Coming Soon! A Four Part Series from TTBOOK!

Public Radio International

Wisconsin Public Radio

THE WONDERS OF PHYSICS

Program 09-02-15-A

Listen!

President Obama's surrounded by science advisors. So you might figure he doesn't need to know much about physics, but you'd be mistaken. How is a President supposed to assess the risk of a "dirty bomb," or weigh the pros and cons of various energy sources, from solar power to nuclear energy. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll get a basic primer in physics.

SEGMENT 1:

Physicist Richard Muller has written a book called "Physics for Future Presidents." He tells Jim Fleming that the President shouldn't rely on his science advisors to explain what a dirty bomb is or why clean coal is important. Muller says only the President understands the broader context within which scientific policy decision must be made.

SEGMENT 2:

Robert Laughlin tells Steve Paulson that physicists are an eccentric bunch. He should know. Laughlin is a Nobel Prize winning physicist at Stanford and the author of "A Different Universe" and"The Crime of Reason, and the Closing of the Scientific Mind." Also, Steve Paulson introduces us to Mark Oliver Everett, better known as "E" - lead singer of the Eels, and son of Hugh Everett, the man who came up with the theory of parallel worlds. Mark never really knew his father, but served as the narrator for a documentary about him ("Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives") produced by the BBC for release in the U.S. by PBS in the WGBH NOVA series. We hear Mark's music, excerpts from the film, and Mark's reflections on his father's life and what they share. Mark is also the author of a memoir, "Things the Grandchildren Should Know".

SEGMENT 3:

Rebecca Stott lives in Cambridge, England, and made it the setting of her novel, "Ghostwalk." The book is an intellectual thriller set partly in Isaac Newton's time and concerning his interest in alchemy. Stott reads an excerpt for Anne Strainchamps and talks with her about aspects of the quantum world and its possible effects on ours. Also, A. Van Jordan has put together a collection of poems about physics. "Quantum Lyrics" touches on the lives of famous physicists like Einstein and Richard Feynman, and uses comic book heroes like The Green Lantern and The Flash. The poet reads some of his work, and talks about it with Steve Paulson.

CD copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 09-02-15-A.

................................................................

Books & CDs:

Richard Muller, Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines (Norton)
Mark Oliver Everett, Things the Grandchildren Should Know (Thomas Dunne Books)
Rebecca Stott, Ghostwalk (Spiegel & Grau)
A. Van Jordan, Quantum Lyrics (Norton)
Richard P Feynman, The Very Best of the Feynman Lectures (Basic Books)

Websites:

• here's a link to the NOVA site that features this documentary, "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives":
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/manyworlds

Music:

• Spencer Brewer w/ "Cinematic" (Willow Rose & Laughing Coyote Productions)
  (Technicolor) "Say What?"
• Michael Gandolfi's "The Garden of Cosmic Specualation" -"Passepied (palpation)"
• Music in Everett interview:
  "Novocaine for the Soul"
  "Your Lucky Day in Hell"
  "Souljacker Part 1"
  All written by Mark Everett, on "Meet the Eels: Volume 1" CD
  Geffen Records
• Also Mark Everett's "Things the Grandchildren Should Know"
  on "Blinking Lights and Other Revelations" CD
  Vagrant Records
• "The Garden of Cosmic Speculation"
  #13 - "Fractal Terrace"
• Pharoah Sanders w/ "The Bird Song"
  on "Welcome to Love" CD
  1990 Timeless Records

Distribution dates: week of 01/24/2010 - hour 2 week of 02/15/2009 - hour 1 click HERE for timings and cues

Listen!

................................................................

Questions and comments can be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org

Wisconsin Public Radio is a service of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.

Page design and management by Jim Fleming at Wisconsin Public Radio and Sarah Fleming.

© 2009 WHA Radio and the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. All rights reserved.