Scientists have unearthed a dinosaur larger than the T-Rex in an area of North Africa paleontologists have dubbed “river of giants….the most dangerous place in the history of our planet.” Read the fascinating story how Spinosaurus came to be here.
Archive for the ‘All Things Considered’ Category
Meet Spinosaurus
In All Things Considered, Dinosaurs, Godzilla, National Geographic Museum, North Africa, NPR, Paleontology, Spinosaurus, T. Rex, Thomas Holtz, University of Chicago on September 12, 2014 at 3:17 amMusical Alchemist
In All Things Considered, Music, NPR, Pop Culture on March 10, 2013 at 3:30 amUkrainian musician and engineer, Oleg Berg, has started an internet trend altering popular hit songs from their major or minor chords to the opposite and thus changing the song’s feel entirely. NPR looks at this trend and the broader issue of how the human brain processes music and the emotional cues presented by a major or minor key. Listen to the full story here.
From African Mummies to the Harlem Shake
In All Things Considered, History, International, Music, Pop Culture on February 22, 2013 at 1:33 amI’ll admit, I was late to the Harlem Shake phenomenon. A 30-second video where one person dances to a dubstep beat surrounded by people seemingly going about a task not paying attention, then 15 seconds in the video cuts to everyone dancing with obscure costumes and props. Here NPR speaks with Jay Smooth, Harlemite and host of the hip-hop video blog Ill Doctrine, about the origin of the Harlem Shake and how it has evolved into the popular meme.
Also worth a read: Long Before the Harlem Shake, We Did the Shimmy
Baby Boxes
In All Things Considered, Health, International, NPR on February 18, 2013 at 10:34 pmEeeegh, how terribly sad. Listen to this report on the spreading use of “Baby Boxes” in Europe where family members – or in some cases, pimps and sex trade workers – anonymously drop off newborns they cannot care for.
European “Baby Box”
“When the infant is placed inside and the door is closed, it can’t be opened from the street again. Meanwhile, an alarm goes off inside and a neonatal team rushes to care for the infant.”
Baby Box instructions
Deadliest Jobs in America
In All Things Considered, Health, International, NPR on January 23, 2013 at 10:47 pmTwo neat graphics from Planet Money:
![[hfboards.hockeysfuture.com]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/fisherman.jpg)
[hfboards.hockeysfuture.com]
40 years after Roe V. Wade
In All Things Considered, Fresh Air, Health, History, Law, NPR, Politics on January 23, 2013 at 1:34 amIn recognition of Roe V. Wade’s fortieth anniversary, NPR had several stories on one of the nation’s most controversial subjects. Terry Gross’s Fresh Air was especially horrifying: ‘We Have No Choice’: A Story of the Texas Sonogram Law. “What good is a law that adds only pain and difficulty to perhaps the most painful and difficult decision a woman can make?”
![[streetlaw.org]](https://hearditonnpr.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/abortion.jpg)
[streetlaw.org]
Roe V. Wade turns 40, but abortion debate is even older
States becomes battlegrounds for nation’s deep abortion divide
Stalking a Giant Squid
In All Things Considered, NPR, Science, Technology, Travel on January 13, 2013 at 10:00 pmScientist Edie Widder on All Things Considered discusses her amazing video footage (first-ever) of the giant squid and her technique to capturing the elusive sea creature in action. Discovery Channel will be airing a documentary in late January.
Courtesy of Edie Widder/Discovery Channel
“The reason we know giant squids exist is that they happen to float when they die. But we really [have] only explored 5 percent of the ocean, and I think we’ve explored that in the wrong way. I think we’ve scared a lot of animals away. So what about the stuff that doesn’t float when it dies?”
Did you know the Jetsons only had one season?
In All Things Considered, NPR, Pop Culture, Technology, Television on January 11, 2013 at 2:30 amListen to Audie Cornish‘s interview with Matt Novak on the 50th anniversary of the Jetsons. Yes, you read that right, it’s been 50 years since the cartoon aired…and it’s still influencing us today. 
I heard it on NPR 