Fine Wine & Crappy Wine

Is good wine really that good? Do you think you could even tell the difference between an expensive wine and a cheap wine? This episode of Freakonomics suggests it may not be so easy. I listened to this last night, then went to dinner and proudly ordered the cheapest glass of wine on the menu.

Listen now, or download this episode on itunes. The itunes release date was 12/15/10.

History of the Holidays

The American History Guys did a great show on the history of the holidays last year, check it out.

This episode is no longer available on itunes, but you can listen now.

Social Science Rocks!

I have a special place in my heart for the social sciences, and last week David Brooks wrote a brief recap about 10 of the more interesting studies and findings from the social sciences. My favorite is concerning the relationship between physical touch and team performance in the NBA. Read about that, and the other studies here.

Bold Predictions

The Economist is hands down my favorite magazine out there, and right now they're doing an interesting project in which they interview a host of economists and great thinkers about what the world will look like in 25 years. So far two of these interviews have been released on podcast, and I've linked to them below.

I don't necessarily agree with all these predictions (I'm not definitely not putting my money on the decline of the Nation State by 2036), but they nonetheless have some very interesting, if not slightly crazy ideas.

The first is an interview with the author of the book "The Black Swan," which was described by The Times (London) as "one of the 12 most influential books since World War II." Listen now, or download it on itunes. The itunes release date was 12/1/10.

The second is an interview with Paul Saffo. Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 11/23/10.

The Dudliest Architect

The world might be a few better architects, but I doubt any of them are as much of a dude as this guy.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 11/25/10.

A great story

Recently I came across a great podcast called NPR: StoryCorps. I've listened to about 10 episodes, and I'm posting the best one here. I won't even say what it's about, but it is a must listen. This episode is only about 8 minutes.

Listen now, or download on itunes. The itunes release date was 10/29/10.

Thanksgiving

The history podcast "Backstory With the American History Guys" did a great segment on Thanksgiving last week. They discuss how and why it became a national holiday, when and where the first Thanksgiving took place, and even where NFL Football factors into it all (including an interview Roger Staubach, who played on Thanksgiving 11 times).

Listen now, or download this episode from itunes. The itunes release date was 11/16/10.