Age of Wonder
In his book, The Age of Wonder, Richard Holmes describes the major breakthroughs in astronomy, anthropology, and physics in late 18th and early 19th century Britain. Holmes calls the era an "age of romantic science" - when the poets and scientists inspired each other's work.
- Comments [1]
May 21, 2010
Bonus Track: More From Holmes
Holmes talks about Humphrey Davy's experiments with nitrous oxide, a.k.a. "laughing gas," and its effects on Samuel Coleridge and Mark Roget.
April 23, 2010
Diagnosing Literature
Was Bartleby the Scrivener depressed? Did Clarissa Dalloway need lithium? Today's English lit students seem to want to medicate away the problems of classic literary characters. Studio 360's Eric Molinsky explores this phenomenon with help from NYU professor Elayne Tobin and novelist Michael Cunningham.
- Comments [3]
April 16, 2010
Warming Oceans, Threatened Cities
If there's one climate change scientists are sure of, it's that sea levels are rising - and coastal cities are in their way. In a new exhibit up at New York's Museum of Modern Art, teams of architects envision radical approaches to the problem. Studio 360's Eric Molinsky looks into how innovation in design can help protect coastal cities.
- Comments [1]
March 19, 2010
On the Spectrum
Jonathan Mitchell is a writer from Los Angeles. He wrote a novel about his life experience with Asperger's syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder. Independent producer Tamar Brott met Mitchell in a writing class a few years ago.
(Originally aired March 28, 2008)
- Comments [3]
March 19, 2010
Blythe Corbett
Autism researcher Blythe Corbett explores the connection between autism and creativity. She addresses the controversies surrounding autism, including the debunked link to vaccinations and the emerging neurodiversity movement among adults, which says that autism isn't worse - just different.
(Originally aired March 28, 2008)
Amanda Baggs' "In My Language:"
- Comments [3]
March 19, 2010
Windows to the Soul
Science is looking for ways to better understand an autistic person's perception of the world. Using laser technology, Ami Klin and Warren Jones of the Yale School of Medicine screened "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and tracked the gazes of autistic viewers precisely, to study how they perceive social interactions. Biologist David Gruber visited their lab to learn about the technique.
(Originally aired March 28, 2008)
March 12, 2010
Life on Mars
Though President Obama has spoken of a new commitment to NASA, getting humans to Mars still looks a long way off. Undeterred, a group of scientists and engineers created the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah to simulate life on the red planet. We sent reporter Mike Neal there on a mission.
January 22, 2010
Propelled to Paint
Early in his career, Ed Belbruno was an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and he had a radical idea about getting to the moon. Today he's more interested in moving the people who come to see his paintings. Produced by Mike Lemonick.
- Comments [3]
January 01, 2010
Traveling in Real Time
Kurt Andersen thinks time travel is the ultimate fantasy. He's made peace with the fact that he probably won't be climbing into a time machine any time soon – because, he explains, he already has. The past isn't nearly as dead as we thought.
- Comments [1]
January 01, 2010
Janelle Monáe
This forward-thinking space funk singer performs "Sincerely, Jane" from her album Metropolis: The Chase Suite. She tells Kurt how she came to connect with her alter ego, Cindi Mayweather, an android from the 28th century.
January 01, 2010
Visitor from the Future
Kurt's invitation to the people of the future to attend the show is answered by monologist Mike Daisey. He reports, time is a lot more fluid than we think - and the TV show "Lost" is even more complicated.
January 01, 2010
The Mechanics of Time Travel
Simon Wells (the great-grandson of H.G. Wells) directed the 2002 film adaptation of his ancestor’s classic novel, The Time Machine - he explains his design for the time machine. David Goldberg thinks it will actually look more like a spaceship; he and Connie Willis also debate whether a visitor to the past would be able to reshape the future.
December 04, 2009
Birdman
Paul Bartlett was slogging through a PhD in animal behavior when he decided he would rather be painting. Bartlett finished his studies, left behind the zebra finches in his research lab, and now depicts razorbills, puffins, and other shore life in his native Scotland. Produced by Ari Daniel Shapiro.
- Comments [3]
November 20, 2009
Darwin: A Life In Poems
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of On The Origin of Species. Charles Darwin's great-great-granddaughter, Ruth Padel, tells her famous ancestor's life story all in verse. One poem describes Darwin's awe at the sealife that washed up on the deck of the Beagle. Another tackles how Charles' scientific ideas did not square with his wife Emma's deep religious faith.
