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Julian Assange: Is WikiLeaks Biased?
Complete video at: fora.tv WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange responds to charges that his website presents information in a politically biased way. Assange explains that the organization provides text summaries of raw data and edits of raw video to provide context to the material, without which most content would simply "fall into the gutter" and be overlooked by most users. For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv ----- A panel of experts from the press, government, and academia discuss their new and upcoming projects. They discuss different methods of promoting investigative journalism, ranging from building non-profit institutions to converting the country of Iceland into a "free press haven." The panel features Gavin MacFadyen (The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, UK), Chuck Lewis (American University), Julian Assange (WikiLeaks), Birgitta Jónsdóttir (Member of Parliament, Iceland) and Jon Weber (The Bay Citizen). Lowell Bergman moderates. - Berkeley School of Journalism Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, best known for his involvement with Wikileaks, a whistleblower website.
Quentin Tarantino: Keeping Morality Out of the Question
Complete video at fora.tv Director Quentin Tarantino explains the philosophy behind the anti-heroes that so frequently fill the role of the protagonist in his films. "I try to have morality not even be an issue at all when it comes to my characters," he says. ---- Hear Oscar-winning screenwriter, director and actor Quentin Tarantino ("Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "Kill Bill," "Grind House") discuss filmmaking, his work and his latest movie, "Inglourious Basterds." Interviewed by New York Times Magazine editor at large Lynn Hirschberg. TimesTalks is The New York Times's premier event program featuring intimate discussions with Times journalists and some of today's top talents and thinkers from the fields of film, theater, television, art, politics, media, food and dining, sports and more.
In Defense of Science Funding - Brian Cox
Complete Premium video at: fora.tv Brian Cox, Royal Society University research fellow at the University of Manchester, discusses the benefits of funding scientific research, even when it doesn't appear to have immediate practical applications. He highlights the example of CERN, which was instrumental in helping Tim Berners-Lee launch the World Wide Web. ----- This program was recorded in collaboration with Chatham House, on November 23, 2010. Is investment in science the path to future economic prosperity? This international conference will bring together political leaders, investors, scientists, industrialists, experts, analysts and commentators to examine the relevance and role of science in building prosperity and enhancing the quality of life. Key questions addressed will include: What role can science and innovation play in encouraging economic growth? What solutions can science provide in tackling global challenges such as security, health and climate change? What impact does investment in science have on an economy? What policy action is required to encourage such investment and where is it best directed? - Chatham House Professor Brian Cox is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and Chair in Particle Physics at the University of Manchester.
What Would Happen If You Fell into a Black Hole?
Complete video at: fora.tv British astronomer Ian Morison describes a bleak, yet comical, prognosis should you happen to fall into a black hole. Dubbed "spaghettification" extreme gravitational forces would quickly stretch your body like spaghetti as the event horizon neared. ----- Black Holes seem to have bad press that is largely undeserved. This lecture with professor Ian Morison explains what Black Holes are, how we can discover them even through they cannot be seen and how Stephen Hawking has shown that they are not totally black. - Gresham College Gresham Professor of Astronomy Ian Morison made his first telescope at the age of 12 with lenses given to him by his optician. Having studied Physics, Maths and Astronomy at Oxford, he became a radio astronomer at the Jodrell Bank Observatory and teaches Astronomy and Cosmology at the University of Manchester. Over 25 years he has also taught Observational Astronomy to many hundreds of adult students in the North West of England. An active amateur optical astronomer, he is a council member and past president of the Society for Popular Astronomy in the United Kingdom. At Jodrell Bank he was a designer of the 217 KM MERLIN array and has coordinated the Project Phoenix SETI Observations using the Lovell Radio Telescope. He contributes astronomy articles and reviews for New Scientist and Astronomy Now, and produces a monthly sky guide on the Observatory's website.
Neurologist VS Ramachandran on the Mirror Neuron Effect
Complete video at: fora.tv VS Ramachandran explains what causes amputees to have sensations in their phantom limbs, the parts of the brain called mirror neurons. ---- As we use the tools of science to explore the nature of humanity, we are learning more and more about how our brains function and what motivates our behavior, built-in biases and blind spots. These fresh insights are interesting scientifically, but they also evoke significant questions about our lived experience. These perspectives challenge our basic assumptions of who we are, both as individuals and as a society. VS Ramachandran is a neurologist best known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and psychophysics. He is currently the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego. He is also the author of several books including Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind (1998) and The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientists Quest for What Makes Us Human (2010).
What Could the FBI Do With Facebook?
Complete video at: fora.tv Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg warns of FBI Director Robert Mueller's desire to acquire access to Facebook's unparalleled database of user information. He fears Mark Zuckerberg's "blind spot" towards privacy is a serious threat to the civil rights of Americans who use the popular social network. ----- The Churchill Club and FORA.tv present "WikiLeaks: Why It Matters. Why It Doesn't?," a panel discussion featuring: Daniel Ellsberg, Former State and Defense Dept. Official prosecuted for releasing the Pentagon Papers Clay Shirky, Independent Internet Professional; Adjunct Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program, New York University Neville Roy Singham, Founder and Chairman, ThoughtWorks Peter Thiel, President, Clarium Capital; Managing Partner, Founder's Fund Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law and Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University; Co-founder, Berkman Center for Internet and Society Moderator: Paul Jay, CEO and Senior Editor, The Real News Network
Clinton Slams Bachmann's SOTU Response
Complete video at: fora.tv President Bill Clinton doesn't believe the United States is in decline, though he does admit its "relative position is changing." He stresses the need for the US to maintain a strong economy, and attacks partisan politicians like Michele Bachmann for "conducting politics in a parallel universe divorced from reality with no facts." ----- President Bill Clinton interviewed at the 2011 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting held in Davos, Switzerland. - World Economic Forum William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. At 46 he was the third-youngest president. He became president at the end of the Cold War, and was the first baby boomer president. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is currently the United States Secretary of State. Each received a Juris Doctor (JD) from Yale Law School.
