May 23, 2012
The benefit of making money off of illness
David Henderson explains. H/T John Goodman.
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May 22, 2012
London
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May 21, 2012
Those dang unintended consequences
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May 20, 2012
Reassessing risk for the terminally ill
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May 19, 2012
Nassim Taleb on J.P. Morgan
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May 18, 2012
The Leverage Cycle
John Geanakoplos, the James Tobin Professor of Economics at Yale University, discusses the perils of leverage in regard to the current global economic situation.
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May 17, 2012
The fascinating world of box-packing
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May 16, 2012
The mathematics of history
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May 15, 2012
Moms against the most senseless war
As the late Milton Friedman pointed out: "The case for prohibiting drugs is exactly as strong and as weak as the case for prohibiting people from overeating."
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May 14, 2012
A Terrible Law
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May 13, 2012
I Was Watching You
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May 12, 2012
Vidal Sassoon, R.I.P.
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May 11, 2012
Monsieur Lazhar
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May 10, 2012
Amazing nature
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May 9, 2012
The Magic Mushroom
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May 8, 2012
Dan Jenkins enters the World Golf Hall of Fame
Clear Thinkers favorite Dan Jenkins was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last night in St. Augustine, Florida. Here is the video of the pre-induction interview with Jenkins and a Geoff Shackelford video of the exhibit case of Jenkins memorabilia in the Hall of Fame. Finally, here is the transcript of Jenkins' typically hilarious acceptance speech. Enjoy.
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May 7, 2012
How to fix U.S. airports
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May 6, 2012
A Sweet Addiction
Part IV of Dr. Robert Lustig's and UC-San Francisco'svery good series on the alternative hypothesis that obesity is a growth disorder in which fat accumulation is determined not simply by the balance of calories consumed and expended, but by the effect of specific nutrients on the hormonal regulation of fat metabolism.
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May 5, 2012
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
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May 4, 2012
Willie 1965
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May 3, 2012
The Visionary Watchmaker
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May 2, 2012
A 50-year energy plan
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May 1, 2012
A chat with Hans Rosling
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April 30, 2012
Jack Kruse on Cold Thermogenesis
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April 29, 2012
Headhunters
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April 28, 2012
Poetry Technology
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April 27, 2012
Beating a patent troll
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April 26, 2012
Charles Murray on Coming Apart
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April 25, 2012
The Skinny on Obesity
Clear Thinkers favorite Dr. Robert Lustig eloquently explains in these videos the increasing scientific evidence supporting the alternative hypothesis that obesity is a growth disorder in which fat accumulation is determined not simply by the balance of calories consumed and expended, but by the effect of specific nutrients on the hormonal regulation of fat metabolism.
Here is Part I:
And Part III:
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Fine-tuned for Life
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April 23, 2012
"The Man Behind the Drums"
Robert Earl Keen's heartfelt tribute to the late Levon Helm. H/T Dan Cogdell.
Watch Robert Earl Keen "The Man Behind the Drums" on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
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April 22, 2012
Louis CK on George Carlin
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April 21, 2012
Should LDL be scrapped as a treatment target?
Yale cardiologist Harlan Krumholz thinks so.
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April 20, 2012
Bag Testing and Expecting Michael Jordan
Two more segments in the continuing series on creative commercials, this time featuring Bones Mackay (Phil Mickelson's caddie) and Michael Jordan.
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April 19, 2012
An engineer helps his doctors repair his heart
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April 18, 2012
Private schools serving the poor
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April 17, 2012
How to heal medicine?
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April 16, 2012
Bruce Schneier on the real security threats
Posted by Tom at 6:25 AM
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April 15, 2012
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
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April 14, 2012
Gaffigan - Buy It Now!
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April 13, 2012
Sh*t Golfers Say
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April 12, 2012
Why does a patient get cancer?
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April 11, 2012
Classical Music with Shining Eyes
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April 10, 2012
Half a Million Secrets
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April 9, 2012
Quads
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April 8, 2012
Easter Juggling
H/T Craig Newmark.
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April 7, 2012
Sophie's Choice, Part II
I really admire LPGA member, Sophie Gustafson.
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April 6, 2012
The Masters, BBC-style
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April 5, 2012
Google Glasses
H/T Jason Kottke
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April 4, 2012
The Paradox of Choice
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April 3, 2012
Is Sugar Toxic?
In case you missed it on Sunday evening, the 60 Minutes segment that addresses a health issue that has been a frequent topic here -- is sugar toxic?
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April 2, 2012
How we read each other's minds
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April 1, 2012
Chances Are
Hayes Carll and Bonnie Whitmore.
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March 31, 2012
Can't Find My Way Home
Happy Birthday Eric Clapton, who turned 67 yesterday.
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March 30, 2012
Death Ray Boogie
The amazing Stephanie Trick.
