[Swprograms] Podding Along - Issue 369

[John Figliozzi <jfiglio1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Podcasts permit a shift of listening time from a set appointment to virtually any convenient occasion.  I do it while “power walking” (most) every morning when weather permits.  Hence…Podding Along!

Some of the best radio comes from the public networks of the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.  Apart from the originating program’s web site, most programs are made available through any number of other sources. 

This continuing series of small samplings in more or less 90 minute helpings are curated by me.  I attest to the fact that I have listened to every podcast listed here.  So admittedly these are thoroughly subjective recommendations.  But my interests and tolerance for incompatible topics and views are pretty wide-ranging, even if I do say so myself. 

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“Disinformation”
THINKING ALLOWED - BBC Radio 4
Laurie Taylor talks to Annie Kelly, a researcher of the Digital Far Right, about the QAnon conspiracy theory and why it has attracted a striking number of female followers, many of whom are mothers. She argues that their rhetoric and slogans have cleverly smuggled legitimate concerns about the welfare of children into a baseless and dangerous set of entirely false claims about the nature of child trafficking. What role have social media sites dominated by women played in the circulation of QAnon theories and how can they be challenged?  Also, Nina Jankowitz, Global Disinformation Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, examines Russia’s role in the spread of disinformation, not only in the USA but also in Eastern and Central Europe. What lessons can be learned from these experiences? She argues that the best types of disinformation are able to amplify and exploit the already existing divisions in society, including racism and inequality in the US context. (28”)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qknk

“The Bed”
THINKING ALLOWED - BBC Radio 4
Laurie Taylor talks to Nadia Durrani, writer on archaeology and co-author of a study which explores 'what we did in bed', offering a social history of an often taken-for-granted object. In a story spanning millennia, she illuminates the role of the bed through time, reminding us that it was not always simply a private space for sleep, sex and relaxation; it's also been a place for sharing with strangers, issueing decrees, even taking us to the afterlife.  Also, the rise and fall of twin beds for couples. Hilary Hinds, Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University , charts shifting attitudes towards separate sleeping. Whereas it was once seen as the sign of a modern, hygiene conscious and forward thinking relationship, it came to be regarded as the enemy of intimacy. Why did so many couples abandon a sleeping arrangement which used to be regarded as one of the keys to re-imagining domestic relations, promoting equality between the sexes and personal autonomy?  (28”)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qm0d

“Is Fungus Intelligent?”
CROWDSCIENCE - BBC World Service
As regular listeners may recall, CrowdScience has delved into the strange world of fungi before, as we dug down into the forest floor to reveal how plants and trees are connected to the vast mycelial network known as the “wood wide web”. But what makes this network possible and how might it have evolved? Fungi are incredibly clever, or at least , it appears that they’re capable of displaying complex behaviour that gives them the appearance of intelligence. In this episode, we speak to fungal ecologist and author of a new book, Merlin Sheldrake, about fungal “brains”, the evolution of magic mushrooms and zombie insects – the astonishing way certain fungi can take over the bodies of ants and wasps in order to sow their spores above ground. (29”)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszv6v

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A monthly (well, mostly monthly) compendium of these newsletters, plus on occasion additional pertinent material, is now published in The CIDX Messenger, the monthly e-newsletter of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX).  For further information, go to www.cidx.ca

John Figliozzi
Editor, "The Worldwide Listening Guide”
Current 184 page 9th EDITION available from Universal Radio [universal-radio.com], Amazon [amazon.com], Ham Radio Outlet [hamradio.com]




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