NOVA | PBS show

NOVA | PBS

Summary: NOVA brings you short audio stories from the world of science -- anything from hurricanes to mummies to neutrinos. For more science programming online and on air, visit NOVA's Web site at pbs.org/nova, or watch NOVA broadcasts Wednesday nights on PBS.

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  • Artist: WGBH Science Unit
  • Copyright: Copyright 2013 NOVA/WGBH Educational Foundation

Podcasts:

 Wireless Electricity | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:35

WiTricity, a small startup based outside of Boston, is creating a system that can transmit electricity wirelessly. It'll make charging electric cars easy, eliminating the need for bulky cables. What impact might this have on the electric vehicle market? Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers.

 Life in the Blast Zone | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:16

Thirty years ago, a violent eruption ripped through the side of Mt. St. Helens in western Oregon. The blast killed 57 people and countless animals, and turned hundreds of miles of forest into barren wasteland. In this podcast, hear from ecologist Charlie Crisafulli on the slow recovery of the Mt. St. Helens ecosystem, and learn how the timing of the eruption actually spared some plant and animal life. Podcast produced by David Levin. Original interview by Kristine Allington. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. To learn more about the Hubble, go to pbs.org/nova/sthelens

 A Clean Energy Future? | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:06

Steven Chu is the U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Obama. He's a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, and a big proponent of renewable power, like wind and solar. He says that although they're essential to fight climate change, that's only one reason we should adopt them in the United States. Another reason is purely economic—there's a lot of money to be made in the clean energy market. Podcast produced by David Levin. Interview by Doug Hamilton. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Major funding for "Power Surge" is provided by the Kendeda Fund and NASA. Additional funding by Michael and Roxanne Zak, the Earth Science Program at NASA and by the Millicent and Eugene Bell Foundation. For more on green technology, visit us online at pbs.org/nova

 The Many Gods of Israel | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4:59

Archeologist Bill Dever says that in addition to the Hebrew god Yahweh, ancient Israelites may have worshipped a Canaanite female goddess called Asherah. This podcast was produced by David Levin and Susan Lewis. Interview by Gary Glassman. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Major funding for "The Bible's Buried Secrets" is provided by The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, and the Righteous Persons Foundation. For more on what archeology is revealing about biblical times, visit www.pbs.org/nova/bible

 Improving Maternal Health | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 7:33

In the year 2000, the United Nations set out to make basic maternal healthcare a universal right within 15 years. How far have we come worldwide? In this podcast, we talked to Adrienne Germain, president of the International Women's Health Coalition. They're a group that works closely with the U.N. to improve the health and rights of women worldwide. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more about the status of women's health around the world at pbs.org/nova

 Training for a Nuclear Crisis | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 7:50

Are workers at U.S. nuclear power plants fully prepared to deal with emergencies triggered by natural disasters? To find out, we visited the training center for Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Pilgrim is on the Atlantic coast near Plymouth, Massachussets, about an hour's drive south of Boston. It's one of 23 nuclear plants in the U.S. that use the same nuclear reactor design as the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Take a virtual tour of the control room in a U.S. nuclear power plant at pbs.org/nova

 Galileo and the Telescope | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:48

Galileo has been called the "father of modern science". His observations of the night sky in the early 1600s confirmed a new model of the universe, where the Earth orbited the sun—not the other way around. But before he was studying the universe, Galileo was working on practical problems. And his early goals for the telescope weren't so scientific. Podcast produced by David Levin. Original interview by David Axelrod. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Additional funding for "Hunting the Edge of Space" is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Mt. Cuba Astronomical Foundation and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. To learn more about the history of the telescope, go to pbs.org/nova/telescope.

 Defining Intelligence: Seth Shostak | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:56

Astronomer Seth Shostak thinks that if alien intelligence is out there, we'll know it when we see it. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

 Defining Intelligence: Steven Pinker | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 2:02

Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker says that modern human intelligence is the result of thousands of years of accumulated knowledge. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

 Defining Intelligence: Nicholas Humphrey | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:53

Theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey explains the concept of social intelligence. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

 Defining Intelligence: Rodney Brooks | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:58

In this podcast, roboticist Rodney Brooks describes what "intelligence" means in his field. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear other experts describe what intelligence means to them. Visit us online at pbs.org/nova

 NOVA Minute: The Interaction of Species | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 1:40

NOVA Minutes are a regular radio features that air three times per week on 89.7 WGBH-FM in Boston. In this episode, naturalist E.O. Wilson describes the challenges of understanding how ecosystems evolve. Produced by David Levin. Original interview by Gail Willumsen. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by ExxonMobil, David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Learn more at pbs.org/nova/eowilson

 Toward a Smart Electric Grid | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 5:02

On August 14, 2003, the biggest blackout in American history struck the Northeast U.S. and parts of Canada. 50 million people lost power, and the blackout showed how vulnerable and even outdated our electricity system is. To fix that problem, some energy experts think it's time to upgrade to a "smart grid," one that uses digital technology to regulate itself. Vijay Vaitheeswaran is energy correspondent for The Economist magazine. In this interview, he explains why we need to take the power grid into the 21st century. Produced by David Levin. Interview by Terri Randall. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Additional funding for NOVA scienceNOW is provided by the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. To read a full interview with Vijay Vaitheeswaran, go to pbs.org/nova/sciencenow

 The Risks of Automated Flight | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 7:08

Most passenger jets today fly under computer control, at least to some extent. Usually, those computers make flying safer. But like any machine, they can sometimes break down, leading, in rare cases, to major accidents. In this interview, aviation expert Bill Voss explains why he thinks airlines should put more emphasis on solving computer automation problems during pilot training. Podcast produced by David Levin. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear more audio stories at pbs.org/nova

 When Lightning Strikes Aircraft | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 4:20

After the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009, widespread debate appeared on the Internet about whether a lightning strike could have brought the plane down. Just how dangerous is lightning to an aircraft in flight? In this podcast, aviation safety expert John Cox and veteran airline pilot Martin Alder weigh in. Podcast produced by David Levin. Interviews by Darlow Smithson productions. NOVA is produced by WGBH in Boston. Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Hear more audio stories at pbs.org/nova

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