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Topic: Science & Technology / Technology

Technology

Local Doctors Lobbying for Proton Radiation Treatment Center

November 25, 2009

Some of the region’s top hospitals are hoping to bring the first proton radiation treatment center to the area. The tiny particles are uniquely effective in treating certain malignant tumors withou....


Bridging the Digital Gap

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 25, 2009

Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices and research fellow at the Berkman Center, joins us weekly in November to talk about the global impact of social media. This week: a look at how Africa portrays itself on the website Africa Knows and the debate over foreign aid.


A Less Open Internet?

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 24, 2009

Two news stories today may mean that the internet is getting a little less open. Julia Angwin wrote in the Wall St. Journal today about how the number of volunteer editors on Wikipedia has dropped precipitously over the past year. Then, Jeff Jarvis of Buzzmachine.com discusses reports that Rupert Murdoch is in negotiations with Microsoft to provide content exclusively to Bing, and not Google.


Bridging the Digital Gap: Internet Freedom in China

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 19, 2009

Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices and research fellow at the Berkman Center, joins us weekly in November to talk about the global impact of social media.

This week's topic: Censorship and blogging in China.

Homework for next week: Africa Knows


NPR Ombudsman

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 13, 2009

NPR Ombudsman Alicia Shepard talks about the network's coverage of the Acorn story; new ethics guidelines for social media; and their coverage of natural gas drilling and other current news.


Bridging the Digital Gap: Language Barriers

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 12, 2009

Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices and research fellow at the Berkman Center, joins us weekly in November to talk about the global impact of social media.

This week's topic: crossing language barriers.

Check out Meedan.net, a website that uses machine-assisted translation technology to bring together English and Arabic speakers.


Bridging the Digital Gap

The Brian Lehrer Show

November 05, 2009

Ethan Zuckerman, co-founder of Global Voices and research fellow at the Berkman Center, joins us weekly in November to talk about the global impact of social media.

This week's topic: Bridge-blogging.

For next week, check out Meedan.net, a website that uses machine-assisted translation technology to bring together English and Arabic speakers.


Museum of the Phantom City

October 26, 2009

A heliport on top of Bryant Park? that's just one of New York City "ideas" that were never built. But now you can take a self-guided tour of them, with the help of a new iPhone application called "M....


Wordnik: Tech Terms

The Brian Lehrer Show

October 22, 2009

Today is the launch of Windows 7, and the release of Wornik's API. Erin McKean, co-founder of wordnik.com and former editor-in-chief for American Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, discusses some of the more confusing tech terms out there.

Listener word challenge! We know about "initialisms" (API) vs. "acronyms" (RAM) but there's a third category - for example AAA, which we call "triple A." Erin doesn't know what this is called, so it's up to you to come up with it, and give us other examples! Post your suggestions below!


Forgetting and the Digital Age

The Brian Lehrer Show

October 06, 2009

Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, associate professor and director of the Information and Innovation Policy Research Center at National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy discusses his new book Delete: The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age.


Bing vs. Google

The Brian Lehrer Show

October 05, 2009

Now that Microsoft's new search engine Bing has been live for several months, how is if faring against giant Google? Wired magazine's New York bureau chief John Abell examines the searching landscape.


Auto-Tune the News

Studio 360

August 21, 2009

Take ordinary news footage and political commentary, send it through a software tool that makes you sound like a robot, and you have a viral internet hit. That's what the band The Gregory Brothers did with their series "Auto-Tune the News." Certain politicians and anchors are inherently musical, say the band members: "Katie Couric is the Queen of Auto-Tune." Produced by Barrett Golding of Hearing Voices.
VIDEO: Auto-Tune the News #5


Tweet, Tweet

The Brian Lehrer Show

August 19, 2009

David Pogue, weekly tech columnist for the New York Times and the (co)author of The World According to Twitter (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2009), demonstrates the wisdom of the crowd in his new book, a compilation of tweets from his 500,000 "followers."

What's your take on twitter? Do you trust the wisdom of the tweet? Comment below!


Ocarina (Ge Wang)

Blowin' in the Phone

Studio 360

August 14, 2009

The blockbuster iPhone app called Ocarina lets you play music by blowing into the phone. Its inventor, Ge Wang, thinks that the more people playing music, the better; but even he is a little nervous about the impact of technology on people's lives. Produced by Angela Frucci.
An Ocarina performance of Stairway to Heaven:


Nuclear Plant Clears One Hurdle, Groups Say Not Enough

August 12, 2009

Indian Point nuclear plant has passed a major test. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its final safety report today. It found owner Entergy can safely manage Indian Point 2 and 3 as they age o....


Needy NY Families to Receive $200 for School Supplies

August 11, 2009

Low-income families will get an extra $200 per child for school supplies, thanks to a gift to the state from philanthropist George Soros. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more. REPORTER: Soros donated $35 mil....


Schering-Plough Shareholders Support Merck Acquisition

August 07, 2009

More than 99 percent of shareholders of drugmaker Schering-Plough support being bought by bigger New Jersey neighbor Merck. The acquisition would make Merck the world's second-biggest drug maker by p....


Writer Meets Kindle

The Brian Lehrer Show

July 28, 2009

Author Nicholson Baker took the Kindle 2 out for a spin, and he wrote about the experience in the latest issue of The New Yorker. Will he be "pulled into a world of compulsive, demonic book consumption?" Tune in to find out!

Kindle owners: What's your experience been like? Comment below!


Summer Vacation 2.0

The Brian Lehrer Show

July 27, 2009

If you're on vacation, chances are you're also online. So just what--or who--are you connecting with? Om Malik, the founder of the GigaOm network and chief blogger for GigaOm.com, talks about what he says is Our Great Internet Addiction.

Do you check email while you're on vacation? Or do you take a holiday from the internet as well? Comment below!


Lilly First Tenant in Science Center

July 22, 2009

A science complex under construction along the East River got its first official tenant yesterday. The research division of drug company Imclone Systems will take over four floors once the first towe....


Jimmy Wales on Wiki Conference 2009

The Brian Lehrer Show

July 23, 2009

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, talks about the upcoming Wikipedia Conference, taking place in NYC this weekend.


New Payment System May Be Coming to MTA

July 17, 2009

The nominee to become the new MTA chief suggested this week that he'd pursue a new payment system for subways and buses that could potentially replace the MetroCard. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports ....


Cyber Attack!

The Brian Lehrer Show

July 09, 2009

U.S. and South Korean computers have been hit over the past few days by a barrage of cyber attacks, possibly from North Korea. Siobhan Gorman, intelligence and homeland security correspondent from The Wall Street Journal, explains the latest.


Natural History Museum Stores Endangered Species Tissues

July 07, 2009

Tissue samples from endangered species will now be stored at the Museum of Natural History, under a new agreement with the U.S. Parks Service. The museum already freezes its own samples taken from wh....


Regulate Google?

The Brian Lehrer Show

July 08, 2009

Jeff Jarvis, writer of the blog Buzzmachine.com, professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York and author of What Would Google Do?, and Siva Vaidhyanathan, associate professor of media studies and law at the University of Virginia and the man behind The Googlization of Everything, discuss whether Google is getting too big, and should be regulated as a public utility.