From the beginning of experimentation, humans have used a wide variety of animal and plant life as equipment in a “living laboratory”. From Galvani’s experiments using frog’s legs and electricity to the Vacanti mouse, with a human ear attached to it’s back, animals have been an intimate part of the human quest for knowledge. How have these animals been used? Who were the people who used these animals? Were humans ever used as part of an experimental apparatus? And finally, what about the morality of using living things in scientific experiments? Tonight on Inquiry we welcome an expert on this controversial history of science: ROM HARRE, Emeritus Fellow of Philosophy of Linacre College, Oxford and Distinguished Research Professor at Georgetown University. He to talks about his very important new book PAVLOV’S DOG AND SCHRODINGER’S CAT: SCENES FROM THE LIVING LABORATORY.
Women have power. In Womenomics, journalists Shipman and Kay
deal in facts, not stereotypes, providing a fresh perspective on the
largely hidden power that women have in today's marketplace. Why?
Companies with more women managers are more profitable. Women do more
of the buying. A talent shortage looms. Younger generations want to
work flexibly, too. It all adds up to a workplace revolution that is
great news for professional women—not to mention men and businesses as
well. As Brenda Barnes, CEO of Sara Lee, notes: “Companies need to
recognize that this kind of flexibility offers employees the ability to
manage and balance their own careers and lives, which in turn improves
productivity and employee morale.” This new way of thinking and working
is all the more valuable in a recession, as companies begin offering
flexible schedules, four-day workweeks, and extended vacations as a way
to avoid layoffs, save costs, and still reward employees.
How do ants navigate enormous stretches of featureless Saharan desert and still manage to find their way back to their nest? How do Pacific Island cultures find their way across vast stretches of ocean out of sight of land? Why do most of us still get lost in a mall? Humans have an unrivaled ability to understand physical space, but we still have trouble drawing a map for getting across town to our house. If you would like some answers to these questions of space and mind tune in to Inquiry tonight when we talk to COLIN ELLARD, Experimental Psychologist at the University of Waterloo and Director of its Research Laboratory for Immersive Virtual Environments. Professor Ellard will be discussing his endlessly fascinating book: YOU ARE HERE: WHY WE CAN FIND OUR WAY TO THE MOON, BUT GET LOST IN THE MALL: WHAT SCIENCE SAYS ABOUT OUR SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HOW IT SHAPES OUR CONNECTIONS TO NATURE, CITIES, HOMES AND VIRTUAL WORLDS.
Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois is home to the largest proton accelerator in the United States. Here scientists conduct cutting edge high-energy physics experiments to learn about the ultimate structure of matter and learn more about particles like quarks. How does a megascience facility like this get built? How do you manage a place so big it contains a restored prairie and a herd of buffalo? Is America still on the cutting edge of “big science”? Tonight on Inquiry we talk about the history of Fermilab with LILLIAN HODDESON, Professor of History of Science at the University of Illinois; ADRIENNE W. KOLB, Fermilab Archivist; and CATHERINE WESTFALL, Visiting Associate Professor at Michigan State University. Together they have written one of the great histories of American science: FERMILAB: PHYSICS; THE FRONTIER AND MEGASCIENCE.
Worcester Magazine, the 33-year-old alternative weekly newspaper serving Greater Worcester, has undergone another design change and re-sizing. WoMag – or Worcester Mag, as the publication
now calls itself for short – has a free circulation of 34,000 copies
through more than 400 locations, and readership of more than 163,000.
Worcester Magazine is a three-time winner of the New England Press Association’s “Newspaper of the Year Award. Regarding the overall alternative-newspaper sector in America, circulation – which grew steadily between 1989 and 2000, has been more or less level since 2000. The circulation figure
now stands around 7.5 million.
Like any American teenager, Brenda Paz spent much of her time with
her friends. They would go to parties, listen to music, and show off
their cars late into the night. But Brenda and her friends belonged to
the Mara Salvatrucha--the MS-13--the most violent gang in America, and
in addition to enjoying the things that all teenagers do, her friends
were thieves, drug dealers, human traffickers, and murderers.
