Thought-provoking episode of This American Life explores the social role of gossip
Posted 27 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Thought-provoking episode of This American Life explores the social role of gossipThis American Life “Gossip”
8.74 million species (and counting!)
Posted 26 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on 8.74 million species (and counting!)BBC News “Why Species Matter“
Not quite as well done as the other altruism short, but a nice summary of reciprocity in vampire bats
Posted 25 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Not quite as well done as the other altruism short, but a nice summary of reciprocity in vampire batsRadiolab “Blood Buddies“
Brilliant short on altruism that both explains and lays waste to the Price Equation
Posted 25 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Brilliant short on altruism that both explains and lays waste to the Price EquationRadiolab “The Good Show” Includes bits on George Price, actual acts of altruism, Prisoner’s Dilemma, Robert Axelrod
Climate change triggers conflict: there is an ecology of war
Posted 24 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Climate change triggers conflict: there is an ecology of warAll Things Considered “El Nino Seen As Trigger For Violence In The Tropics“
Corn may be an indication of where all agricultural commodities are heading: unstable, and therefore ripe for being inflated by speculators
Posted 24 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Corn may be an indication of where all agricultural commodities are heading: unstable, and therefore ripe for being inflated by speculatorsIt’s one thing when you can’t afford to buy a home thanks to speculation, but food?: All Things Considered “For Corn Farmers, There’s Gold In Them There Fields“
David Sloan Wilson on The Takeaway discussing his new book “The Neighborhood Project”
Posted 24 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on David Sloan Wilson on The Takeaway discussing his new book “The Neighborhood Project”It is great to see DSW reclaim the role of evolutionary biology in social engineering from the selfish gene folks: The Takeaway “‘The Neighborhood Project:’ Tackling Social Problems with Evolutionary Biology“. Let the gene-centered folks have the Hymenoptera and Meerkats — I would prefer to see multilevel selectionists deal with humans.
Latest SA infographic suggests that most people get hysterical about nuclear power risks whilst causing the death of far more people by thoughtlessly using fossil fuels every day
Posted 23 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on Latest SA infographic suggests that most people get hysterical about nuclear power risks whilst causing the death of far more people by thoughtlessly using fossil fuels every dayScientific American Graphic Science “The Human Cost of Energy”
The social norm of getting your child vaccinated is clearly not strong enough, but I wonder if scientific education can really overcome epidemic individualism
Posted 23 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on The social norm of getting your child vaccinated is clearly not strong enough, but I wonder if scientific education can really overcome epidemic individualismScientific American “Straight Talk about Vaccination”
New SA special issue on cities a must-read for advocates of a sustainable future
Posted 23 Aug 2011 / Comments Off on New SA special issue on cities a must-read for advocates of a sustainable futureScientific American special issue on cities