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Program Schedule
Topic: Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Space Is the Place

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 10, 2010

The Obama Administration’s NASA budget was released this month and some critics claim its proposals have shifted the space program toward a more commercial footing. We’ll talk with Dr. Henry Hertzfeld, of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, Scott Horowitz, and with Derrick Pitts, Chief Astronomer at the Franklin Institute, about the proposals and the latest happenings in the vacuum of space.


NASA logo

Space Race

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 10, 2010

In the light of President Obama's proposed NASA budget, we’ll look into the future of space exploration…and its growing commercialization. Then, Jim Lahey, of the Sullivan Street Bakery discusses his revolutionary technique of making bread that requires no kneading! Also, Amy Bloom tells us about her critically acclaimed new story collection Where the God of Love Hangs Out. Plus, the gurus of how-to, Al and Larry Ubell, answer your home repair questions.


Haiti and Social Media

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 10, 2010

Whereas Twitter played a major role in the 2009 revolutions in Iran, it may not have been that useful during the recent Haiti crisis. Joshua Keating, editor at Foreign Policy, discusses why Twitter may have failed us; and Andy Carvin, Senior Strategist for Social Media at NPR looks at how social media in general played into the post-earthquake operations.


Country Driving

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 09, 2010

Peter Hessler, longtime Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, talks about his seven-year road trip around China, tracking how the automobile and improved roads were transforming the country. In Country Driving, he describes his trips to the Tibetan plateau, to the small farming village Sancha, and to Lishui, a small southeastern city--all places being changed by new roads, growing traffic, and a more mobile society.

Event: Peter Hessler will be speaking
Tuesday, February 9, at at 6:30 pm
Asia Society
725 Park Avenue, at 71st Street


Where Worlds Collide: Wildlife in the Suburbs

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 09, 2010

Stephen DeStefano, research professor in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and leader of the U.S. Geological Survey's Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and author of Coyote at the Kitchen Door: Living with Wildlife in Suburbia (Harvard University Press, 2010), looks at the interplay of wildlife and suburban sprawl in his new book.


Where Worlds Collide: Wildlife in the Suburbs

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 09, 2010

Stephen DeStefano, research professor in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and leader of the U.S. Geological Survey's Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and author of Coyote at the Kitchen Door: Living with Wildlife in Suburbia (Harvard University Press, 2010), looks at the interplay of wildlife and suburban sprawl in his new book.


At School in the Museum

February 08, 2010

Joel Cracraft, a curator of ornithology, teaching an evolution class. Students studying to become biologists usually go straight from college to a masters or Ph.D. program at a university. But t....


Flying Cheap

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Frontline correspondent Miles O’Brien talks about the crash of Continental Flight 3407 outside Buffalo last February. While it was identified as a Continental flight, it was actually operated by Colgan Air, a regional carrier. Miles O'Brien investigates major airlines' outsourcing to regional carriers to cut costs in the Frontline documentary “Flying Cheap.” It airs Tuesday, February 9, at 9:00 pm on PBS.


Chasing Miracles

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

When John Crowley and his wife Aileen learned that their two youngest children had a rare genetic disorder called Pompe disease, he left his corporate job to help co-found a start-up biotech company focused exclusively on developing a treatment for the disease. His book Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Love, Strength, Hope, and Joy tells the family’s story, which inspired the new film “Extraordinary Measures.”


Thomas E. Ricks

Fight or Flight

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 08, 2010

Pulitzer Prize-winning military correspondent Thomas E. Ricks gives us an update on what's happening in Iraq. Then, saxophonist David Sanborn discusses his new album, “Only Everything.” The new Harrison Ford film “Extraordinary Measures” was inspired by a true story, and we’ll talk to John Crowley about his experience trying to save his two young children afflicted with a rare genetic disorder. And, the last six fatal plane crashes in the U.S. were on regional carriers--we’ll talk with the correspondent from the new Frontline documentary “Flying Cheap.”


Toyota Safety

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

Bill Vlasic, Detroit bureau chief for The New York Times, discusses the possibility that the electronic system that controls the throttle and engine speed in Toyotas has been malfunctioning. His article looking at lawsuits filed about faulty computer systems appeared in today's New York Times, and you can read it here.


Winning App Helps NYers Make Sense of City Data

February 05, 2010

City officials want to make it easier for you to get around town, and they want technology to help you do it. So last fall, Mayor Bloomberg released 170 data sets to software developers around the c....


Toyota Recall Latest

The Brian Lehrer Show

February 05, 2010

Wall Street Journal reporter Kate Linebaugh talks about Toyota’s latest problems.