- Comments [1]
November 20, 2009
Ruth Padel: "Survival of the Fittest"
Padel reads from her poetry collection, Darwin: A Life In Poems.
November 20, 2009
Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
"Set the sails; I feel the winds a'stirring." So begins the song, "Charlie Darwin," by the rock band The Low Anthem. Frontman Ben Knox Miller describes how the band came up with the tune and its darker message, "Who could heed the words of Charlie Darwin? Fighting for a system built to fail."
November 20, 2009
Spencer Wells
Where did we come from? Evolutionary biologist Spencer Wells is pretty close to the answer. He's the National Geographic "Explorer-in-Residence" and heads an initiative called the Genographic Project. By collecting DNA samples from people around the world, he's tracing the paths of human migration, and he's uncovered some startling facts about homo sapiens' early history: we almost didn't make it.
- Comments [3]
November 20, 2009
Museum of God
Amateur paleontologist Jon Halsey isn't afraid to turn over a few rocks. By digging in areas near his home outside of Dallas, he's been able to amass an extensive collection of fossils which he stores in his garage. He calls the collection "The American Museum of God," revering the power he believes is behind his discoveries. Lindsay Patterson went digging with Halsey in the bed of the Sulfur River.
- Comments [2]
September 18, 2009
Robot as Connoisseur
Sparky is four feet tall and has a TV monitor for a head. He can see, he can talk, and he likes sculpture by Louise Bourgeois. He's the invention of the artist Marque Cornblatt, who controls Sparky from his laptop – and he wants you to have a Sparky of your own. Lisa Katayama takes Sparky on a spin through the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
AUDIO SLIDESHOW - Sparky at SFMOMA:
Produced by Chaleampon Oates Ritthichai and Otis Hart.
- Comments [1]
September 11, 2009
Music in Space
When NASA launches the space shuttle, mission control wakes up the astronauts every morning with a song. But that’s not the only music heard in outer space. The astronauts often bring instruments with them to play. We asked Richard Paul to find out what it’s like to rock out in space.
(Originally aired: October 26, 2007)
Astronaut Ed Lu plays Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata on board the International Space Station in 2003:
(Video courtesy of NASA)
August 14, 2009
Blowin' in the Phone
The blockbuster iPhone app called Ocarina lets you play music by blowing into the phone. Its inventor, Ge Wang, thinks that the more people playing music, the better; but even he is a little nervous about the impact of technology on people's lives. Produced by Angela Frucci.
An Ocarina performance of Stairway to Heaven:
- Comments [2]
July 17, 2009
Saul Griffith
In an age of hyperspecialization, Saul Griffith is an old-school inventor. A MacArthur "genius," his work includes a new way to manufacture eyeglasses, kites that generate power, and rope that knows how much weight it carries. Griffith explains how to get kids excited about inventing our future: send them to school on zip lines.
May 01, 2009
The Soundtrack of Science
Biology professor Hazel Sive teaches at MIT. She thinks science could benefit from showing a little more emotion, so she started scoring her classroom presentations with Pink Floyd and The Who. Produced by Ari Daniel Shapiro.
May 01, 2009
Nip & Tuck at the Gallery
"I Am Art" is a daring show at New York City's Apex Art. It presents the work of four different plastic surgeons. On display are photos and videos of all types of procedures, from cleft palate reconstruction to cosmetic nose jobs. Produced by Studio 360's Sarah Lilley.
April 17, 2009
Magic on the Brain
Magicians wow us on stage with sleight of hand and misdirection. But it turns out there's also a lot magic can tell us about how our brains work. Produced by Michael May.
Watch magician Apollo Robbins in action:
March 20, 2009
Foldit
Biochemist David Baker helped create a computer game called "Foldit" that thousands are playing around the world. But it's not about commercial success. Baker wants to analyze the structure of proteins, and it turns out that humans are a lot smarter at this than supercomputers. The game? It's an incentive. As Studio 360's Sarah Lilley discovered, it's a lot more fun than it sounds.
