PRI's The World: Technology Podcast 228
January 26, 2009
The newly minted Obama Administration is facing numerous challenges. The global economy is tanking, the United States is engaged in two wars, one in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, and the First Family still hasn't chosen what kind of dog they want. And yet, what reporters really want to know is this: will Barack Obama be allowed to keep his precious BlackBerry? The White House hacks spent a good three and half minutes grilling White House spokesman Robert Gibbs about it last week. Gibbs answered their questions patiently, calling the matter "almost as exciting as the Presidential dog." And so that's where we begin this week's Technology Podcast (WTP 228). We'll listen to the exchange between Gibbs and the press corps. It may seem trivial, but there are important issues surrounding security and Presidential record-keeping associated with this story. The short version is that President Obama will be using an ultra-special version of the BlackBerry that's been approved for use by the Pentagon. No word yet on whether the first lady will get a matching unit, or if the First Couple will have them engraved.
Then, we move on to China. We have a report on an online pro-democracy petition called Charter 08 that's raising the hackles of Beijing officialdom. More than 7,000 people have signed the manifesto, which calls for greater freedom of expression, and free elections. The government has been busy detaining and questioning signatories, but it's not stopping more people from putting their signatures on the document. As one Shanghai blogger put it: "We all grew up by feeding on political melamine. Fear has been consolidated into stones in our bodies, causing pain from time to time. We are lucky to still be living."
Next up is a wonderful little piece that is near and dear to this audiophile's heart. We go to Ireland to hear about some new techniques and technologies designed to better diagnose hidden cardiac conditions. And here's the wild part -- it taps into snooping technology the FBI uses to better identify a speaker's location in a crowded room. It's called...say it with me now... a superstereo stethoscope. The effort is led by Dr. Scott Rickard at University College Dublin.
And we end with an in-depth piece on electronic or e-waste, a problem we've tackled previously (WTP 179 and WTP 205). Our latest report comes from on the ground in the West African nation of Ghana, one of the major dumping ground for used electronics from the developed world.
And we would be remiss, given our Scottish heritage, if we didn't try to find some kind of technology angle on Burns Night, which happens on or near January 25th each year. The idea is to celebrate the life and work of Scottish poet Robert Burns. This year marks the 250th anniversary of Burns' birth, and so BBC Scotland has gone and set up an amazing website where you can download readings of some 600 of Burns' poems. They've even got Prince Charles reading one or two.
If you've never been to a Burns Supper before, here's wee taste, courtesy of YouTube. Piping in the Haggis is my favorite part:
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