MythBusters' Adam Savage - Dodos, Maltese Falcons, and the Art of Obsession
MythBusters co-host Adam Savage gives a fast-paced presentation on personal obsessions. Savage explains how his fascination with dodo bird skeletons eventually led to his designing of an exact bronze-cast replica of the titular statue from the 1941 Humphrey Bogart movie, "The Maltese Falcon." ----- Adam Savage speaks at the 2008 Entertainment Gathering in Monterey, California. This program was recorded on December 12, 2008. EG is the celebration of the American entertainment industry. Since 1984, Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas - a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the web - The Entertainment Gathering Adam Savage has spent his life gathering skills that allow him to take what's in his brain and make it real. He's built everything from ancient Buddhas to futuristic weapons, from spaceships to dancing vegetables, from fine art sculptures to animated chocolate — and just about anything else you can think of. The son of a filmmaker/painter and psychotherapist, Adam has been making his own toys since he was allowed to hold scissors. Having held positions as a projectionist, animator, graphic designer, carpenter, interior and stage designer, toy designer, welder, and scenic painter, he's worked with every material and process he could get his hands on — metal, paper, glass ...
DIY Manufacturing: Run Your Own Factory from the Comfort of Your Living Room
Complete Premium video at: fora.tv WIRED editor-in-chief Chris Anderson and Autodesk CEO Carl Bass discuss the future of 3D printing, and how amateur designers may soon be able to build resource-intensive products like furniture using remote but cost-effective tools. ----- The New Industrial Revolution: How Web Innovation Models Are Transforming Manufacturing. Featuring Carl Bass, President & CEO, Autodesk, in conversation with Chris Anderson. Carl Bass is president and chief executive officer of Autodesk, the world's leading maker of design software for the architecture, engineering, and entertainment industries. The company's products range from its flagship AutoCAD program to digital modeling and prototyping tools for industry. Autodesk's CG apps have been used on every movie that's won the Academy Award for Visual Effects in the past 15 years, from Titanic to Avatar. Under Bass' leadership the California-based firm has been repeatedly honored by Fast Company as one of the world's most innovative companies. Chris Anderson is editor in chief of WIRED magazine, a position he's held since 2001. During his tenure, the magazine has received eight National Magazine Awards and seven additional nominations. It won the prestigious top prize for general excellence in 2005, 2007, and 2009. In 2009, Adweek honored WIRED as its Magazine of the Decade.
Evolution of the Shrug: Darwin's Principle of Antithesis
Complete video at: fora.tv Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker relays his favorite bit of "Darwiniana": Darwin's principle of antithesis. Darwin proposed that both animals and humans alike employ a certain set of biological signals to convey one emotion (like aggression), while using the exact opposite signals to convey the exact opposite emotion (like passivity). ----- Adam Gopnik, author of Angels and Ages, A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life and Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate and many other works, discuss a fundamental question: How far can Darwin take us as a guide to why we are the way we are? Both outspoken appreciators of Darwin, Adam Gopnik and Steven Pinker will compare their visions -- perhaps complementary, perhaps contrasting -- of what Darwin's legacy is on the two hundredth anniversary of his birth. - New York Public Library Steven Pinker is a prominent Canadian-American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist and popular science writer known for his wide-ranging advocacy of evolutionary psychology and the computational theory of mind. Pinker is also a Harvard College Professor and Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Until 2003, he taught in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT.
Noam Chomsky Compares Right-Wing Media to Nazi Germany
Complete video at: fora.tv Linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky criticizes right-wing media outlets, which he describes as delivering a message of paranoia and economic populism comparable to Nazis during the Weimar Republic. "There were people with real grievances," says Chomsky. "The Nazis gave them an answer." ----- World-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky has been pushing change in language, politics and culture for decades. The controversial expert on modern language explains why "the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." - Commonwealth Club of California Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics and philosophy at MIT, is the author of numerous books on US foreign policy, including American Power and the New Mandarins, Political Economy of Human Rights (two volumes, written with Edward Herman), Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, and Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World. His most recent books are Failed States and Perilous Power.
To Catch a Thief: The Psychology of a Criminal
Complete video at: fora.tv David Mutton, former Chief Psychologist for the New South Wales Police, gives an overview of common criminal personality types. He explains how police officers take advantage of these characteristics when interviewing suspects. ----- We want to live in a safe and secure society, so we entrust our law enforcement agencies with taking the necessary measures to preserve the peace. But just what are those "necessary measures"? David Mutton was once the Chief Psychologist for the New South Wales Police and lectures in Forensic Psychology. Speaking at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, he argues that we should disregard individual rights such as privacy, informed consent and free will, in order to protect the community from serious and organized crime. - Australian Broadcasting Corporation David Mutton is the Master of Forensic Psychology Course Advisor and the Head of the Master of Psychology Programs in the School of Psychology at the University of Western Sydney. He was appointed to the position of Senior Lecturer in Forensic Psychology at the University of Western Sydney since 2001. Prior to this appointment, he has worked in the Police Psychology Section, NSW Police Service for 11 years, initially as the Senior Psychologist and then as Chief Psychologist. From 1980 to 1990, he was a Psychologist with the NSW Department of Corrective Services. He is Chair of the NSW Section of the College of Forensic Psychologists and has been an active member and ...
Social Media vs the Dictator - Clay Shirky
Complete video at: fora.tv New media theorist Clay Shirky demonstrates how protesters are using flash mobs and communication tools like Twitter to take collective action against oppressive governments. He cites a passive protest that took place in Belarus, which is governed by the rigid Lukashenko regime. ----- Clay Shirky discusses his new book, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. - Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University Clay Shirky is a professor of Interactive Telecommunications Program at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, where he teaches courses on the interrelated effects of social and technological network topology. He also works as a Internet technologies consultant to clients such as Nokia, the Library of Congress, and BBC. He has had regular columns in Business 2.0 and FEED, and his writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Harvard Business Review, and Wired. Prior to his appointment at NYU, Shirky was a partner at the international investment firm The Accelerator Group.
