Host Alex Chadwick tackles one of the most important energy questions facing America: Are we running out of oil? It’s not an easy question to answer and, in an effort to understand what’s at stake, Alex travels to some of the country’s most important petroleum exploration sites. What is oil? How can you find it? How is it extracted, refined, transported and utilized? Could we get along without it? What goes into pricing a gallon of gas at the pump? These are some of the issues Alex will report on in “The Hunt for Oil”, the second in his new occasional series BURN: An Energy Journal.

We’ve all seen fictional re-creations of the Titanic’s demise.  Now hear from the people who were actually there.  WNYC presents a vintage Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) documentary from 1972 that vividly captures eyewitness accounts from the ship’s passengers and crew including Captain Lord and the 2nd Officer.  The crew members and expert historians also conjecture as to whether or not the boat which ignored the distress signals was "The Californian" or not.  And a story about a British factory worker obsessed with resurrecting Titanic from the ocean floor.

Sustainable planning – of buildings, communities and products -- can be part of the architecture of everyday life. This program explores green cities and towns, where sustainable ideas are part of the architecture of everyday life and large projects, encompassing the whole community, major green technologies, and small, inexpensive products to enhance individual lives in the Third World. Also a look at environmentally friendly products that include packaging made from mushrooms, and “green concrete” made with recycled materials.

In this episode of Freakonomics Radio, we look at the tension between “slow food” – a return to the past – and the food future. You’ll hear from slow-food champion Alice Waters and uber-modernist Nathan Myhrvold, who advocates bringing more science into the kitchen – including, perhaps, a centrifuge, a pharmaceutical freeze drier and a … food printer?

Also in this episode: we delve into the social mores of Twitter. Is it a two-way street? Do you have to follow someone on Twitter to garner a large following yourself? Or are the mores of digital friendship different from those in real life? We’ll hear about the Twitter give-and-take from sociologist Duncan Watts. Also, Justin Halpern parleyed his hit Twitter feed “Sh*t My Dad Says” into a best-selling book and a TV show; we learn about the one guy he follows. And Steve Levitt weighs in on just how important (or not) Twitter is in his life.

The Energy Revolution focuses on emerging renewable energy resource technologies and the creative personalities behind those advances' development.  Listeners will meet a wind power expert from Brussels, and visit the world's largest solar tower in Seville and hear reports on a wide range of green technologies being developed around the U.S.

Americans have a famously low savings rate: a Harvard survey found that half of us, if faced with an emergency, couldn’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days. Most people would rather spend than save — and one of our favorite expenditures is playing the lottery. Last year, we spent more than $58 billion on lottery tickets, or roughly $200 per person. As entertainment goes, the lottery is pretty cheap – a dollar and a dream, and all that. But as an investment, it offers a dreadful return, which is why the lottery is sometimes called “a tax on stupid people.”

In honor of Passover, WNYC presents “Why This Night?” A Passover Special.

Larry Josephson, a secular Jew who now wants to know more about the religion of his grandparents, asks Rabbi Ismar Schorsch to explain the meaning of Passover. Dr. Schorsch tells Larry the story of Passover--its history, rituals and foods, and the origins and structure of the Seder. The music of Passover, sung by some of the best cantors and choirs in the world, is woven in and out of the conversation.

For more information about this program, please click here.

The Water-Energy Crunch is a clash of essential needs. Humans are thirsty creatures who need water to drink and bathe, but also to produce most forms of energy. No water, no energy, and nothing goes on. Literally.How we resolve the competition between water and energy needs is a defining issue of this century. "The Water-Energy Crunch,"  a co-production of IEEE Spectrum Magazine and the National Science Foundation.

Is booing an act of verbal vandalism -- or the last true expression of democracy? In this episode of Freakonomics Radio, hear how Philadelphia sports fans earned their reputation as the loudest boo-birds, and to what extent culture—high or low—plays a role. Guests include former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who admits to booing Santa Claus; and sportswriter/opera buff Robert Lipsyte, who was surprised that more people didn’t boo Pavarotti when he “parked and barked” his way through a performance.

In this episode we ask a simple, heretical question: How much does the President of the United States really matter? Stephen Dubner talks to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, economists Austan Goolsbee and Justin Wolfers, and constitutional scholar Bernadette Meyler about how the President’s actual influence can be measured. And Steve Levitt weighs in on how the President shapes the nation.

