Starlink, Mental Health, Money Laundering
SpaceX’s Massive Satellite Launch Plans Could Ruin Astronomy (0:35) Guest: James Lowenthal, Professor of Astronomy at Smith College Within a few years, SpaceX plans to have thousands and thousands of communications satellites orbiting Earth, providing high speed internet service to even the most remote locations. Cool idea a lot of people support. But as soon as SpaceX launched the first few of batches of satellites for its Starlink program, astronomers started complaining they were ruining thee view of other objects out in space. This week, SpaceX promised at a press conference to fix the problem. (Originally aired 12/11/19) Why Is Antisemitism on the Rise and What Can Be Done About It? (16:23) Guest: Bill Bernstein, West Coast Director, American Society for Yad Vashem It’s Jewish American Heritage Month. In a proclamation this week, President Trump said “We must vigorously confront anti-Semitic discrimination and violence against members of the Jewish community. ”Anti-semitic attacks have risen worldwide, particularly in Western democracies like the US, France, Britain, and Germany. Most of those were cases of vandalism or threats of violence. But 2018 also saw the deadliest attack ever against Jews on US soil, when a gunman stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing 11 worshippers. Why is this happening? (Originally aired 11/4/2019) Mental Health in the Workplace (36:40) Guest: Kelly Greenwood, Founder and CEO of Mind Share Partners. Stay home if you’re sick. That’s a message employees will be asked to take a lot more seriously after this pandemic, I suspect. But what if you don’t have a fever or cough? Suppose you’re having a panic attack? A really bad day with your depression? Or an extreme bout of insomnia that kept you up all night? In a case like that, it’s easier just to fudge the details and tell your boss you’ve got a stomachache. Physical ailments seem more legitimate. (Originally aired 11/17/2019) Collecting Scientific History (50:39) Guest: Peter L. Jakab, Chief Curator of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon 50 years ago, they had a camera mounted to the lunar lander, capturing everything and beaming those images back to earth. The original videotape recordings NASA made of that momentous event sold at auction for $1.8 million to an anonymous buyer. Luckily, we’ve got the digital versions everyone can watch online. But what will become of those original tapes? Who knows? A surprising amount of the world’s science and technology history is held by private collectors. Moon landing artifacts. Nobel Prize statues. Einstein’s handwritten notes. (Originally aired 7/31/2019) How to Fight Dirty Money (1:10:04) Guest: Channing Mavrellis, Director of Global Financial Integrity’s Transnational Crime Program Around the world, there are countries - sometimes called “developing” or “emerging” - that receive millions of dollars in foreign aid and investment every year. The hope is that at some point the country will grow to the point that it no longer needs foreign aid to sustain a thriving economy. But many countries seem stalled. Why isn’t that money making a difference? Because all this time, even more money has been flowing out of those same countries through crime, corruption and tax evasion. (Originally aired 10/9/2019) Are More Choices Better... Or Worse? (1:25:30) Guest: Thomas Saltsman, Senior Lab Director, Social Psychophysiology Laboratory, University at Buffalo, the State University of New York The last few evenings I’ve spent more time browsing for something to watch on Netflix, Hulu and Amazon than I actually spent watching something. With so many choices, finding something should be a cinch. And yet, even when I do finally pick something, I’ll get ten minutes in and start regretting the choice, hit the menu button and it’s back to square one. Same thing happens to me with a long menu at a restaurant. And apparently it’s common enough psychologists have a name for it: “choice overload.” (Originally aired 10/15/19)