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March 29, 2012
The best local swing not in the Shell Houston Open
The best golf swing in Houston not playing in this week's Shell Houston Open belongs to longtime Houstonian Steve Elkington, one of the owners of the interesting golf website, Secret in the Dirt. I haven't heard why Elk isn't playing this week, which would have been his 25th Houston Open (I do know he was injured earlier in the season). But it's Houston golf fans' loss that we won't be able to watch this syrupy smooth swing in action this week. Enjoy.
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March 28, 2012
Perpetual Ocean
A NASA visualization reflecting ocean surface currents around the world from June 2005 through December 2007.
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March 27, 2012
The missing link of renewable energy
M.I.T. professor Donald Sadoway explains the challenges of bringing renewable energy to market.
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March 26, 2012
Extraordinary discoveries from simple ideas
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March 25, 2012
Late Morning Lullaby
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March 24, 2012
Listening to Shame
University of Houston professor Brené Brown follows up her popular first TED lecture with a second one -- Listening to Shame.
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March 23, 2012
Some Enchanted Evening
A rare video of the two stars from the original Broadway presentation of the great musical South Pacific, Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza. H/T Terry Teachout.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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March 22, 2012
T. Boone on the potential of natural gas
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March 21, 2012
Why you will fail to have a great career
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March 20, 2012
The power of introverts
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March 19, 2012
Sex offender lepers
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March 18, 2012
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, British-style
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March 17, 2012
The Kid with a Bike
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March 16, 2012
Copyright Math
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March 15, 2012
Deep Ocean Wonders
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March 14, 2012
Virtual Medical Exams
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March 13, 2012
Lessons Worth Sharing
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March 12, 2012
The technology of storytelling
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March 11, 2012
Living Beyond Limits
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March 10, 2012
ACL 35 Years
Watch Celebrating 35 Years of Austin City Limits on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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March 9, 2012
Rainy Day Beethoven
The masterful Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis play Beethoven Violin Sonata No. 4. A perfect way to begin a rainy day in Houston.
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March 8, 2012
What drives the will to succeed?
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March 7, 2012
How to tell a great story
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March 6, 2012
The progress of robotic surgery
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March 4, 2012
Tell Me True
Watch Sarah Jarosz "Tell Me True" on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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March 3, 2012
Google's Driverless Car
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March 1, 2012
Sebastian Seung's Connectome
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February 29, 2012
The Sibling Bond
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February 28, 2012
Detained for Babysitting While White
Scott Henson authors the popular Austin-based blog Grits for Breakfast, which has been cited numerous times on this blog over the years on a variety of criminal justice issues.
Two Fridays ago, Henson and his wife were babysitting their five year-old granddaughter, Ty. After an evening at a neighborhood recreation center, Henson -- who is white -- and his granddaughter -- who is black -- started to walk to his home, which is just a few blocks from the rec center.
Some busybody saw Henson and his granddaughter walking home, called police and alleged that a kidnapping was in progress.
From that point on, all hell broke loose.
Henson and his granddaughter were stopped twice by different law enforcement agencies while walking home (remarkably, this wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened to Scott and his granddaughter). The second stop -- which was recorded by the Austin Police Department below -- resulted in Henson being handcuffed and detained for over 10 minutes by a half-dozen or so APD officers while his terrorized granddaughter was hauled off to sit in the back of a squad car. An APD officer then contacted Henson's wife, Henson's wife contacted his daughter, who called and verified his relationship with Ty. APD then let Henson and Ty go home.
Subsequently, Henson blogged about the ordeal and got a couple of facts wrong. APD Chief Art Acevedo went on the offensive and claimed that Henson had lied about what he had been put through. As is usually the case in such matters, people then take sides and nothing productive is resolved.
I mean really -- how many kidnappers would be leisurely walking along a neighborhood sidewalk? When Henson informed officers that he lived two blocks away, was it really necessary for APD officers to handcuff Henson in front of his granddaughter, even while she was crying out "That's my grandpa!"? Despite the obvious close relationship between Henson and his granddaughter, there isn't much doubt that Henson would have been detained for much longer if his daughter had been in a movie or other activity in which she would have been unavailable to take a phone call.
It's unfortunate that Henson got a couple of facts wrong in his blog post, but I certainly understand how his recollection of events could be affected by the stress of the situation.
But it's far more unfortunate that Chief Acevedo views what happened to Henson as appropriate police work. Yeah, it certainly could have been handled worse. But APD's conduct still looks over-the-top and excessive to me, particularly in regard to a 22-year resident of a neighborhood.
And to add a final issue that no one involved seems to be addressing -- Just who the hell called in the report of the alleged kidnapping?
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 27, 2012
The Power of Medicine
Nobel Prize winner Peter Agre talks about the power of medicine, even in regard the knotty problem of North Korea.