Keith Richards on Drug Use and the Rolling Stones
Complete video at: fora.tv Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards discusses his personal history with heroin and other hard drugs. "Getting in is easy, getting out is difficult," says Richards. "It took me a while." ----- Outlaw, hellraiser, and one of rock music's most gifted and influential guitarists, Keith Richards has forged a life that most of us can only imagine--and often envy. Amazingly he's lived to tell about it, and now this rock Icon has given us the definitive rock autobiography. In Life, the man himself tells about life lived fast and hard in the creative hurricane--from his days as a young boy growing up in a council estate, listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, to joining forces with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones to form The Rolling Stones. In conversation with Anthony DeCurtis, a music journalist, and contributing editor for Rolling Stone, Keith Richards will discuss the storied journey of the Rolling Stones, as well as his passion for books and for history. He will chronicle how he created the revolutionary, high-octane riffs that defined "Jumping Jack Flash," "Gimme Shelter" and "Honky Tonk Woman," his affair with the equally infamous Anita Pallenberg (the mother of three of his children), and the tragic death of Brian Jones. He will also discuss the personal values that have made him a proud, successful father, and a happily married man for more than twenty-five years. From falling in love with his wife Patti Hansen to his ...
Ellsberg: Obama's War on Whistleblowers
Complete video at: fora.tv Daniel Ellsberg, who famously leaked the Pentagon Papers, accuses President Barack Obama of waging war not only on WikiLeaks, but against whistle-blowing in general. Since assuming office, Obama has brought five indictments against whistleblowers -- nearly twice as many as all the previous presidents combined. For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv ----- The Churchill Club and FORA.tv present "WikiLeaks: Why It Matters. Why It Doesn't?," a panel discussion featuring: Daniel Ellsberg, Former State and Defense Dept. Official prosecuted for releasing the Pentagon Papers Clay Shirky, Independent Internet Professional; Adjunct Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program, New York University Neville Roy Singham, Founder and Chairman, ThoughtWorks Peter Thiel, President, Clarium Capital; Managing Partner, Founder's Fund Jonathan Zittrain, Professor of Law and Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University; Co-founder, Berkman Center for Internet and Society Moderator: Paul Jay, CEO and Senior Editor, The Real News Network
DNA: The Living Record of Humanity's Journey
Complete video at: fora.tv Dr. Spencer Wells, explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, describes his work examining human origins not through skeletal records, but rather by analyzing DNA. ----- The Ideas Economy: Information is a fresh look at knowledge management for the information age. The Economist will bring together theorists, strategists, and innovators who understand how to harness data to create value and advance individual, corporate, and social good. To view the full version of any video featured in this playlist, visit: fora.tv Spencer Wells is an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and Frank HT Rhodes Class of '56 Professor at Cornell University. He leads The Genographic Project, which is collecting and analyzing hundreds of thousands of DNA samples from people around the world in order to decipher how our ancestors populated the planet. Dr Wells received his PhD from Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral work at Stanford and Oxford. He has appeared in numerous documentary films and is the author of three books, The Journey of Man, Deep Ancestry and Pandora's Seed.
'A Virus Walks Into a Bar...' and Other Science Jokes - Brian Malow
Complete video at: fora.tv Science comedian Brian Malow jokes that a virus is "the ultimate David and Goliath" when compared with humans. He then rattles off a series of science-related jokes. "Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and doesn't." ----- Brian Malow's YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com Brian Malow's blog: www.sciencecomedian.com Brian Malow's videos for Time Magazine: bit.ly Brian Malow (@sciencecomedian) on Twitter: www.twitter.com Now an accomplished stand-up comic whose career has spanned more than a decade to include performances on CBS, A&E, TechTV, and the Discovery Channel, Brian Malow turns his sharp wit upon his first love: the world of science. Brian entertains and ignites interest in science with hysterical, thought-provoking science comedy routines about the environment, insects and viruses, evolution and extinction, the speed of light, gravity, cell phones, computers -- everything under the Sun -- and even the Sun itself! Brian makes science funny, exciting and easily digestible for all audiences. Wonderfest, the Bay Area Festival of Science, is held each year in the beginning of November. Enjoy fascinating discussions between world-class scientists on cutting edge topics, as well as other fun exhibitions. Visit Wonderfest.org and join.
MythBusters' Adam Savage on Problem Solving: How I Do It
Complete video with Q&A at: fora.tv Best known as co-host of Discovery Channel's MythBusters, Adam Savage also wears hats as an artist, actor, special effects wizard and industrial designer. In this presentation at Maker Faire Bay Area 2010, he outlines his strategies for tackling complex problems. ----- This program was recorded in collaboration with Maker Faire Bay Area, on May 22, 2010. Adam Savage has spent his life gathering skills that allow him to take what's in his brain and make it real. He's built everything from ancient Buddhas to futuristic weapons, from spaceships to dancing vegetables, from fine art sculptures to animated chocolate and just about anything else you can think of. Since 1993, Adam has concentrated on the special-effects industry, honing his skills through more than 100 television commercials and a dozen feature films, including Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Galaxy Quest, Terminator 3, AI and the Matrix sequels. He's also designed props and sets for Coca-Cola, Hershey's, Lexus and a host of New York and San Francisco theater companies. Not only has he worked and consulted in the research and development division for toy companies and made several short films, but Adam has also acted in several films and commercials -- including a Charmin ad, in which he played Mr. Whipple's stock boy, and a Billy Joel music video, "Second Wind," in which he drowns. Today, in addition to co-hosting Discovery ...
