Sunday, February 26, 2012

I Needed This

So one of the side benefits of the 30-minute walk is 30 uninterrupted moments to listen to podcasts. I just added one to my usual complement of "This American Life" and "Planet Money" podcasts. This one is called "Stuff You Should Know." I'm a sucker for these kinds of things. Little 15-20 lessons--discussions between two knowledgeable guys (usually, because I encountered one with a gal and a guy) about all kinds of stuff that either you should know or that you're pretty curious about. So over the past couple of days I've listened to I've found out about:
  • how altruism works--a philosophical question, really, about whether anybody can actually perform a totally unselfish act
  • is there a worst way to die?--most would say immolation is worst, and drowning is up there, too. And did you know 25 percent of people say they are not afraid to die. But they concluded if you're in a plane going down from, say, 35,000 feet . . . well, the fear would doubtless be universal. Worst case for most people is dying alone.
  • will we soon be extinct? Possibly. Just about everything that's ever been on the planet went extinct before us.
  • how living off the grid works? Did you know some people have arranged to live so they don't ever pay utility bills?
  • how habeas corpus works
I'm just getting into how corporate personhood works, and I have about 15 more episodes to listen to before I'm caught up. I really needed this extra thing to catch my interest. I'll get caught up on "Stuff You Should Know" and then I'll be behind on the other two. Not to mention NPR's Live Concerts and KEBX's Song of the day.

Here's the hook for the Stuff You Should Know podcast:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/podcasts/stuff-you-should-know.rss

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