Host Lewis Black challenges comedian panelists Andy Borowitz, Kathleen Madigan, Todd Barry and Ted Alexandro to dissect the week’s news, from Primary fever to the next outbreak of Linsanity.

We’re told almost daily that we need innovation; that it drives prosperity and economic growth and is the engine of job creation.  We hear about these innovations all the time.  But do we ever stop and wonder where the innovation comes from?  What fosters it?  How we keep it flowing?  In this program we tell the stories of some of real-world change-makers, examine just where their big ideas come from and demonstrate exactly how innovators cultivate an environment of curiosity and experimentation.

From re-creating tsunamis in the laboratory to tracking global pandemics, scientists and engineers around the country are seeking new insights into natural and man-made disasters. This one-hour special report looks at what researchers are doing to protect us from and help us survive these life-shattering events.  

A one-year anniversary special examining the future of nuclear power after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Among many stories, Alex Chadwick conducts an exclusive interview with an American nuclear technician who was working inside the Daiichi plant when the earthquake and tsunami struck. You will also hear tape recordings from inside the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Emergency Operations Center, as it struggled to shape America's response to the Fukushima disaster. Chadwick speaks with PBS Newshour's Miles O'Brien, just back from Japan, about recovery efforts. Chadwick also profiles Greg Hardy, a Los Angeles-based engineer who has spent much of his career examining the vulnerability of nuclear plants to earthquakes. And you'll hear a story about the next generation of nuclear reactors, so small they can fit on flatbed trucks.

The age of Alzheimer's is upon us. As the country’s 78 million baby boomers turn 65 -- the age when the disease significantly increases -- cases of Alzheimer's are expected to skyrocket. According to the Alzheimer's Association, 10 million -- one in eight -- boomers will develop the disease. Alzheimer's is a debilitating brain disorder that destroys memory, as well as the ability to speak and function. There is still no way to prevent or cure the disease and experts warn that unless progress is made soon, the coming explosion of cases may be the greatest health crisis facing the nation.

Kim Masters (The Business) and Elvis Mitchell (The Treatment)  team up to host a one hour Awards Special featuring interviews with some of this year's Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nominees.  While many shows will be discussing the glitz and glamour of the Oscars and the horse race of who will win, Elvis and Kim will banter about the meaning, the shortcomings and the trends in this year's Awards. The Special will feature interviews with Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo (writers of Bridesmaids), Thomas Langmann and Michel Hazanavicius (Producer and Director of The Artist), Tate Taylor and Kathryn Stockett (Director and Author of The Help), Steve McQueen (Writer/Director of Shame), Mike Mills (Writer/Director Beginners), J.C. Chandor (Writer/Director of Margin Call), Bennett Miller (Director of Moneyball), and Dee Rees (Writer/Director of Pariah

Saturday, February 25, 2012 6AM on 93.9 FM and NJPR; Saturday, February 25, 2012 at 2PM on AM 820; and Sunday, February 26 at 8PM on AM 820 and NJPR

No state in the South was more resistant to the struggle for black equality and none more violent than Mississippi. Drawing on newly discovered archival audio and groundbreaking research on the civil rights era, State of Siege brings to light the extraordinary tactics whites in Mississippi used to battle integration and the lasting impact of that battle in American politics today.

Wednesday, February 15th at 8PM on 93.9 FM, AM 820, and NJPR; Saturday, February 18th at 6AM on 93.9 FM and NJPR; Saturday, February 18th at 2PM on AM 820; Sunday, February 19th at 8PM on 820 AM and NJPR

Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the word. But he was a music lover, too, and some of the works he was most proud of were collaborations with composers and musicians.  I, Too, Sing America will dive into the songs, cantatas, musicals and librettos that flowed from Hughes’ pen. As he did with his poetry, Hughes used music to denounce war, combat segregation and restore human dignity in the face of Jim Crow. 

Tuesday, February 14th at 8PM on 93.9 FM, AM 820, and NJPR; Sunday, February 19th at 9PM on AM 820

During the vibrant years of the Harlem Renaissance, music, religion, and spirituality were interconnected - not just in the religious setting of the church, but in the jazz club, the dance hall, the rent party, even the political street rally.  Writer Carl Hancock Rux, Reverend Calvin Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, historian Farah Griffin, Professors Josef Sorett and Obery Hendricks, and others explore these powerful interconnections.  Hosted by Norris J. Chumley of the Columbia University Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life.