Making Life Multiplanetary: Elon Musk's Goals for SpaceX
Complete Premium video at: fora.tv SpaceX founder Elon Musk outlines why he thinks investing in space exploration is important. He argues that he started the private space transport company not out of pessimism about the human race, but rather because he believes moving to the cosmos is an important step in human evolution. ----- An interview with ELON MUSK Chief Executive Officer, SpaceX Moderator: VIJAY VAITHEESWARAN Global Correspondent, The Economist The Ideas Economy is an online forum that convenes experts from around the world on the subjects of innovation, intelligent infrastructure, information, and human potential. Based on a series of live events from The Economist, The Ideas Economy attracts a community of active participants from business, government, non-profits and the academy who are interested in collaborating to solve global challenges, develop new ideas, and contribute to human progress.
Julian Assange: Why WikiLeaks Is Taking on the Pentagon
Complete video at: fora.tv Why is WikiLeaks releasing documents from the US government, when there is no shortage of corruption elsewhere in the world? Editor-in-chief Julian Assange regards it as an issue of trust, explaining that he considers it the website's responsibility to publish any classified information likely to have a significant impact -- regardless of diplomatic origins. For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv ----- Following the leak by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks of almost 400000 secret US army field reports from the Iraq war between 2004 and 2009, tune in to hear Julian Assange at the Frontline Club in conversation with one of the most famous whistle blowers in history, Daniel Ellsberg, who was responsible for the leak of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, best known for his involvement with Wikileaks, a whistleblower website. Daniel Ellsberg is a political commentator and activist. A former US military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation, Ellsberg sparked a national controversy in 1971 when he released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.
Discovery: First Scientifically Confirmed Poisonous Bird
Complete video at: fora.tv Jack Dumbacher, researcher at the California Academy of Sciences, discusses his 1980s discovery of New Guinea's Hooded Pitohui, the first poisonous bird to be documented by science. ----- Dr. Jack Dumbacher, Curator of Birds and Mammals at the California Academy of Sciences, talks about his field expeditions to Papua New Guinea. Some of the best discoveries in science are completely serendipitous. Dr. Dumbacher discovered, quite by accident, that a common New Guinea bird uses potent poisons for protection -- a defense never before documented in birds. And that's just the beginning of the story... - California Academy of Sciences
Is Society on the Verge of Collapse?
Complete video at: fora.tv Theoretical physicist Geoffrey B. West discusses the implications of a society that defines success as perpetual exponential growth. West suggests that a collapse may be as inevitable as a heart attack if one is forced to run on a treadmill that never stops accelerating. ----- Why Cities Keep on Growing, Corporations Always Die, and Life Gets Faster As organisms, cities, and companies scale up, they all gain in efficiency, but then they vary. The bigger an organism, the slower. Yet the bigger a city is, the faster it runs. And cities are structurally immortal, while corporations are structurally doomed. Scaling up always creates new problems; cities can innovate faster than the problems indefinitely, while corporations cannot. These revolutionary findings come from Geoffrey West's examination of vast quantities of data on the metabolic/economic behavior of organisms and organizations. A theoretical physicist, West was president of Santa Fe Institute from 2005 to 2009 and founded the high energy physics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Geoffrey West (b. 1940) is a physicist. He was born in a rural town in western England and moved to London when he was 13. He received a bachelor's degree in physics from Cambridge and pursued graduate studies in California at Stanford. He eventually became a Stanford faculty member before he joined the particle theory group at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory. After Los Alamos, he became ...
Creating Emotions from Atoms
Complete video at: fora.tv Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Cooper discusses his recent work in the understanding of consciousness from a material point of view. Although there is concern that this might take away from the mystery of life, he quips, "If you tell me what the chemistry is of the digestion of a great wine... it's not going to stop me from enjoying the wine." ----- Superconductivity and Other Insoluble Problems: Are There Limits to Scientific Understanding? A talk by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon N. Cooper When an ordinary metal is cooled to very low temperatures -- near absolute zero -- its electrical resistance vanishes. Once a current starts to flow in a loop of such "superconducting" wire, it flows forever. Discovered in 1911, this remarkable phenomenon defied explanation for nearly fifty years, until the work of John Bardeen, Leon Cooper and J. Robert Schrieffer. Today, superconductivity is still a central topic in scientific research and in the search for new technologies, while the "BCS" theory has had implications for our understanding of systems ranging from the atomic nucleus to the behavior of massive stars. To celebrate the centennial of the original discovery, we are delighted to welcome Professor Cooper, who will reflect on the history of superconductivity and on the nature of scientific explanation. Leon Cooper is the Thomas J. Watson, Sr., Professor of Science at Brown University, where he also directs the Center for Neural Science. A ...
Noam Chomsky: Big Business Dictates the Presidency
Complete video at: fora.tv "Campaign funding is a remarkable predictor of election, and also of policy," says linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky. He asserts that the Supreme Court is currently considering a lawsuit that would allow corporations to "buy elections directly, instead of indirectly." ----- World-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky has been pushing change in language, politics and culture for decades. The controversial expert on modern language explains why "the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." - Commonwealth Club of California Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics and philosophy at MIT, is the author of numerous books on US foreign policy, including American Power and the New Mandarins, Political Economy of Human Rights (two volumes, written with Edward Herman), Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, and Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World. His most recent books are Failed States and Perilous Power.
Keith Richards on Mick Jagger and 'Lead Singer Syndrome'
Complete video at: fora.tv Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards discusses his occasionally rocky history with frontman Mick Jagger, and his take on the "lead-singer syndrome." ----- Outlaw, hellraiser, and one of rock music's most gifted and influential guitarists, Keith Richards has forged a life that most of us can only imagine--and often envy. Amazingly he's lived to tell about it, and now this rock Icon has given us the definitive rock autobiography. In Life, the man himself tells about life lived fast and hard in the creative hurricane--from his days as a young boy growing up in a council estate, listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, to joining forces with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones to form The Rolling Stones. In conversation with Anthony DeCurtis, a music journalist, and contributing editor for Rolling Stone, Keith Richards will discuss the storied journey of the Rolling Stones, as well as his passion for books and for history. He will chronicle how he created the revolutionary, high-octane riffs that defined "Jumping Jack Flash," "Gimme Shelter" and "Honky Tonk Woman," his affair with the equally infamous Anita Pallenberg (the mother of three of his children), and the tragic death of Brian Jones. He will also discuss the personal values that have made him a proud, successful father, and a happily married man for more than twenty-five years. From falling in love with his wife Patti Hansen to his relationship with his "brother," Mick ...