- Comments [3]
December 26, 2008
Photoshop Detective
He's officially in digital forensics, but Hany Farid is really a Photoshop detective, inventing software to catch what the eye can’t. Farid gives Douglas McGray, an Irvine fellow at the New America Foundation, a glimpse at his current caseload – from fraud in cancer research to white supremacists in prison.
- Comments [1]
December 12, 2008
Alien Fact-Checker
Kurt asks Dr. Seth Shostak about how he advised the filmmakers on the set of the new movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still." As the Senior Astronomer for SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Shostak believes that aliens will contact us, and he can’t wait.
- Comments [2]
December 05, 2008
Mars Rover
NASA launched two Mars Rovers in 2004, not knowing how long they'd last or what they'd find, but, almost five years later, the rovers’ discoveries have exceeded all expectations. Studio 360's Sarah Lilley looks at how the Mars Rover pictures changed the way we see the universe. (Originally aired: July 13, 2007)
- Comments [1]
November 21, 2008
Wylie Dufresne
The trendy New York restaurant wd-50 is a destination for foodies, thanks to chef Wylie Dufresne. Dufresne is a leader in the culinary movement called molecular gastronomy. Using surprising chemicals like liquid nitrogen, Dufresne invents dishes that both charm and confound. Kurt Andersen visits wd-50’s kitchen laboratory, where Dufresne begins to make our dish du jour: Eggs Benedict.
- Comments [1]
November 21, 2008
John Coupland
Wylie Dufresne makes his unique Eggs Benedict, featuring a strange creation all his own: deep-fried hollandaise sauce. Food scientist John Coupland explains how the inventions of cutting-edge chefs sometimes find their way to the frozen food aisle of your supermarket.
November 21, 2008
Taste Test
Kurt sits down for our meal du jour with two eating experts: biopsychologist Marcia Pelchat, of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, and John Willoughby, the Executive Editor of Gourmet Magazine. Dr. Pelchat identifies secret ingredients of Dufresne’s dishes: emotion, memory and nostalgia.
- Comments [1]
November 21, 2008
Warning Signs
The accumulation of radioactive waste at Nevada's Yucca Mountain storage site poses a challenge: how do you permanently label it? Engineers like Patrick Charton are trying to solve that problem. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
- Comments [6]
October 31, 2008
Music, Language, and Memory
A recent study of stroke victims with damaged language abilities found that those who listened to music recovered better than those who listened only to audio books. Music plus words trumped words alone. Studio 360’s Gideon D’Arcangelo has witnessed this phenomenon first hand–with his mother Sylvia. (Special thanks to Bob Huott.)
- Comments [9]
September 19, 2008
The Largest Machine on the Planet
In a 17-mile long tunnel underneath the Swiss-French border, a particle accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) recently fired its first proton beams. In a few months, it's due to start smashing particles together. Scientists hope these experiments might solve some of the mysteries of the universe, like how particles acquire mass. Studio 360’s Eric Molinsky looks into why the colorful and complex design of the LHC looks like the set of a sci-fi movie. (Originally aired: May 23, 2008)
September 19, 2008
Janna Levin
Kurt checks in with a Columbia University physicist (and novelist) who’s anxiously awaiting the LHC’s first particle collisions. Janna Levin is the author of How the Universe Got Its Spots and A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines. (Originally aired: May 28, 2008)
September 19, 2008
Telford
Studio 360 commissioned the author Lydia Millet to write a short story inspired by the LHC’s “grand opening.” Her acclaimed 2005 novel Oh Pure and Radiant Heart was about the physicists who created the atomic bomb. Actor Martha Plimpton reads “Telford.” And Janna Levin considers if the LHC will create a black hole. (Originally aired: May 28, 2008)
September 19, 2008
Aha Moment: Arthur Ganson
Today Jeff Lieberman is a musician, a photographer, and getting his PhD in Robotics. He’s also the host of “Time Warp” on the Discovery Channel. But years ago, when Lieberman was a teenager, he was unsure whether to choose a creative or scientific path. Then he encountered an amazing sculpture by the artist Arthur Ganson. Produced by Lindsay Patterson.
September 12, 2008
You Say You Want an Evolution
The new computer game “Spore” lets users create single-celled microbes and, as the game progresses, they “evolve” into complex creatures and highly developed civilizations. The game’s creator, Will Wright, who also invented “The Sims,” weighs in on the intelligent design debate, and gives Kurt pointers on how to create his very own species.
