Easterly on Growth, Poverty, and Aid
William Easterly of NYU talks about why some nations escape poverty while others do not, why aid almost always fails to create growth, and what can realistically be done to help the poorest people in the world.
Graham on Start-ups, Innovation, and Creativity
Paul Graham, essayist, programmer and partner in the y-combinator talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about start-ups, innovation, and creativity. Graham draws on his experience as entrepreneur and investor to discuss the current state of the start-up world and how that world has changed due to improved technology that makes it easier to start a software company. Graham talks about his unusual venture firm, the y-combinator, and how he and his partners work with start-ups to get them ready for
Ritholtz on Bailouts, the Fed, and the Crisis
Barry Ritholtz, author of Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of bailouts in recent times, beginning with Lockheed and Chrysler in the 1970s and continuing through the current financial crisis. In addition to the government role in aiding ailing companies, Ritholtz also looks at the role of the Fed in discouraging prudence through its efforts to keep asset prices and the stock market a
Munger on Love, Money, Profits, and Non-profits
Mike Munger of Duke University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the world of profit, money, love, gifts, and incentives. What motivates people, self-interest or altruism? Both obviously. But how do these forces interact with each other? Does relying on one always provide a stronger incentive than the other? Do charities, for-profit businesses or government agencies do a better job providing a good or service? Munger and Roberts have a wide-ranging discussion across these issues includ
Sumner on Growth and Economic Policy
Scott Sumner of Bentley University and the blog, The Money Illusion, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the last 30 years of economic policy and macroeconomic success and failure. Sumner argues that there was a neoliberalism revolution beginning in the 1980s around the world, an era of deregulation, privatization and falling marginal tax rates. Sumner argues that the states that liberalized the most had the most successful economic results. Roberts argues that it is difficult to assess
Social Entrepreneurship : Putting Powerful Ideas to Work
a panel on social entrepreneurship as a catalyst for reducing poverty and strengthening economies in the developing world.
HST.410J Projects in Microscale Engineering for the Life Sciences (MIT)
This course is a project-based introduction to manipulating and characterizing cells and biological molecules using microfabricated tools. It is designed for first year undergraduate students. In the first half of the term, students perform laboratory exercises designed to introduce (1) the design, manufacture, and use of microfluidic channels, (2) techniques for sorting and manipulating cells and biomolecules, and (3) making quantitative measurements using optical detection and fluorescent labe
A Life in Television - Jeremy Isaacs
Jeremy Isaacs is a television producer, broadcaster and arts impresario.
Born in Glasgow, Isaacs was educated at Merton College, Oxford. He joined Granada Television as a producer (1958) and worked on programmes such as What The Papers Say and, for the BBC, Panorama. Isaacs has produced some of the most significant historical documentaries made for British television, such as The World At War (1975), made in 26 episodes, Ireland: A Television History (1981) and the Cold War (1998). He has been
Commissioning TV Drama, Comedy and Films - Jane Tranter
Jane is responsible for leading the group which covers Drama Commissioning, Comedy Commissioning, Programme Acquisitions and BBC Films. From 2000 to 2006, she was Controller, Drama Commissioning and responsible for drama commissioning on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four. Commissions during this time included Shakespeare, Rome, Jane Eyre, Life on Mars, Bleak House, Hotel Babylon, Robin Hood, Doctor Who, Bodies, Torchwood, Blackpool, Casanova and Spooks. Commissions to be transmitted in 2
The Middle Class Bent at Radio 4? - Mark Damazer
Mark (born 15th April 1955) is the controller of Radio 4 and BBC 7 in the United Kingdom. He trained at ITN in 1980. He joined the BBC World Service as a current affairs producer in 1981. From 1982-4, he worked at ITV on TV-am, returning to BBC News in 1984. He joined Newsnight as an editor in January 1986. In August 1988, he became deputy editor of the Nine O’Clock News, becoming editor in 1990. In 1994, he became Editor of Television News Programmes, then Head of (what became) Current Affai
6.101 Introductory Analog Electronics Laboratory (MIT)
6.101 is an introductory experimental laboratory that explores the design, construction, and debugging of analog electronic circuits. Lectures and six laboratory projects investigate the performance characteristics of diodes, transistors, JFETs, and op-amps, including the construction of a small audio amplifier and preamplifier. Seven weeks are devoted to the design and implementation, and written and oral presentation of a project in an environment similar to that of engineering design teams in
Zimbabwe, Kenya: Can Africa do Democracy? Dr Mano and Professor Oucho
Dr Winston Mano discusses Zimbabwe and Kenya with Professor John O. Oucho.