Neanderthal Genes Found in Modern Humans
Complete video at: fora.tv Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology details a recent and curious discovery of a possible genetic integration between Neanderthals and modern humans around 60000 years ago. ----- Neandertals were the first fossil hominins discovered and, since then, have been the most studied. However, it is only in the last two decades that entirely new techniques have made new and fascinating insights into their biology and behavior possible. Beyond their odd anatomy, we are now able to explore the mechanisms of their birth and growth, the way their brains developed, and the chemical signals left in their bones from their diet. The decoding of their genome has opened a new era in paleoanthropology. Ultimately, understanding the rise and the fall of the Neandertals will help us to elucidate the unrivaled evolutionary success of our own species. - California Academy of Sciences Jean-Jacques Hublin, Ph.D., is currently a Professor at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig (Germany), where he serves as the Director of the Department of Human Evolution. He has also been an honorary Professor at the University of Leipzig since 2004. Initially his research focused on the origin and evolution of Neanderthals and he has proposed an accretion model for the emergence of the Neandertal lineage that roots it in time in the middle of the middle Pleistocene. He also worked on the processes associated ...
John Engler: Trading Tax Breaks for Lower Rates
Complete video at: fora.tv Business Roundtable head John Engler discusses his group's proposal to eliminate tax breaks in order to lower the corporate tax rate to a flat 25%. "I think there is a willingness to be very creative and to be very courageous on this, but the key is that the rate has to go low enough to justify it," he argues. ---- During a conversation with journalists at a Monitor Breakfast, Business Roundtable President John Engler discusses the state of US business. John Engler is president of the Business Roundtable (BRT), an association of chief executive officers of leading US corporations with a combined workforce of more than 14 million workers and over $6 trillion in annual revenues. A former three-term governor of Michigan, Engler assumed the leadership of Business Roundtable in January 2011 after serving six years as president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Tech Doesn't Care About You: Gary Vaynerchuk Celebrates Death of Old Media
Complete video at: fora.tv With trillions in ad revenue ready to trickle down to hyper-niche Internet entrepreneurs, social media phenomenon and wine expert Gary Vaynerchuk declares that old media is all but dead. "Things only go forward," says Vaynerchuk. "Technology has no feelings." ----- Do you have a hobby you wish you could do all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Meet Gary Vaynerchuk, a 33-year-old self-trained wine and social media expert who has revolutionized the wine industry. Gary's cult-like following is the result of his unconventional, often irreverent commentary on wine, combined with his business acumen and foresight to use social media tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience. He hosts a daily webcast called "The Thunder Show" on tv.winelibrary.com that attracts over 90000 viewers each day. Recently, his podcast become the most downloaded show on iTunes in the Food category, beating out venerable names in the industry including Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver. Called the "king of social media," Gary is one of the first Facebook users to max out his friend limit, with over 17000 pending friend requests. He is in the top 100 people followed on Twitter and was the keynote speaker at events like the 2009 South of Southwest Interactive conference and the New Media and Web 2.0 expos. With CRUSH IT! he shows how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building ...
WikiLeaks: How Safe Are Whistleblowers in the Digital Age?
Complete video at: fora.tv WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange addresses the question of how safe confidential sources are in the digital age. "The chance of your source getting run over by a car," he says, "are vastly higher than they are of being caught." For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv ----- A panel of experts from the press, government, and academia discuss their new and upcoming projects. They discuss different methods of promoting investigative journalism, ranging from building non-profit institutions to converting the country of Iceland into a "free press haven." The panel features Gavin MacFadyen (The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, UK), Chuck Lewis (American University), Julian Assange (WikiLeaks), Birgitta Jónsdóttir (Member of Parliament, Iceland) and Jon Weber (The Bay Citizen). Lowell Bergman moderates. - Berkeley School of Journalism Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, best known for his involvement with Wikileaks, a whistleblower website.
Can Keeping Your Clunker Be More Eco-Friendly than Buying a Prius?
Complete video at: fora.tv Rachel Sheinbein, senior associate at CMEA Capital, shares her opinion on Toyota's massively popular Prius. While it may be "sexy" to own a Prius, she says, keeping an old car instead of replacing it with a Prius may be more ecologically responsible from a "cradle to grave" perspective. ----- On November 8, 2009, hundreds of Jewish leaders met in San Francisco for a conference featuring innovators from the energy industry, investment, sustainability, and policy. They shared ideas and experiences to help advance the generational movement for clean and secure energy. - American Jewish Committee In her career at Intel, Rachel Sheinbein worked with a team on cutting edge waste water treatment and with a world-class group that was shaping the industry in environmental metrics and emission reduction technologies. She also led a group on strategy for IT in the supply chain. After Intel, Rachel had the opportunity to consult for entrepreneurs in the solar, bio plastics and water sectors. Now at CMEA, she seeks out visionaries who see possibilities and can make them a reality.
Taking on the Church of Scientology
Complete video at: fora.tv Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright gives an insider look on his groundbreaking expose of the Church of Scientology. He discusses the precautions he took while writing about the notoriously litigious organization, explaining that at one point there were five fact checkers working on the piece. ----- Panel Topic: True Grit: When the Story Bites Back CBS News/Sports Illustrated Piece on "College Football and Crime." The 3-day Logan Symposium now in its 5th year, serves a number of key constituencies. Culling together a group of dedicated investigative reporters, academics, philanthropists, media experts and graduate students, the invite only event is an industry must. Once a humble commitment to host an annual lecture in the name of its benefactors, the Logan Symposium quickly rose in popularity as "one of the most influential events of its kind," according to the Seattle Times. Covered and attended by a veritable 'who's who' in investigative reporting, the conference dissects controversial topics in the field, hosts internationally renowned panelists, and examines key factors of change in investigative reporting. Lawrence Wright is an author, screenwriter, playwright, and a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. He received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.