August 29, 2008
Biophony
Biologist Bernie Krause believes animals communicate with each other on their own frequencies, and when you put all those frequencies together, they interact in a way not unlike a symphony orchestra. He calls it "biophony." Jill DuBoff talked to Krause about his research in the wild, and got an even wilder story about his pre-scientist days as a 1960s music pioneer.
- Comments [2]
August 15, 2008
Christopher Alexander
His groundbreaking book A Pattern Language urged architects consider emotional and spiritual ideas when designing. It was the beginning of an elaborate, nuts-and-bolts philosophical system. Alexander failed to revolutionize the practice of architecture, but he inspired a movement in computer programming that affects how all of us use the Web. Studio 360's Lu Olkowski talked to the architect and some of his disciples, including "wiki" inventor Ward Cunningham.
- Comments [3]
August 01, 2008
Cheetah Legs
South African Oscar Pistorius runner failed to qualify for the Olympic games by just 7/10 of a second. Pretty good -– especially for a man without legs. But his state-of-the-art prosthetics, called "Cheetah legs," have caused controversy in the world of sports: for some, they raise questions about what it means to be human. Produced by Ave Carrillo.
Cheetah Legs in Motion:
(Video courtesy of Rice University)
- Comments [2]
July 04, 2008
Bell Labs
In the second half of the 20th century, it was a hotbed of unfettered creativity, churning out inventions, patents, and Nobel Prizes. From the TV to the fax machine, to the telephone itself -- if Bell Labs didn't invent it, they probably perfected it. Michelle Mercer looks back at the little lab from New Jersey that could. (Originally aired: May 12, 2006)
- Comments [5]
June 27, 2008
Patient and Portraitist
- Comments [3]
June 20, 2008
Hedy Lamarr
Hollywood likes to cast stars as pioneering scientists; it really happened in the 1940s. Hedy Lamarr was once billed as the most beautiful woman in the world, and she’s partly responsible for the telecom innovation behind cell phones, GPS, and WiFi. Produced by Eric Molinsky.
- Comments [3]
May 23, 2008
When Particles Collide
This summer, in a 17-mile long tunnel outside Geneva, Switzerland, a particle accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider is gearing up to smash protons at nearly the speed of light. Physicists hope it will help solve mysteries of the universe and lead to an elusive Unified Theory. Studio 360's Eric Molinsky looks into the colorful and complex design of the largest machine on the planet.
- Comments [2]
May 23, 2008
Janna Levin
Kurt talks with a Columbia University astrophysicist who's eagerly awaiting data from the Large Hadron Collider. Levin, also an author, wrote the historical novel A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines.
- Comments [1]
May 23, 2008
Telford
Studio 360 commissioned the author Lydia Millet to write a short story inspired by the LHC's "grand opening." What happens if the worst happens? Millet's acclaimed 2005 novel Oh Pure and Radiant Heart was about the physicists who created the atom bomb. Actor Martha Plimpton (nominated for a Tony for her role in "Top Girls" on Broadway) reads "Telford." And Janna Levin considers if the LHC will create a black hole.
- Comments [2]
May 09, 2008
Biomimicry
Natural historian Janine Benyus believes that imitating nature’s best ideas can provide solutions to human problems. Could we store electricity like an electric eel to build a nontoxic battery? Benyus told Studio 360's Sarah Lilley how copying nature’s design is the key to our own sustainability.
May 09, 2008
Smell You Later
Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez are not your average fragrance writers; in Perfumes: The Guide, they called Paris Hilton’s scent "barfbag floral." Turin is a biophysicist; Sanchez is a perfume critic. Kurt brought them to a nearby drugstore to unlock the mysteries of body spray, handiwipes, and crayons.
Weigh in: What’s your favorite (non-perfume) scent?
- Comments [23]
April 18, 2008
Forgive Me Father
The Vatican recently called pollution of the environment a modern-day sin. Kurt calls Father Jim Martin, a Jesuit priest, to ask what kind of penance polluters are in for.
April 18, 2008
Power Cart
Mouna Andraos is an artist and web designer who’s always been fascinated by street vendors since her childhood in Lebanon. She created a working portable generator that uses a crank and a solar cell to charge cell phones and laptops, and even run small appliances. Ada Lee Halofsky hit the New York City streets with Andraos to see Power Cart in action.
