Art podcasts, Tolstoy in Somalia, and what it means when a man falls from the sky
Welcome to the Hurt Your Brain internet playlist from Sep 17, 2017. It's a collection of podcasts, videos, and other links for people who love to learn online and are fascinated by the world. Click here to get playlists emailed to you as they come out.
PODCASTS
Rough Translation is a new show from NPR that gives you perspectives from outside the U.S.. Their episode Anna in Somalia had the good fortune of being presented in Radiolab's feed and is the best audio I've heard in weeks. It's one of the greatest examples I've come across of how literature has a unique power to teach us things about ourselves and others that non-fiction can't touch.
Science Vs is back! Learn why detoxing is BS (you have kidneys and a liver), and for the 100th time, why vaccines really, truly, do not cause autism.
I'm starting to become more aware of the art history podcast world, and I'm digging it. I've so far enjoyed The Lonely Palette, ArtCurious, and the newish A Piece of Work (Abbi Jacobson from Broad City). I really didn't like the art history class I took in high school and these shows would have been a very welcome substitute. All three podcasts are excellent and thoughtful, but A Piece of Work is probably the best one to start with if you are looking to dabble with this genre (it's short and sweet).
Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. each have policies of not paying ransom for hostages, ever. Is this a good policy? What happens when the family of hostages take things into their own hands? Planet Money answers these questions and challenged my assumptions with The Ransom Problem.
Climate change has the unfortunate distinction of being both an urgent issue and an issue easy to dismiss. Sam Harris interviewed an expert on the science and communication of climate change with the express purpose of walking any doubters/shruggers through why we know it's happening and answers to all possible objections.
I like short stories but don't know where to look or where to find the time. Luckily, LeVar Burton solves both problems for me by choosing his favorites and reading them to me in his podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. I've been starting with titles that sounds interesting, so how could I not choose What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky?
VIDEOS, ARTICLES, AND OTHER LINKS
I published two articles this week about podcast discovery. One is some thoughts on why podcast discovery is broken and the other is a big list of all the places to discover podcasts (other newsletters, Facebook groups, etc.)
Cassini plummeted into Saturn after two decades of amazing pictures and science. A playlist of the best media celebrating its accomplishments: short NASA video on Cassini's Grand Finale, 3D model you can play with, images from Cassini, Popular Mechanic's Farewell To The Greatest Space Mission Of Our Time.
MinutePhysics shows how you can directly see the effects of quantum mechanics with the simple use of polarized lenses. The video quickly got too mathy for my understanding, but definitely worth a few minutes of your time to have your mind blown.
Some great Instagram follows: nathanwpyle posts a constant supply of his funny and creative cartoons, Instagram is the best way to get theonion content, nasa always delivers absolutely stunning space images, and iss is generous with views from the space station.
A YouTube trailer for Lore, the new show coming to Amazon Video based on the hit podcast. I am much more intrigued after seeing this.
That's all for this week! Connect with me @erikthejones on twitter and if you've learned anything interesting, please forward this link to any curious natured friends or family so they can subscribe. Many thanks!