The Onion's Baratunde Thurston Talks Real Time Media
Complete video at: fora.tv The Onion's web editor Baratunde Thurston outlines the iconic publication's evolution from a weekly print newspaper to a real time media publisher utilizing social media tools. ----- DLD is an inspiring community for the 21st century which features digital innovation, science and culture and brings together thought leaders, creators, entrepreneurs and investors from Europe, the Middle-East, the Americas and Asia. This session on the real time web features Raj Narayan (Tinker), Loic Le Meur (Seesmic), and Baratunde Thurston (The Onion). Moderated by Jeff Pulver (Pulver.com). - DLD 2010 Baratunde Thurston is a comedian, author and vigilante pundit. He was nominated for the Bill Hicks Award for Thought Provoking Comedy, declared a Champion of the First Amendment by Iowa State, and called "someone I need to know" by Barack Obama. He has appeared on ABC, NPR, the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times and ComedyCentral.com. Thurston is the co-founder of Jack & Jill Politics and performs regularly in New York City, where he works by day as Web Editor and politics czar for The Onion. He hosts Popular Science's "Future Of" on the Science Channel, and he lives in Twitter.
A Conversation with Jimmy Fallon and Sean Parker
Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Sean Parker, Founders Fund NExTWORK is a one-day, interdisciplinary conference that will feature world-renowned business leaders, technologists, and thinkers exploring the promise and peril of the network's future, as well as the most pressing digital issues and opportunities today.
Alicia Silverstone Not 'Clueless' About Vegan Health
Complete video at: fora.tv Actress and environmental activist Alicia Silverstone shares her experience adopting veganism. She claims the change in diet brought her more energy, clearer skin, and allergy-related health benefits. ----- Long before it was cool to "be green," critically acclaimed actress Alicia Silverstone was coming forward as a passionate and vocal advocate for environmental causes. In her new book, Silverstone reveals how eating a plant-based diet not only provides numerous health benefits for you, but is also a major contribution to the health of the planet. Filled with personal anecdotes, motivational tips, and nearly 100 recipes, The Kind Diet is a fun and accessible way to begin your own journey toward better health. Whether youre simply curious about life without meat or are ready to go macrobiotic, The Kind Diet's three different approaches offer a way to choose the path that's right for you. - Kepler's Books Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless (1995) and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin (1997). Silverstone recently published the vegan nutrition book, The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight and Saving the Planet. The guide includes diet and fitness guidance and advice, along with holistic living tips. It "explores the connection between what ...
WikiLeaks' Assange on Bradley Manning, Anonymous Sources
Complete video at: fora.tv Julian Assange comments on his communication with Private First Class Bradley Manning prior to Manning's alleged release of thousands of classified US government documents to WikiLeaks. "We don't keep records of who our sources are," says Assange. "I had never heard the name Bradley Manning before I saw the media reports on this." For related videos, visit WikiLeaks: Security Threat or Media Savior? A FORA.tv Series: fora.tv ----- Following the leak by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks of almost 400000 secret US army field reports from the Iraq war between 2004 and 2009, tune in to hear Julian Assange at the Frontline Club in conversation with one of the most famous whistle blowers in history, Daniel Ellsberg, who was responsible for the leak of the Pentagon Papers in 1971. Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent. - Frontline Club Julian Assange is an Australian journalist, programmer and Internet activist, best known for his involvement with Wikileaks, a whistleblower website.
The Milky Way's Collision Course with Andromeda
Complete video at: fora.tv UC Berkeley Astronomy Professor Chung-Pei Ma shows how spiral galaxies occasionally merge with one another, which, she says, will eventually happen to our own Milky Way Galaxy when it collides with the Andromeda Galaxy. ----- This program was recorded at the 12th Annual Wonderfest, the San Francisco Bay Area Festival of Science. Wonderfest's broad goals are best described by its mission statement: Through public discourse about provocative scientific questions, Wonderfest aspires to stimulate curiosity, promote careful reasoning, challenge unexamined beliefs, and encourage life-long learning. Wonderfest achieves these ends by presenting series of scientific events to the general public. At most of these events, pairs of articulate and accomplished researchers discuss and debate compelling questions at the edge of scientific understanding. - Wonderfest Chung-Pei Ma is a professor of astronomy at UC Berkeley.
It's Time for Sensible Marijuana Laws - Rick Steves
Complete video at: fora.tv Travel writer Rick Steves compares European drug policies to those of the United States, and calls for comprehensive reform of laws restricting use of soft drugs like marijuana. "There's not a reservoir of people just wishing they could ruin their lives with drugs if only it was legal," says Steves. ----- Spending four months a year overseas, Rick Steves believes that thoughtful travel can expand our world view and shape how we address the political challenges that confront our country. This popular speaker returns to The Commonwealth Club to provide a unique perspective on how the other 96 percent of humanity views our country and why we should "challenge truths we were raised to think were self-evident" in order to become citizens of the planet. Rick Steves grew up in Edmonds, Washington and studied at the University of Washington where he received degrees in Business Administration and European History. Since 1973, he has spent 120 days a year in Europe. Today he employs 80 people at his Europe Through the Back Door headquarters in Edmonds where he produces 30 guidebooks on European travel, the most popular travel series in America on public television, a weekly hour-long national public radio show, and a weekly column syndicated by the Chicago Tribune.