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February 26, 2012
Over the Rainbow
Brandi Carlile's splendid rendition of the Judy Garland classic.
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February 25, 2012
The Art of Storytelling
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February 24, 2012
Life's Best Photos 1936-1972
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February 23, 2012
How your brain tells you where you are
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February 22, 2012
Tipping Around the World
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February 21, 2012
Richard Epstein on health care markets
H/T David Henderson.
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February 20, 2012
Flying through an Antarctic Ice-Crack
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February 19, 2012
Streaming City
Steaming City from Simon Christen on Vimeo.
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February 18, 2012
What you don't know about marriage
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February 17, 2012
Testing Milton Friedman
Testing Milton Friedman - preview from Free To Choose Network on Vimeo.
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February 16, 2012
American Experience - "Clinton"
The American Experience biography of Bill Clinton premieres February 20-21 on PBS.
Watch Clinton Chapter 1 on PBS. See more from American Experience.
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February 15, 2012
S*** happens, economics style
"Insider economics" jokes from the Standup Economist, but wickedly clever nonetheless (H/T Greg Mankiw).
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February 14, 2012
Catching up with Texas' greatest novelist
An interview with Larry McMurtry, as well as a short video about a hidden gem of McMurtryism at the University of Houston's M.D. Andersen Library.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 13, 2012
The challenge of opening science
Physicist Michael Nielson explains Michael Nielsen explains why scientists should embrace new technological tools for collaboration that will facilitate discoveries. A related Q & A is here.
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February 12, 2012
Impossible photography
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February 11, 2012
Ryan Adams in studio
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February 10, 2012
"Dawned on Me"
Watch Wilco "Dawned on Me" on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 9, 2012
What good talks have in common
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 8, 2012
The unintended consequences of non-lethal weapons
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 7, 2012
Five Myths about Free Markets
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 6, 2012
Reinventing Physicians
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 5, 2012
Crackberry'd
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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February 4, 2012
O Magnum Mysterium
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February 3, 2012
Printing organs for clinical trials
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February 2, 2012
Dr. Lustig on obesity
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February 1, 2012
Golf Houston
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 31, 2012
But he didn't yell "Bank!"
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 30, 2012
Mysteries of the Brain
Neuroscientist Terry Sejnowski discusses the complexities of the brain. H/T Art DeVany.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 29, 2012
Gary Taubes on Big Fat Lies
Posted by Tom at 12:45 AM
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January 28, 2012
Bloody Mary Morning
Willie Nelson performs Bloody Mary Morning on October 17, 1974, the pilot episode of the popular PBS show, Austin City Limits.
Watch Pilot Performance: Willie Nelson "Bloody Mary Morning" on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
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January 27, 2012
The culture of denial in medicine
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January 26, 2012
Fiji Vignette
Fiji Vignette 3/3 from Taj Burrow on Vimeo.
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January 25, 2012
The End of Illness
Cancer researcher David Agus follows this 2009 TED video with this recent TEDMED video on the potential for improving preventive medicine using genomics, technology and better analysis of research data.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 24, 2012
A Separation
Here is a short interview with the director, Asghar Farhadi.
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January 23, 2012
Ashdown on the global power shift
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 22, 2012
Shining Night
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 21, 2012
Earl Scruggs
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 20, 2012
QE explained
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 19, 2012
Online attacks on privacy
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 18, 2012
Atheism 2.0
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 17, 2012
Reinventing health care
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 16, 2012
Blue Zones of Health
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 15, 2012
Surf's Up!
Fiji Vignette 3/3 from Taj Burrow on Vimeo.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 14, 2012
Rehearsing "The Weight"
Extraordinary stuff from Jeff Tweedy, Mavis Staples, Nick Lowe and Wilco. H/T Radley Balko.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 13, 2012
The genesis of good ideas
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 12, 2012
The importance of ancient wonders
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 11, 2012
Tyler Cowen on suspicious stories
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 10, 2012
Engineering a Kidney
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 9, 2012
Too many bowls
On the day of the BCS national championship game, this SNL video reminds us that there are way too many bowl games.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 8, 2012
The Story
Watch Brandi Carlile "The Story" on PBS. See more from Austin City Limits.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 7, 2012
The science of improvisation
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 6, 2012
Recycled homes
Texas homebuilder Dan Phillips explains how to build homes from recycled and reclaimed materials.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 5, 2012
What is art?
World of Art Trailer from Cuttlefish Productions on Vimeo.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 4, 2012
"Living healthy was killing me"
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 3, 2012
In Search of the Perfect Human Diet
Posted by Tom at 2:43 AM
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January 2, 2012
Advances in non-invasive surgery
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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January 1, 2012
Goodbye is All We Have
There are few better ways to end a year and begin a new one than listening to Alison Krauss.
Posted by Tom at 12:00 AM
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