the weird world of 70s britain

I wasn't born until 1979 so I missed most of the seventies, but from what I've gathered it was a tough time for a lot of the world. There was a massive oil shortage, stagflation, the Vietnam War, among other global conflicts, and even a miniature ice age. In this university of Oxford podcast, Dominic Sandbrook discusses the rationing measures, the economic panic, strikes, cultural movements and more, all happening in the UK in the 70s and somehow it all sounds utterly surreal and yet a bit familiar. Sounds dry, but isn't, super interesting and gives a bit of perspective.

click here for a link to the podcast!

another great Fresh Air interview: What's hiding in the unconscious mind

peeking into the unconscious mind: the biological urge to spill secrets, time as a construction of the brain and memory, neuroscience and criminal law. An interview with David Eagleman. 

Click here to listen to that interview.

aboriginal astronomy!

Professor Ray Norris explores a bit of aboriginal astronomy on the podcast Okham's Razor.

Interesting parallels in aboriginal and western greek constellation mythology, the flying emu and more.

Listen to this podcast by clicking here!

Fresh Air Ants interview

Inch-long ants that jump! Ant wars! Ant busses, ant fungus farms and more!

 This is  Fresh Air interview with Mark Moffett about his book Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions

Click here to listen to this great episode

Reginald by Saki

This is a great set of short stories by Saki, (a.k.a. H. H. Munro) as read by the British baritone Jason X. on LibriVox. This is one of those special gems buried in the overwhelming and often tedious LibriVox catalogue, but Jason X. is the perfect reader for these enchantingly macabre, satirical shorts from the turn of the century. I think this is where Edward Gorey drew much of his inspiration.

Click here for the link.

Ötzi: Everyone's Favorite Copper Age Man

Im not sure why, but I really love Ötzi also. You can hear about him on the Stuff I missed in History Class podcast. Another great episode! Click here to go there!

Discussing Evil

Click here for a podcast discussing evil by The Big Ideas on the UK's Guardian website.

This program is hosted by Alex Haslam and features interviews with several folks discussing historical examples of evil and examining some of its motivations.