Google's Self-Driving Cars: Coming Soon to a Road Near You
Complete Premium video at: fora.tv Google software engineer Sebastian Thrun demonstrates the company's latest groundbreaking innovation: cars that drive themselves. Yes, really. ----- The Ideas Economy is an online forum that convenes experts from around the world on the subjects of innovation, intelligent infrastructure, information, and human potential. Based on a series of live events from The Economist, The Ideas Economy attracts a community of active participants from business, government, non-profits and the academy who are interested in collaborating to solve global challenges, develop new ideas, and contribute to human progress. Sebastian Thrun is a Distinguished Software Engineer at Google and professor of computer science at Stanford University.
Cornel West Sounds Off on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
Complete video at: fora.tv Cornel West congratulates President Obama on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, but cautions that the honor comes with tremendous responsibility. "It's going to be hard to be a war president with a Peace Prize," he says. ----- In this intimate exploration, one of America's most gifted and provocative public intellectuals peels back the layers of a remarkable life. - Los Angeles Public Library Cornel West is a philosopher, author, critic, and civil rights activist. His works include The Ethical Dimensions of Marxist Thought, Race Matters, and The African-American Century: How Black Americans Have Shaped Our Century.
Will Computers Ever Understand Emotion?
Complete video at: fora.tv As computers become more advanced, there are fewer and fewer things that people are able to do that computers are not. But, author James Gleick argues, while computers are currently both "surprisingly good" and "surprisingly bad" at tasks like translation, by gathering input from human users, they may eventually understand concepts as complex as art and emotion. ----- What do we know and when did we know it? Former New York Times writer James Gleick (the man who popularized "the butterfly effect" in Chaos) has produced the definitive history of the age in which we live, The Information. He talks with Robyn Williams. - Australian Broadcasting Corporation James Gleick was born in New York City in 1954. He graduated from Harvard College in 1976 and helped found Metropolis, an alternative weekly newspaper in Minneapolis. Then he worked for ten years as an editor and reporter for The New York Times. His first book, Chaos, was a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist and a national bestseller. He collaborated with the photographer Eliot Porter on Nature's Chaos and with developers at Autodesk on Chaos: The Software. His next books include the best-selling biographies, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman and Isaac Newton, both shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize, as well as Faster and What Just Happened. They have been translated into twenty-five languages. In 1989-90 he was the McGraw Distinguished Lecturer at Princeton University ...
When Nixon Met Elvis: Tales of FOIA Document Requests
Complete video at: fora.tv Professing to be a "documents fetishist," Thomas S. Blanton, Director of the National Security Archive, reflects on his experiences requesting documents via the Freedom of Information Act. The most requested FOIA document? A photograph of Elvis and President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office. ----- A panel of experts discuss the complexities of investigative journalism from a reporter's perspective. They discuss the challenges of going in-depth on a story, and explore the new opportunities that online media presents. The journalists include: Susanne Rust (Knight Fellow), Tom Blanton (National Security Archive), David Barstow (New York Times), Ricardo Sandoval Palos (Center for Public Integrity), and Rebecca Peterson (60 Minutes). The panel is moderated by Lowell Bergman and IRP Fellow Ryan Gabrielson. - Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism homas S. Blanton is Director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University in Washington DC The Archive won US journalism's George Polk Award in April 2000 for "piercing self-serving veils of government secrecy, guiding journalists in search for the truth, and informing us all." The Los Angeles Times (16 January 2001) described the Archive as "the world's largest nongovernmental library of declassified documents." Blanton served as the Archive's first Director of Planning & Research beginning in 1986, became Deputy Director in 1989, and Executive Director in 1992. He filed his first Freedom ...
We're All Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University, presents examples of cognitive illusions that help illustrate why humans make predictably irrational decisions. EG is the celebration of the American entertainment industry. Since 1984, Richard Saul Wurman has created extraordinary gatherings about learning and understanding. EG is a rich extension of these ideas - a conference that explores the attitude of understanding in music, film, television, radio, technology, advertising, gaming, interactivity and the web - The Entertainment Gathering Dan Ariely is the Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT Sloan School of Management. He also holds an appointment at the MIT Media Lab where he is the head of the eRationality research group. He is considered to be one of the leading behavioral economists. Currently, Ariely is serving as a Visiting Professor at the Duke University, Fuqua School of Business where he is teaching a course based upon his findings in Predictably Irrational. Ariely was an undergraduate at Tel Aviv University and received a Ph.D. and MA in cognitive psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in business from Duke University. His research focuses on discovering and measuring how people make decisions. He models the human decision making process and in particular the irrational decisions that we all make every day. Ariely is the author of the book, Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces ...
Forget Snakes, Beware of the Tropical Bullet Ant - Darin Penneys
Complete video at: fora.tv An ant whose sting feels like a bullet wound? How about a tarantula with a leg span the size of a dinner plate? Botanist Darin Penneys flips through a slideshow of all the creepy and crawly creatures he encounters when on expedition in the tropics. ----- This presentation highlights the places and plants Dr. Darin Penneys (California Academy of Sciences) encountered during several collecting expeditions throughout the Americas and China. Dr. Penneys also discusses his research on the Princess Flower family (Melastomataceae), including their associations with ants, mites, bees, hummingbirds, and rodents. - California Academy of Sciences Darin S. Penneys is the John J. Rose Post-Doctoral Fellow in Botany for California Academy of Sciences. Darin Penneys collected for four weeks this past August-September and combed the mountains along the southern border of the Yunnan Province, China in search of Melastomataceae. Although there has been much deforestation in that region for the production of rice, rubber, tea, and bananas, the protected areas harbor a tremendous amount of biodiversity. He was able to collect many species, and even some genera, found only in China and all of these will be critical for his investigation into the global phylogenetic relationships within this family.
The Assassin: A Spider That Hunts Other Spiders
Complete video at: fora.tv Arachnologist Hannah Wood introduces the "stealthy predator" of the world of arachnids: the assassin spider. With its unusually long neck, the assassin spider actively hunts its only prey -- other spiders. ----- Join arachnologist Hannah Wood as she talks about her field expeditions to Madagascar and other remote places in the world. They may be small, but assassin spiders are among the most dangerous spiders on the planet --- if you're another spider, that is. A classic example of convergent evolution, Wood's findings suggest that the need to strike out at prey from a distance encouraged the evolution of extended spider body parts on more than one occasion. - California Academy of Sciences Hannah M.Wood is an arachnologist with the California Academy of Sciences; University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.), Graduate Assistant.