Dr Mano is a Course Leader; he has a Graduate Diploma in Media and Communication Studies and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Media and Communication Studies.
Prof Oucho has undertaken consultancies for various United Nations agencies, among them UNFPA, UNICEF, UNESCO, ILO, the world bank, UNHABITAT and other organisations.
The Pinnacle of Performance - Olympics Day - David Moorcroft
David has been involved in athletics for more than 30 years at club, area and international level as a competitor, teacher, coach, broadcaster and from 1997-2006, he was chief executive of the sport’s national governing body. As a competitor, his highlights include setting the world record for 5000m at 13 minutes 00.41 seconds in Oslo in 1982 – it remains the UK record to this day -and winning the Commonwealth Games Gold medals for 1500m in 1978 and 5000m in 1982.
In this talk, part of a
Dr Alex Moulton - Bugatti Design Lecture
Apologies about the sound, but we simply had to show you this lecture given by Dr Alex Moulton.
Dr. Moulton's professional life has been devoted to the research and development of innovative designs.
He developed The Moulton Bicycle, introduced in 1962, and pioneered small-wheeled, full-suspension thinking which was acknowledged as the most radical change in bicycle design for over 60 years. Over 150,000 were made and they still hold world and national speed records, testimony to their fundame
I Have Seen the Future - Peter Barron, Google
Peter Barron is an enigma; he left one of the best and most high profile jobs in British television journalism – Editor of Newsnight – in the summer of 2008 of his own violation. He jumped ship to the digital world of Google where he is Head of Public Relations for the UK and Ireland. Peter's spell at the helm of Newsnight was the longest since the programme's creation and the most creative – he brought in blogs, vodcasts and more.
In this Coventry Conversation you can hear Peter talking
15.220 Global Strategy and Organization (MIT)
Companies today confront an increasing array of choices regarding markets, locations for key activities, outsourcing and ownership modes, and organization and processes for managing across borders. This course provides students with the conceptual tools necessary to understand and work effectively in today's interconnected world by developing strategic perspectives that link this changing environment, the state of the global industry, and the capabilities and position of the firm.
The goal of th
Is there a Crisis in World Journalism? Dr Suzanne Franks
Suzanne Franks is Director of Research at Kent University’s Centre for Journalism. At the start of her journalism career she worked with the BBC as a researcher on documentaries and then joined the Television Current Affairs department, producing programmes such as Newsnight, Watchdog, The Money Programme and Panorama. In the 1990s she started an independent production company, Sevenday Productions, which was awarded the first outside contract for the televising of Parliament. She was based in
Is there a Crisis in World Journalism? Judith Townend
Judith Townend is senior reporter at Journalism.co.uk, where she covers the digital news industry, with a particular interest in media law, regulation, ethics and press freedom. Before hand, she worked as a researcher at Al Jazeera English and as an occasional freelancer. More recently, she was deputy editor at an arts and entertainment magazine in Leeds. She now blogs at FromtheOnline.com and contributes to Global Voices Online, a website for free expression and advocacy. She holds a BA Hons in
6.055J The Art of Approximation in Science and Engineering (MIT)
This course teaches simple reasoning techniques for complex phenomena: divide and conquer, dimensional analysis, extreme cases, continuity, scaling, successive approximation, balancing, cheap calculus, and symmetry. Applications are drawn from the physical and biological sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Examples include bird and machine flight, neuron biophysics, weather, prime numbers, and animal locomotion. Emphasis is on low-cost experiments to test ideas and on fostering curiosity abo
24.941J The Lexicon and Its Features (MIT)
This course provides an overview of the distinctive features which distinguish sound categories of languages of the world. Theories which relate these categories to their acoustic and articulatory correlates, both universally and in particular languages, are covered. Models of word recognition by listeners, features, and phonological structure are also discussed. In addition, the course offers a variety of perspectives on these issues, drawn from Electrical Engineering, Linguistics and Cognitive