- Comments [4]
April 18, 2008
Bacteria Biofuel
Frances Arnold is a biochemical engineer at Cal Tech working on one part of the energy crisis. In a process called “directed evolution,” Arnold’s team is altering the genetic codes of bacteria to evolve a strain of organisms than can digest grass and excrete biofuel.
- Comments [4]
April 18, 2008
Cal-Earth
In Hesperia, California, architect Nader Khalili created a housing movement for the future. Khalili, who passed away in March, prototyped his dome-shaped adobes on a commission from NASA for a lunar colony. Then he realized that his “superadobes” could take root on Earth. Studio 360’s Eric Molinsky visited Cal-Earth with some friends who dream of living in giant igloos made of dirt.
Weigh in: Would you live in a superadobe?
- Comments [28]
April 18, 2008
Coney Island Sunshine
The New York subway system has one of the best environmental designs of recent years: Coney Island's Stillwell Avenue terminal, one block from the Atlantic Ocean, is topped by a state-of-the-art photovoltaic glass roof. Kurt checked it out with architect Greg Kiss.
Audio Slideshow: Stillwell Avenue Terminal
- Comments [6]
March 28, 2008
On the Spectrum
Jonathan Mitchell is a writer in Los Angeles. He’s written a novel about his life experience with Asperger’s syndrome, an autism-spectrum disorder. Independent producer Tamar Brott met Mitchell in a writing class a few years ago.
And Kurt begins his conversation with researcher Blythe Corbett, of the U.C. Davis M.I.N.D. Institute in Sacramento, a center dedicated to autism research.
- Comments [2]
March 28, 2008
Autism and Creativity
Documentaries like “Autism: The Musical” are showing how the arts can help autistic children express themselves and interact with others. Corbett explores the connection between autism and forms of creativity. She also addresses some of the controversies surrounding autism including the debate on childhood vaccinations and the emerging neurodiversity movement among adults on the disorder spectrum.
Amanda Baggs' "In My Language:"
- Comments [1]
March 28, 2008
Windows to the Soul
Scientist are looking for ways to better understand an autistic person’s perception of the world. In a recent study, Ami Klin and Warren Jones of the Yale School of Medicine tracked autistic viewers’ gazes as they watched the 1966 film “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” David Gruber visited their lab and tried on the apparatus. Produced with Eric Molinsky.
February 22, 2008
Not Losing His Religion
He was the godfather of science writing. Sir Thomas Browne's exacting observations and gorgeous prose anticipated modern science writers like Rachel Carson, Stephen Jay Gould, and Oliver Sacks. But Browne lived in the 1600s, and his way of reconciling the scriptures with science looks surprisingly like what we call "intelligent design." Produced by Sarah Montague (with performances by actors Daniel Gerroll and Jonathan Hadary).
- Comments [2]
February 01, 2008
Synesthesia for the Rest of Us
- Comments [1]
January 25, 2008
Introducing Nikola Tesla
Part visionary, part mad scientist, and absolute genius, Tesla should be as famous as Edison – but he’s been largely forgotten. Kurt talks with Samantha Hunt about her new novel The Invention of Everything Else. Tesla is the protagonist, and despite the outlandish biographical details all through the book, there was very little she had to make up.
- Comments [12]
January 25, 2008
Tesla vs. Edison
Tesla’s biggest innovation was introducing alternating current as the standard for modern electric power, breaking Thomas Edison’s monopoly on DC power. Mike Daisey is an author and monologuist who performs a one-man show about Tesla, and he tells us how AC/DC isn’t just a band.
- Comments [3]
January 25, 2008
Transmit This
A lot of us learned that Guglielmo Marconi invented radio, but Nikola Tesla transmitted electromagnetic waves before Marconi –- the Supreme Court decided the case in 1943. Jim Stagnitto, the Director of Engineering for WNYC, gives Kurt a tour at the top of the Empire State Building to check out a radio transmitter in action.
Kurt and Jim atop the Empire State Building:
January 25, 2008
Tesla and Twain
Tesla was a flamboyant character who held salons where he played fast and loose with technology. Mike Daisey tells the story of Tesla, Mark Twain, and an X-ray gun.
