More Janna Levin, Now For Your Ears
A few weeks ago, I reviewed Janna Levin’s "A Madman Dreams Of Turing Machines" and hopefully convinced you to buy and read it.
Now, Dr. Levin has recorded and posted a podcast about subject matter related to her studies and experiences in cosmology. The first podcast is about relativity and curved spacetime. How often do you get to hear about spacetime in a non-science-fiction context?
Levin jumps right into the subject matter with this podcast. I *love* that. No long, tiresome intro about who she is and what she’s doing - Levin must assume you already know that stuff since you found her podcast. The podcast flows like an Ira-Glass-hosted "This American Life" vignette, which seems perfectly normal to me, but may seem over-produced to folks who are used to podcasts in which folks just conversationally chat.
Levin’s goal is to answer questions about cosmology. This first podcast addresses a question from a friend of Levin’s about why it is that, when he’s riding on a subway train and jumps up, he lands on his feet in the same space on the train instead of hitting the back of the train in motion.
My only beef: the ambient noise for the non-studio bits plays a bit long, but that’s minor enough to ignore. Also, I wanted it to be longer! I loved listening to Levin talk about Newtonian relativity and wanted to hear more. Maybe the next question will require a lengthier answer, and a longer podcast.
This podcast is available in the usual formats (iTunes, RSS, download), so check it out and be sure to give Levin some feedback.
[Edited for errors on 21 June 2008.]
Related posts:
- WomenInScience: IEEE Spectrum Radio Interviews Dr. Janna Levin
- Review: Janna Levin, “A Madman Dreams Of Turing Machines”
- Girls Gone Geek: TV For Your Ears
- Geeky Readers Need The Sword And Laser
- Building A Troubleshooting Methodology
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