Mead McCormick is one of 100 finalists for the Mars One program, a private venture that hopes to start a colony on Mars by 2027. She talks to Anne Strainchamps about what attracted her to the project, what she imagines it will look like, and her fears about the blackness of space.
Intelligent. Optimistic. Curious.
Audio
Marvin Minsky tells Steve Paulson he believes machine intelligence is very like human intelligence and that one day people may choose to back themselves up into computers.
Laura Hillenbrand tells Ann Strainchamps how the story of this ugly animal with a ferocious will to win reflects the history of the United States as it left the frontier behind.
Nicholas Ostler talks to Jim Fleming about how languages spread and the similarities and differences between Chinese and English.
Cosmologist Paul Davies talks with Steve Paulson about the anthropic principle and proposes that we live in a "participatory" universe - a premise he explores in his book, "Cosmic Jackpot: Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life."
Merritt Ierley talks with Anne Strainchamps about the domestic technology (central heating, indoor plumbing, vacuum cleaners, dishwashers) that makes American homes the most comfortable in the world.
Lev Grossman tells Anne Strainchmps about his experiences working at one of the great repositories of rare books.
Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay are the sons of the first men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Both men are climbers and have made a documentary film called “Surviving Everest” for National Geographic which details their own expedition up the mountain.
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