NPR has an interactive map up detailing the foreclosure rates, unemployment rates, and median household income by county nationwide. You can zoom in by state and find your county and compare it to . . . more
I downloaded The List yesterday on a whim. It's the latest from Rosanne Cash, daughter of the late, great Johnny Cash. I wasn't familiar with Rosanne's music at all, but I heard her on Fresh Air on Monday, the day before the album was released, and the story behind it was interesting. The 13 songs on the album are taken from a list of 100 songs that Johnny Cash gave to his daughter when she was 18 - classic, essential country songs to inspire her in her musical development. It's a wonderful collection of beautiful, melancholy music. Really well done. There are also appearances by a few big names: Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy, Rufus Wainwright, and Neko Case.
Here's the entire album for your persual:
The List
Owen Lovejoy, biological anthropologist and lead analyst on the team that discovered and examined "Ardi," or Ardipithecus ramidus, the oldest skeleton of a human ancestor ever found, was on NPR's . . . more
Interesting interview with the man behind the magic of Sterling Cooper:
On Point site.
Just heard an excellent segment of On Point about Masdar City, currently being built in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, with the goals to be carbon neutral, produce 100% renewable energy, and generate zero waste. It was a fascinating interview, and I recommend taking a listen and checking out the Masdar website. It's a huge, ambitious project, but it's the sort of thing that can actually be a game-changer, serving as a model of sustainable living for green urban planning and development. Watch some of the videos, including this "fly through" of the city below - those Personal Rapid Transit pods are right out of Minority Report:
Very, very cool stuff. It's also important to see global cooperation take place in the heart of the Middle East to produce innovative technology and information/knowledge exports beyond the UAE's reliance on oil.
It's truly amazing, and it will be interesting to follow Masdar's development. I want to visit.
Great news: NPR's listener numbers are up, although that's not translating to increased revenue.
Over the last few months I've become an NPR addict. Their radio and podcast programs are top-notch. I remember when I was little and my parents used to listen to NPR; I thought it was soporific as hell. Then again, I was 10.
In one of my first acts as a solvent, employed citizen, I will gladly pledge some cash to WBUR (Or the appropriate local NPR affiliate. Hopefully in LA or Santa Barbara or something.)
Adam Davidson of Planet Money had an interesting interview with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday's podcast. Friday's ep follows up with varying opinions on the interview from a few big names, including Russ Roberts of EconTalk.
Geithner toed the company line to an almost ridiculous degree, but it's what one expects. In many ways he is the most powerful, influential person in the world at the moment, and if he orders his eggs over-easy rather than scrambled it could cause markets worldwide to crash.
It's to the point where he refuses to even utter the word "nationalization," although he talks about "that idea" or "that strategy" in response to Davidson's questions. But despite his dancing around the issue, he seemed to clearly deny that nationalization as such is not an option this administration will pursue, even before the bank stress tests have been performed. Nationalization, that is, in the sense of complete government ownership, management and control; one could certainly argue that banks are nationalized to a significant degree already considering the TARP funds giving taxpayers a big stake in money center banks as well as the recent news about Citi. And that's not to mention the implicit and explicit government guarantees for banks and depositors. Increasing nationalization will be a change in degree moreso than kind, although there is a clear line between propping up balance sheets with huge share percentages and actually assuming management.
Friday's episode also has an interesting interview with William Isaac, who nationalized Continental Illinois Bank while heading the FDIC during the Savings & Loan crisis in the '80s. (CIB was later purchased by Bank of America.) Isaac cautions against complete nationalization both in his interview and in his recent article in the WSJ. As one uniquely qualified to speak on the subject, it seems we would be wise to listen to him.
Geithner's recent comments have been this administration's strongest yet holding the line against complete nationalization. The financial markets won't stabilize until investors have a clear idea of the government's course of action with regard to the troubled banks. We need our confidence back - even if it's confidence in an imperfect solution.
Are you high on 'Bama? I know you've gotten a lot of visual stimulation recently - how about some music inspired by our new POTUS?
Yesterday's episode of All Songs Considered has songs by several artists written in answer to the challenge laid down by Boilen to commemorate these times in song.
Some decent tunes, including the (annoyingly?) catchy "Be the Change" by Kat Edmonson.
A leader who inspires...imagine that.
I'm sitting here alone in the office listening to Tom Waits' "Glitter and Doom" tour from this past summer, courtesy of the recording over at NPR's All Songs Considered blog.
This past week I've been listening to the All Songs Considered podcast, hosted by Bob Boilen of All Things Considered. The podcast is great, with weekly episodes covering a wide variety of stuff - a lot of eclectic stuff I would have never heard otherwise. Several of the episodes I've heard recently include the Best Music of 2008, "The 1980s: Were They Really That Bad?", "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die," from Tom Moon's book of the same name, "Listener Picks for 2008," and "The Year's Overlooked Gems." On the show Boilen, producer Robin Hilton and assorted guests talk about the specific songs they play but they also talk about music itself - metamusical musings that come off occasionally touchy-feely, rarely snobby, and often times quite interesting.
There's also a separate podcast devoted to entire concerts - the All Songs Considered Concert podcast - all for free! Great, great stuff. And a special thanks to Mark Erelli for telling me about it!
