Pulling back the curtain on the Department of Mad Scientists--Michael Belfiore gained unprecedented access to DARPA. Then, we talk with the filmmaker and protagonist of The Cove. Later, the man in white--Mark Twain.
It's alive!: inside the Department of Mad Scientists
Move over Al Gore, the internet was invented in a dark corner of the U.S. government known as DARPA, or, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The name may sound clunky and dull, but their research is anything but. From cars that drive themselves to self-guided bullets, author Michael Belfiore peered behind the curtain and returns with the inside scoop on many of DARPA’s projects, past and present, in The Department of Mad Scientists.
Guest:
Michael Belfiore, author of The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs (Smithsonian).
The killing and capture of dolphins in Japan
Each year in a lagoon off the coast of Taiji, Japan, fishermen take part in the clandestine slaughter of thousands of dolphins. Leading the effort to stop the hunt is Ric O’Barry, who trained the dolphins used in the Flipper television series, and was moved later to advocate ending dolphin captivity. But with local authorities and hostile guards keeping the site off limits, there was no way to find out what was going on in the cove. Teaming up with photographer Louie Psihoyos, the two assembled a group of world-class free divers, Hollywood special effects artists, and adrenaline junkies to infiltrate the site and expose the killings on camera. Psihoyos’ suspenseful film The Cove is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Guest:
Louie Psihoyos, director of The Cove, one of the 5 Oscar nominees in the Best Feature Documentary category. He is a former photographer for National Geographic and the co-founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society.
Man in white
In his new book Mark Twain: Man in White, author Michael Shelden brings Twain’s twilight years vividly to life, offering intimate insights into the family life of the legendary author. The book is filled with first-rate scholarship, rare and never-published Twain photos and delightful anecdotes, including numerous recovered Twainisms. This definitive biography of Twain's last years provides a remarkable portrait of the man himself and of the unforgettable era in American letters that, in many ways, he helped to create.
Guest:
Michael Shelden, author of Mark Twain: Man in White: The Grand Adventure of His Final Years (Random House). Michael Shelden is the author of three previous biographies, including Orwell, which was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. He was a correspondent for The Daily Telegraph (London) and a critic for the Baltimore Sun. He is currently a professor of English at Indiana State University.