- Comments [1]
January 25, 2008
Mr. Spock and Dr. Strangelove
Samantha Hunt describes the turning point in Tesla’s life when he began acting like a mad scientist, almost taking a page from the movies. And biologist Vincent Pieribone thinks that Hollywood’s most dangerous fantasy about “mad scientists” is that scientists have any power at all.
- Comments [2]
January 25, 2008
The Death Ray
Mike Daisey completes his life story of Tesla with this tale about the scientist’s real Dr. Strangelove moment: inventing the ultimate superweapon. But did it work? The government thought it might, and the Cold War got hotter.
- Comments [1]
December 07, 2007
Blue Morph
James Gimzewski thinks really small. The thickness of a hair, 60 or 90 millionths of a meter, is enormous in his world. Gimzewski is a UCLA nanoscientist who spent years taking pictures of atoms. He teamed up with media artist Victoria Vesna to explore the secret lives of butterflies. Produced by Claes Andreasson.
- Comments [9]
November 23, 2007
Proust was a Neuroscientist
Science writer Jonah Lehrer is just 26, but he’s already worked as a line cook at Le Cirque and in the lab of a Nobel Prize-winning scientist. In Proust Was a Neuroscientist, Lehrer looks at the surprising ways artists like Paul Cezanne and Walt Whitman had insights into neurological concepts that scientists have taken years to prove. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
October 26, 2007
Music in Space
Astronaut Ed Lu plays Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata on board the International Space Station in 2003:
(Video courtesy of NASA)
October 26, 2007
Aha Moment: Quest of the Snow Leopard
When Studio 360 listener John Simmons was a kid, he loved insects and reptiles and even turned his parents’ basement into a natural science museum. He recently retired as a museum collections manager in Lawrence, Kansas, and he says his life-long passion for science and exploration all began with one book. Produced by Jenny Lawton.
(Photo courtesy of the University of Oregon Libraries)
Weigh in: Is there a work of art that has changed your life?
- Comments [2]
October 19, 2007
Tendues and Torque
- Comments [1]
August 31, 2007
Hoberman Sphere
Simulation of the Hoberman Sphere deployed in space:
(provided by Paul Bernhardt, Naval Research Laboratory)
July 20, 2007
Aha Moment: Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet
When Richard Rifkind was a kid, Hollywood made dramatic biopics about scientific pioneers like Paul Erlich, who invented an early cure for syphilis -- impressive men with impressive beards and German accents. Rifkind became a scientist himself, a leading cancer researcher. His treatment for lymphoma, 40 years in development, was approved this year by the FDA. Now retired from research, Rifkind is making movies himself to nurture the love of science. Produced by Jenny Lawton.
July 13, 2007
Photographing Mars
December 15, 2006
Brain Music
We are always listening to our own silent thoughts, but we never think of those thoughts having a sound we could actually hear. Apostolos Georgopoulos is a neuroscientist at the University of Minnesota who has come up with a way to translate the electrical activity of the brain into music. Produced by Brian Newhouse.
September 22, 2006
Janna Levin
Janna Levin spends her days chasing down the mysteries of the universe, like chaos theory and black holes. And to take a break from the awesome responsibility of mapping the universe, she makes stuff up -- not as a scientist, but as a novelist. Her first novel is called A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines -- and it combines the tricky worlds of mathematical theory and historical fiction. Kurt Andersen asks Levin about what novels can do that science can't.
September 14, 2006
Tale of Two Brains
Right-brained people are supposed to be artistic and spontaneous, while left-brainers are literal and analytical; in other words, Captain Kirk and Spock. This ubiquitous bit of pop science wisdom came out of Nobel Prize-winning neurology, and it spawned the bestseller Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. But does the story of the two brains stand up in the age of the MRI? Produced by Dave Johns.
- Comments [2]
September 14, 2006
Physics for Poets
People often depict scientists as coldly rational. Physicist Michael Salamon, who works at NASA's Universe Division, takes issue with that. He explains why Walt Whitman misunderstood the beauty of the universe, and why Maxwell's Equations are like a sexual experience. Produced by Lu Olkowski.
June 30, 2006
Method In The Madness
In the official Hollywood template, you pretty much can't be a genius without also being nuts. Is there a connection between great creativity and mental illness? Tamar Brott speaks with Kaye Redfield Jamison and other psychiatrists to separate the truth from the myth.