A
street gang that began in Los Angeles in the 1980s, the Mara
Salvatrucha has spread across the United States and Central America
with startling speed, boasting tens of thousands of members. They deal
ruthlessly with competing gangs and any members who display disloyalty,
often leaving a trail of dismembered corpses in their wake. They are
poised to surpass the Mafia as the country's most organized criminal
network. And by operating within the insular Central American immigrant
communities, the Mara Salvatrucha has been able to easily elude law
enforcement.
All that changed when Brenda Paz turned
informant for the FBI, exposing the incredible scope of the gang's
operations. But Brenda's cooperation with the FBI was only the
beginning. What followed is an extraordinary story of strength,
intelligence, and incredible courage.
This is for the Mara Salvatrucha takes us into a dark and violent world that few people have seen, but is closer than you think.
JEFF JOHNSON has been tattooing professionally for over 18 years and is the co-owner of the Sea Tramp Tattoo Company in Portland, Oregon. His new book TATTOO MACHINE: TALL TALES, TRUE STORIES, AND MY LIFE IN INK is part no-holds barred memoir, part behind the scenes look at the life of a tattoo artist as well as an assessment of the “tattoo industry” today and where it might be headed. Of course along the way there are some truly great stories to tell of life as a “Swamp Panther” and the strange things that happen when you create intimate art for another person’s body using needles and ink. Jeff is definitely a great raconteur, so don’t miss this show!
The Supremes have been called the second-most important American music act after Elvis. Though they had a string of Number 1 hits, they were never nominated for a Grammy. And though there have been several autobiographies written by group members, up till now there has never been a thorough biography written by an outsider of the Supremes and their long struggle at Motown Records. Tonight on Inquiry, we welcome noted rock historian MARK RIBOWSKY who tells the real story of the three teenagers who met in the Detroit projects, started out as The Primettes and went on to become headlining stars as The Supremes at the Copacabana. It’s a gritty story of jealousy, greed and the drive to succeed against all odds. This is also the story of one of the greatest songwriting teams America has ever known: Holland-Dozier-Holland. Tune in tonight as we relive those crazy, heady days of “Hitsville USA”. Ribowsky’s monumental book is titled: THE SUPREMES: A SAGA OF MOTOWN DREAMS, SUCCESS AND BETRAYAL.
Inquiry: Tom Folsom: THE MAD ONES: CRAZY JOE GALLO AND THE REVOLUTION AT THE EDGE OF THE UNDERWORLD.
The infamous Gallo family controlled the lucrative jukebox and pinball machine rackets in New York City in the 1960s, and had a notoriously bloody gang war with the Profaci family. Many of the scenes from the Gallo’s life can be found in The Godfather book and films. But Joey Gallo was something else. He modeled himself after Richard Widmark in “Kiss of Death”. He married a wild beatnik lass, the former wife of Gerry Mulligan, with whom he discussed Nietzsche and Wilhelm Reich. While in isolation in Attica, he wrote an imaginary Platonic dialogue between Mao and Lenin. He hung out with actor Jerry Orbach and became a cultural icon in New York. Joey’s fame was not appreciated by other mob members, who thought that it was prudent to keep a low profile, so Joey meet his fate at the infamous Umberto’s Clam House. Tonight on Inquiry, we welcome writer, director and producer TOM FOLSOM author of a history of a crazy gangster and thug who was lionized by hip intelligentsia of the Village of the 60s. Folsom’s wild history is titled THE MAD ONES: CRAZY JOE GALLO AND THE REVOLUTION AT THE EDGE OF THE UNDERWORLD.
Eric Schultz, president & CEO of Fallon Community Health Plan. On
the Business Beat, he'll talk with host Steve D'Agostino about Health
care. And more specifically about the issue of the number of people
uninsured in the United States. Every campaign, politicians pledge to
address the situation, but little is accomplished.
The lack of action can partially be blamed on fundamental disagreements
on the best solution for achieving universal health care. There are
numerous theoretical approaches, each with its own strengths and
weaknesses.
My guest, Eric Shultz, and I will discuss the pros and cons of each of
the several approaches: single payer; multi payer; tax credits; medical
savings accounts; and managed competition. Eric heads the largest
health-care insurers in Central Massachusetts and one of the largest in
New England: the $1-billion health maintenance organization known as
Fallon Community Health Plan.
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