Please Explain: BPA

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

Bisphenol-A, known as BPA, is an important building block of several plastics and plastic additives. Concern about the use of BPA in consumer products has been growing, and questions about its safety and its effect of human health have led some retailers to remove products made of it from their shelves; some states, cities, and even countries have even banned its use altogether. On today’s edition of Please Explain, we’ll look into what the studies of BPA show, why the scientific community continues to be divided over exactly what levels of BPA are harmful to human health, and how the Food and Drug Administration has handled consumer concern over BPA. We’ll speak with Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Consumer Report's GreenerChoices.org and and Consumers Union's Director of Technical Policy. She'll be joined by Meg Kissinger, investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has been writing the series Chemical Fallout."


BPA

Plastic and Fantastic

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 05, 2010

We’ll start off today’s show with our latest Please Explain, which is all about bisphenol-A, the controversial and potentially dangerous plastic additive. Then, RuPaul offers us some fashion tips. And Josh Rouse tells us how a Cuban cabaret legend inspired his latest album, which he wrote in Spain. We'll also get an update on the troubles at Toyota. Plus, we'll take a look at the campaigning behind the Oscars nominations.


Extreme Fear

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 04, 2010

Science journalist Jeff Wise explains the latest research about how the brain reacts to fear, and describes his hands-on approach to his reporting. His book Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger reveals how the simple "fight or flight" model has been replaced by a more complex understanding of our body and brain’s response to fear.


Anand Gopal

Deep Down

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 04, 2010

On today’s show, we’ll look into what a yearlong investigation has revealed about secret prisons in military bases in Afghanistan. Then, Alex Lemon discusses being afflicted with strokes and undergoing brain surgery while he was still a college freshman. Also, science journalist Jeff Wise tells us about the latest research about how our brains respond to fear. Plus, our latest Underreported segment looks at child trafficking in Haiti. And, on Backstory, we look at the issues surrounding "corporate personhood."


A worker washes windows beneath blue solar panels in the Solaire building, an environmentally engineered or 'green' residential tower.

Panel Issues Recommendations for Greener Buildings

February 02, 2010

A series of 111 recommendations has just landed on the desks of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn. The report was submitted by the NYC Green Codes Task Force, a panel of 20....


NYC Panel Proposes Enviro-Friendly Building Code

February 01, 2010

A city task force has come up with 111 recommendations on making the city's building code greener. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more. REPORTER: The task force says this is the most comprehensive revie....


Digital Nation

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 02, 2010

Within a single generation, digital media and the World Wide Web have transformed virtually every aspect of modern culture, from how we learn and work to how we communicate and even conduct war. Frontline correspondent Douglas Rushkoff and producer Rachel Dretzin discuss Frontline’s documentary "Digital Nation," which investigates whether technology is moving faster than we can adapt to it. "Digital Nation" airs on PBS tonight at 9:00 pm.


State Official Says Gas Drilling Unlikely to Contaminate Drinking Water

February 01, 2010

New York State's top official for the environment says allowing gas drilling near upstate reservoirs is unlikely to contaminate drinking water. WNYC's Ilya Marritz has more. REPORTER: A serious spil....


Bomb Power

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 01, 2010

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills reveals how the atomic bomb transformed American democracy, increasing the power of the presidency and redefining the government as a national security state. In Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State, he draws a line from the Manhattan Project to the Cold War to the war on terror, fostering a state of war for sixty-eight years and counting.

Event: Garry Wills will be in conversation with Paul Holdengraber, Director of Public Programs for the Research Libraries
Monday, February 1 at 7 pm
New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street
Tickets: $25; $15 library donors, seniors, and students
More information and tickets here.


Garry Wills

Power Mixer

The Leonard Lopate Show

February 01, 2010

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills discusses the role the atomic bomb played in strengthening the American presidency. Then, Mary Gordon, who often found herself at odds with those who call themselves Christians, tells us some of the surprising things she discovered in rereading the Gospels. Also, Dorothy Cann Hamilton and chef Tom Colicchio explain how to prepare for, and find, careers in the culinary world. And we’ll learn about John S. Service, the U.S. Foreign Service officer who predicted the rise of Mao in China before and eventually became one of Senator Joseph McCarthy's targets.


Diabetes on the Rise

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 29, 2010

Dan Hurley, journalist and author of Diabetes Rising: How a Rare Disease Became a Modern Pandemic, and What to Do About It, looks at the reasons behind the rise in diabetes and offers advice for dealing with it.


SOTU Follow-up: Energy Policy

The Brian Lehrer Show

January 28, 2010

Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and founder of the blog ClimateProgress.org Joseph Romm; and David Kreutzer, Senior Policy Analyst in Energy Economics and Climate Change at the Heritage Foundation, discuss the energy and climate elements of last night's State of the Union address, from nuclear to offshore to cap and trade.


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