June 23, 2006
Plastics
Did you ever wonder who decides the color of your shampoo bottle? As part of our on-going series about creativity and science, Lu Olkowski talks with a polymer chemist who creates pigment formulas for plastics at the Engelhard Corporation.
June 17, 2006
Magic Eye Paintings
As part of Studio 360's series on science and creativity, Sarah Lilley talks with scientists who admire the impressionist painter Claude Monet not just for his color choices, but for his ability to trick the human eye and brain.
June 02, 2006
Presenting Darwin
How do you convey the millions of years over which a species evolves in the span of a museum tour? Sarah Lilley looks at an exhibit on Charles Darwin that lets the science speak for itself.
May 26, 2006
Cyclorama
Artist Clifford Ross was disappointed with the pictures he took on vacation. So he built a new kind of camera with resolution years ahead of digital photography -- and he may have reinvented how we look at pictures. Produced by Andrew Adam Newman.
May 26, 2006
Hidden Worlds
Theoretical physicist Lisa Randall believes there are more dimensions to space - possibly 13 more -- than the three we experience. She's faced the challenge of describing a world that no one can see. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
May 19, 2006
Diamonds are Forever
They're not as rare as you might think. In fact, scientists have learned how to grow perfect diamonds in a laboratory. But that hasn't taken the shine off their allure, even for the experts who make them.
May 12, 2006
Cell Tower
Don Ingber is a cell biologist from Harvard Medical School, Children's Hospital. One day he saw a piece of modern sculpture and—Eureka!-he was inspired to make a major breakthrough in biology. Lu Olkowski reports on the unlikely epiphany.
May 12, 2006
Bell Labs
Think of just about any product in your house-your TV, radio, microwave, telephone—if Bell Laboratory didn't invent it, they probably perfected it. As part of our on-going series on science and creativity, Michelle Mercer looks back at the little New Jersey lab that changed the world.
April 06, 2006
Get Well Soon
Hospital architecture usually stirs up feelings of anxiety and dread—which may not encourage patients to recover quickly, according to several new studies. Jocelyn Gonzales reports on the architects and medical professionals who are designing a new wave of feel-good hospitals, as part of our on-going series on science and creativity.
March 02, 2006
Bionic Hearing
Michael Chorost was born with a severe hearing impairment, the result of a rubella epidemic in the 1960s. He used hearing aids, learned to speak, went to regular schools and got his Ph.D. in English. Then, a few years ago, Michael's residual hearing abruptly gave out. His world went silent. Jocelyn Gonzales has the story of how Chorost replaced his lost sense of hearing with an amazing machine.
- Comments [1]
February 23, 2006
Helms and Stein
Remember the old Saturday Night Live skit that asked, "What if Eleanor Roosevelt Could Fly?" Sound artist Jane Philbrick asked a question just as unlikely: "What if retired Senator Jesse Helms could recite a lesbian love poem by Gertrude Stein?" Andrew Adam Newman found out how Philbrick's quixotic project took her to the cutting edge of voice-synthesis technology.
February 09, 2006
Skyspace
Dr. Denis Pelli researches how we read, identify shapes, even why we find art compelling. Once a semester he takes a group of students to see a piece of installation art that he believes will teach them how to be better scientific observers. Laura Starecheski tagged along for the class trip.
January 12, 2006
M.C. Escher
The works of the late graphic artist M.C. Escher have been admired for decades by students and scholars alike. But Escher claimed to have failed his own high school exams. He considered becoming an architect before traveling to Spain, where he hit upon a better way to express himself. Produced by Sarah Lilley.
January 12, 2006
The Canon
Trent Wolbe talks with contemporary composer Steve Reich about the various symmetrical techniques that animate the music that inspires him as well as his own works. Produced by Trent Wolbe.
January 12, 2006
Symmetry & Sex Appeal
Are supermodels more symmetrical? Beauty expert Kelley Quan joins Kurt and Mario Livio to talk about how symmetry affects human attraction. Quan is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the online fashion magazine ZooZOOM.com, and she explains how symmetry -- or the lack of it -- can make people more attractive.
March 05, 2005
Toxic Materials
The life of the average artist is not known for a sense of security. Most will gain little money, status, or recognition. They may dream of these things, but what many artists should be yearning for more than anything is… health insurance. Sarah Lilley explains why
