10th episode of the Brain Food Dude podcast now available!

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Welcome to the future...

In the future they will have invisibility cloaks, tiny microchips in your toothbrush and your toilet which instantly analyze your health, an internet screen in your contact lenses, and ice cream that adds thousands of years to your life (I made that last one up, but dude, it's possible).

Learn about this, and more, in this NPR interview with Michio Kaku, the author of Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100.

Gamifying

The only speeding ticket I've ever received was actually for going too slow. Seriously, I was going 52 in a 65 zone, and I got fined like $150. In Sweden, I might actually get paid for such an act of careful driving. NPR did a segment this week about how "gamifying" speeding tickets, and all sorts of other things, will affect our future.

How to jump out of a moving car

Hal Needham is the best stunt man ever, and this week on How to do Everything he teaches us how to jump from a speeding car.

Listen to the whole episode now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/15/11.

History of the Business of Hip Hop

Not just a history of hip hop, but a history of the business of hip hop. That's what they talked about this week on The Sound of Young America, with Dan Charnas, the author of The Big Payback: A History of the Business of Hip Hop.

You can listen to the episode now, or download on itunes by clicking here. The release date was 3/24/11.

How Italian Food Conquered the World

I slap balsamic vinaigrette on just about every sandwich and salad I make, so it blows my mind that people didn't even know what it was a few decades ago. Learn all about the spread of balsamic, extra virgin olive oil, and other Italian Food in this interview with John F. Mariani on Fresh Air.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/24/11.

John & Paul

This week on To the Best of Our Knowledge they did a great show about various forms of creative partnership, including the relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/27/11.

This will blow your mind off

Glow in the dark fish, rats that grow new ears for humans, and ligers. This is not the future my friends, it's all happening now. Just make sure you don't have anything to do for the next 20 minutes, this TED Talk will suck you right in.

New episode of Brain Food Dude Podcast

Our 9th episode of Brain Food Dude is now available. Listen now, or subscribe on itunes.

Washing machines rule!!!

If you've never seen a Hans Rosling graph, you are missing out on life. This zany Swede is worth learning more about, and this year he gave yet another talk at the TED conference. This year he explains why the invention of washing machines led to more reading.

Snakeheads

A "snakehead" is someone who works in the underground industry of human trafficking. Learn more on this podcast episode of On Point, which interviews Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of "The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream."

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/22/11.

Évariste Galois

This week on Radiolab they talk about Évariste Galois, a mathematical genius who was killed in a duel at the age of 20. I'm so glad people don't duel anymore.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/22/11.

Can clean energy drive economic recovery?

Intelligence Squared had a good two-on-two debate about clean energy last week.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/14/11.

Ricky Gervais

The Harvard Business Review puts out a podcast called HBR Ideacast, and last week they featured an interview with Ricky Gervais, the creator of television show The Office.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/17/11.

Branch Rickey

A new biography just came out about Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers manager who signed Jackie Robinson to the major leagues. Listen to this NPR interview with the author, Jimmy Breslin.

Crazy bike race in Chile

This might not exactly be brain food, but it's definitely awesome food. My favorite part it she Perro Loco at 0:38. This is also perhaps the best use ever of a helmet camera.

New Episode of Brain Food Dude Podcast

Our 8th episode of the Brain Food Dude podcast is now online. Listen now, or subscribe to us on itunes.

Moonwalking with Einstein

Think you could participate in a mental decathlon? Boy do I have a podcast for you. On this episode of the New York Times Book Review, they interview, Joshua Foer, the author of "Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything."

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/11/11.

David Brooks at the TED conference

David Brooks recently gave a great TED Talk. You can download on itunes (release date was 3/14/11, or watch it right now:

The first flight around the world

Two great podcasts this week from The Engines of our Ingenuity.

Listen to the first and second podcast now, or download on itunes. The itunes release dates were 3/10/11 and 3/15/11.

Dr. John

Dr. John, the musician from New Orleans, is being inducted to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame this month, and Fresh Air played a great interview with him from way back in 1986.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/11/11.

Linguistics

Sam Chwat was a linguist known for helping Hollywood actors perfect an accent they needed for a roll. He recently died at the age of 57, and Fresh Air played an interview with Chwat from a few years ago.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/8/11.

Donald Mason’s City Inspection and the Stakeout Standoff

I don't usually post pieces of fiction, but I loved this one so much that I couldn't resist. This podcast is a reading by author Blake Kimzey, of his story “Donald Mason’s City Inspection and the Stakeout Standoff,” which is being published in the short story journal Monkey Bicycle.

Listen now, or check out Kimzey's website, or the Monkey Bicycle website.

New episode of Brain Food Dude podcast out now

This week we finally have our own theme song!

Listen to the podcast now, or subscribe on itunes.

Somali Pirates

If you had told me 5 years ago that pirating was going to make a comeback, I would have called you loco. This episode of On Point is a good discussion about the problem of pirating in Somolia, and why it is so hard to stop.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/3/11.

Crazy Horse

Crazy Horse was a stone-cold bad ass. This week on To the Best of Our Knowledge, an interview with Thomas Powers, the author of The Killing of Crazy Horse.

The rest of the episode is about rethinking Native American culture. Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/3/11.

How to control creativity

I never thought I would hear Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love, discussing Tom Waits, but that's exactly what was featured this week on radiolab.

The entire episode is amazing, and you can listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/8/11.

Alice Cooper

I used to think Alice Cooper's best work was his cameo in Wayne's World, but after this interview I have a whole new respect for him.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/4/11.

Does money buy happiness? Kind of...

Loads of new data is now available about the science of happiness. This week on Planet Money, they discuss the roll money plays in determining our happiness.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 3/8/11.

JR on Street Art

Last week the Parisian Street Artist, whom goes by the handle "JR," gave a TED Talk. If you have any interest in art, or social movements, then this is a must-watch video.

Why the revolution?

Thousands of news stories have been done about the ongoing revolutions in the Middle East, but 95% of them say the same thing: the revolution was caused by facebook, wikileaks, bad dictators, good media coverage, and a fruit vendor in Tunisia. In Tom Friedman's latest article, he discusses some of the contributing factors largely ignored by the media.

New episode of Brain Food Dude podcast out now

Listen now, or better yet, subscribe to the Brainfood Dude podcast on itunes.

Planet Money on Libya

What is day to day life in Libya like? Why has the revolution there been so much bloodier than those in Egypt, Bahrain, and Tunisia? This episode of Planet Money answers those questions.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 2/25/11.

Cassette tapes are making a comeback

Are cassette tapes poised to make a comeback? A handful of hipsters in Los Angeles think so. Hear all about it on this podcast from NPR News.

The Kangaroo Hunter

Great story from The Moth last week about hunting kangaroos. Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 2/28/11.

Cheating google's search engine

He who holds the google algorithm, is he who rules the world...or something like that.

Listen to this episode of On The Media for a few stories about internet savvy marketers successfully, and unsuccessfully, trying to get a higher google ranking.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 2/25/11.

Is The Two-Party System Making U.S. Ungovernable?

This week on intelligence squared, a debate about America's two-party political system.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 2/23/11.

Social Networks

How much do you affect the behavior of your friends? How much do they affect your behavior? Both answers are probably more than you think. The On Point podcast this week interviews Nicholas Christakis & James Fowler, the coauthors of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives -- How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 2/23/11.

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