Didactic Synapse

Yeah, I changed the name. So what? I explain on this week’s SynCast. Listen and enjoy.

DS #56: A Key to the Nose

Top 3 Links of the Week

• USGS: Recent Earthquakes “Almost Certainly Manmade”
• Athens suicide: a cry for dignity from downtrodden
• Found to Have Misbehaved, but Still Teaching in NYC

Current Events

• Former policemen in Katrina bridge shootings jailed
• Armed Neo-Nazis Now Patrolling Sanford
• Police Cruiser Shot Up in Trayvon Martin Neighborhood
• Afghanistan’s ‘dancing boys’ are invisible victims
• Iran proposal joins jockeying before nuclear talks
• Raid of Dotcom mansion was videotaped, footage nowhere to be found

Economics

• The Secret To Germany’s Low Youth Unemployment
• The Citigroup Plutonomy Memos
• SEC probes ties to high-speed traders
• Austerity drives up suicide rate in debt-ridden Greece
• Duke asks: “Help with Greece please!”
• Chinese teen sells kidney to buy iPhone, iPad
• Over-Paying At The Pump? Boost Speculator Margin Requirements

Killer Robots, etc

• Robot history: The rise of the drone
• Robot wars (Watch this one!)
• Military wants humanoid robots in the driver’s seat
• Robot copters will automatically spot pirates
• RELAUX online radio
• Virtual Pizza
• When the smoke clears – Taalam Acey

Hip-Hop

• Digable Planets: Where I’m From
  

Deviant SynCast #52: Resist Cynicism, Believe in the Transcendent!

The new show is (finally) up! Sorry for the delay — Diane’s on Spring Break this week, and for some reason I feel extra silly talking into a mic by myself.

(I don’t mind doing the VeteranGamers podcast when she’s around, but I’m very self-conscious when it’s just me and the mic.)

I start out with Kony, because everyone’s talking about it (and more than a few people are asking me about it). I have a lot more to say about it, so I keep it short — but I promise to write a post here about all of it soon. Thank you for your patience!

Please send feedback to esp (at) fbesp.org or leave comments here (or post in the new chatbox). Here are the links for this week:

Kony 2012

• The original video (in case you — somehow — haven’t seen it)
• Amnesty International on Kony
• Take action to end the use of child soldiers

Iran and Weapons Inspections

• Military officials urge Obama not to go to war with Iran
• FAIR: Spying in Iraq, from Fact to Allegation
• Boston Herald on CIA Pakistan fake-vaccination scheme (archived)
• Full article in the Guardian on CIA fake vaccines

Economics: High-Frequency Trading

• The Economist on HFT (note call for regulation at the end!)
• Wikipedia: 2010 Flash Crash
• WSJ: Mini ‘Crashes’ Hit Commodity Trade
• Senators Kaufman and Levin: Preventing the Next Flash Crash
• BusinessWeek: Chilton calls for regulation of HFT
• NYT: Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs

Pop Culture, Killer Robots, etc.

• Did Banksy rip off Sean Tejaratchi?
• FoxNews: Robot cheetah sets new speed record
• Richard Thieme: My Last Talk with Gary Webb

Deviant SynCast #51: Drones and Thrones

Episode #51 of the Deviant SynCast is now available for your listening pleasure. I’ve submitted it to iTunes, but apparently it hasn’t been approved yet, so downloading it here is your only option for now.

I went a little long this week — 45 minutes. Many thanks to everyone who sent feedback last week. Please respond with thoughts or questions!

Here are the links:

Syria

• Associated Press Q&A
• Paul Conroy on Homs: “systematic slaughter of the civilian population”
• SMH on Atrocity Claims
• Red Cross Denied Entry to Homs
• Marwan Bishara on NATO and Libya
• Tom Engelhardt on Drones

Economics

• BP Reaches Deal with Gulf Region Plaintiffs
• Nick Hanauer: Raise Taxes on the Rich
• BusinessWeek on OWS and ALEC
• Banksy on Advertisers

Hip-Hop

• Davey D on Whitney
• Yasiin Bey: “NIP”

Education

• UChicago: “Failed Tests”

That’s right, people! After a hiatus of five years, my podcast is back on the air. Unlike in the past, there’s no multimedia or music. This is just me talking for 30 minutes. Fortunately, I’ve got lots of stuff to talk about, from Syria to (Public) Enemy Books and Foxconn and lots of other stuff.

I’m working to get it onto iTunes, but for now just download it manually and stick it on your ‘pod. And send me questions or comments!

Deviant SynCast Episode #50: Syria and Sleeplessness

In Other News

Hey, look — Patton Oswalt’s doing a column over at Spin. How odd.