Inquiry Podcasts

In the spring of 1975, a group of diverse physicists gathered in Berkeley and formed The Fundamental Fysiks Group to investigate and ponder some of the wild and wooly philosophical and metaphysical questions posed by quantum physics. They were interested in psychic phenomena, so-called Eastern Mysticism and new ways of looking at reality. What followed was a tale involving some of the leading physicists of the day as well as such controversial figures as Uri Geller and Werner Erhard founder of EST. At the legendary Esalen Institute, numerous physics seminars were held among the hot tubs, psychedelic drugs, and free love. But what came out of all this New Age craziness were some of the best-known popular books on quantum theory and, eventually, the foundation for quantum encryption. Join us on Inquiry tonight for our conversation with DAVID KAISER, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he teaches in the Program in Science, Technology and Society. His book, which tells this whole crazy story, is titled HOW THE HIPPIES SAVED PHYSICS: SCIENCE, COUNTERCULTURE, AND THE QUANTUM REVIVAL. 

Every bird’s nest is a wonderful example of non-human architecture. Imagine trying to weave and intricate tight cup of moss, lichen and spider’s webs using only your mouth and sometimes your feet! Yet birds do this every breeding season. Tonight on Inquiry, we welcome PETER GOODFELLOW, retired English teacher and lifelong birder, who has written one of the most beautiful books on the nests that birds create and how they build them: AVIAN ARCHITECTURE: HOW BIRDS DESIGN, ENGINEER AND BUILD. From simple scrapes in the ground, to monumental platforms high in trees, from enormous mounds of sand to mind-boggling complex hanging woven baskets, birds create structures of stunning complexity and variety. If you have ever  marveled at the nest of a robin or oriole, be sure to tune in. 

Horror films have been made since the beginning of cinema. Thomas Edison made one of the earliest film treatments of the Frankenstein novel. And since those early days, horror films have had a long, complex multinational history . Tonight’s guest on Inquiry is Dr. WHEELER WINSTON DIXON the James Ryan Endowed Professor of Film Studies and professor of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. His latest book on film history is one of the most complete and far ranging histories of this genre: A HISTORY OF HORROR. Tonight we discuss the beginnings of the horror film and concentrate on the fascinating story of the British film company Hammer Films, which in the 1960s reinvigorated the cinema of horror with classic films like The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula, Prince of Darkness and made international stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Leee. If you are passionate about horror films, don’t miss tonight’s show!

Whether throwing a rock at a foe, shooting an arrow at a bulls eye, or taking aim with a cannon at a fortress, if you want to hit your target,  it’s all about ballistics.