Christopher Hitchens Confused by Obama's Iran Policy
Complete video at: fora.tv On the eve of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's most recent address to the UN, author and journalist Christopher Hitchens marvels at the confusion that characterizes the Obama administration's policy regarding Iran. ----- This debate, moderated by political writer and analyst Peter Beinart (The Daily Beast), features Christopher Hitchens and George Packer. The panel discusses America's position in, and relationship to, the rest of the world under Obama -- and whether or not his foreign policy has been effective. - CUNY Christopher Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England and worked in Britain as book reviewer for the Times, and chief foreign correspondent for the Daily Express. After emigrating to the United States in 1981, he wrote the Minority Report column for The Nation. Since 1992, he has been columnist and contributing editor at Vanity Fair and, at different times, Washington editor and columnist for Harper's magazine, American columnist and correspondent for the Spectator, the New Statesman, the Times Literary Supplement, Sunday Today, and the Sunday Correspondent. Hitchens writes regularly for the Atlantic Monthly and Slate, and is the author of God is Not Great, Letters to a Young Contrarian and Why Orwell Matters.
Is the Pursuit of Happiness Making Us Miserable? - Petrea King
Complete video at: fora.tv Petrea King, founder and CEO of The Quest for Life Foundation, argues the pursuit of happiness is making us all miserable. "Happiness is found in the present moment," she says. "That's where life is, love is. ----- The pursuit of happiness is one of the unalienable rights enshrined in the US Declaration of Independence. But is our relentless striving to feel good no matter what actually making us miserable? Would we be better to accept that life comes with good times and bad, and make peace with that? This IQ2 debate, held in Sydney in March 2010, pits those who believe that happiness is a worthwhile goal that can be found in pleasures material and social, against those who hold that people should abandon unrealistic goals and seek quiet comfort within. - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Petrea King is the Founding Director and CEO of the Quest for Life Foundation and practices as a counsellor, inspirational speaker and workshop leader in the field of holistic health. She is the author of several books including Quest for Life and Your Life Matters.
Craig Ferguson on the Guest Who Changed His Life
Complete video at: fora.tv Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson remembers the one guest who changed his life, and the show. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he recalls, "freed me up a little bit." ----- Host of TV's The Late Late Show, Craig Ferguson talks about American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot. Ferguson delivers a funny memoir about his journey from the mean streets of Glasgow to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through attempts to make his mark--as a punk rocker, a construction worker, and, tragically, a modern dancer. - Book Passage Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Craig Ferguson got his start as a drummer for punk bands. He came to know Michael Boyd, the artistic director of The Tron Theatre in Glasgow. Ferguson was soon the star of his own BBC television show, 'The Ferguson Theory.' Ferguson starred with Betty White and Marie Osmond in the short-lived ABC comedy 'Maybe This Time.' After the show ended, Craig played Drew's boss on 'The Drew Carey Show.' Ferguson has written the feature films 'The Big Tease' and 'Saving Grace.' Ferguson wrote, directed, and starred in 'I'll Be There.' Ferguson appeared in 'Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events.' Ferguson took over as host of THE LATE LATE SHOW on January 3, 2005.
Chomsky: US Supported Indian, Pakistani Nuclear Programs
Complete video at: fora.tv Noam Chomsky divulges the issues of nuclear proliferation which are overlooked or ignored in the mainstream media. Covering the nuclear weapons programs of Iran, India, Israel, and Pakistan, Chomsky says "it can't be that the news bureaus don't know it; there's more that isn't discussed." ----- World-renowned intellectual Noam Chomsky has been pushing change in language, politics and culture for decades. The controversial expert on modern language explains why "the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics and philosophy at MIT, is the author of numerous books on US foreign policy, including American Power and the New Mandarins, Political Economy of Human Rights (two volumes, written with Edward Herman), Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians, and Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World. His most recent books are Failed States and Perilous Power.
Does Pop Culture Turn Us Into Consumer Slaves? - Stephen Sewell
Complete video at: fora.tv Screenwriter Stephen Sewell rails against the social effects of consumerism, stating that modern pop culture serves to "enslave" people in a endless cycle of insatiable desire. "Popular culture isn't culture at all," argues Sewell. "It's commerce." ----- The first of the 2010 season of the ever-popular IQ2 debates took the crowd-pleasing topic: "Popular Culture: We've seen the future, and it's junk." Some big-name thinkers and writers lined up to do battle. Is popular culture an annoyance that keeps the masses in a state of stupor? Or does it shape our society in an important and entertaining way? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation Stephen Sewell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter, whose works include "The Boys," "The Secret Death of Salvador Dali" and "Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America - A Drama in 30 Scenes."
Jonah Lehrer on the Surprising Benefits of Daydreaming
Complete Premium video at: fora.tv Author and WIRED contributing editor Jonah Lehrer discusses the surprising benefits of daydreaming, and questions whether ubiquitous access to the Internet negatively affects the ability to let one's mind wander. "Now, every time I get even a little bit bored ... I check my email for the millionth time that day," says Lehrer. "I lose myself in my 3-inch screen, instead of exploring the usual process of daydreaming." ----- This excerpt is taken from a program titled, "Your Brain on the Internet: Digital Intelligence," featuring Nicholson Baker, Jaron Lanier, Jonah Lehrer, Elizabeth Phelps, and Daniel Zalewski. Jonah Lehrer is an author and journalist who writes often about neuroscience and psychology. He has published two books, "Proust Was a Neuroscientist," about the connections between science and the humanities, and "How We Decide," about the brain and decision-making. He has written for The New Yorker about the science of insight and about the psychology of delayed gratification.
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