WNYC New York Public Radio Most Emailed of the Month

Parasites (Radiolab: Friday, 25 September 2009)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00 GMT

What's gotten into you? In this hour we explore nature's moochers - the good, the bad, and the hideous. We have stories of lethargic farmers, zombie cockroaches, and even mind-controlled humans (kinda, maybe). Could parasites be the shadowy hands that pull the strings of life?

Glimmer (The Leonard Lopate Show: Tuesday, 27 October 2009)

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

Warren Berger, shares the principles of design that can improve the way we think, work, and live. His book Glimmer: How You Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World shows how we can all apply the skills designers use to solve problems and spur innovation.

Mind The Gap: Why Good Schools are Failing Minority Students

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:23 GMT

Nationwide, suburban schools are doing a good job educating white students but are not getting the same results with black and Latino students. This weekend, WNYC will air a documentary about one New....

New Normal? (Radiolab: Friday, 02 October 2009)

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

How do you tell the difference between a sea change and a ripple in the water? Is a peacenik baboon, a man in a dress, or a cuddly fox a sign of things to come? Or just a flukey outlier from the norm? Is there ever really even a norm? In this hour we examine three stories that reframe our sense of normalcy.

Recipes from Chef David Chang

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:57 GMT

ginger scallion noodles Our ginger scallion noodles are an homage to/out-and-out rip-off of one of the greatest dishes in New York City: the $4.95 plate of ginger scallion noodles at Great New ....

Please Explain: Eco-Labels (The Leonard Lopate Show: Friday, 13 November 2009)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00 GMT

Your broccoli, shampoo, and air conditioner might bear labels declaring them to be organic, cruelty-free, or energy efficient, but what do those labels mean and are they true? On today’s edition of Please Explain, Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Project Director for Consumer Reports' GreenerChoices.org and Consumers Union’s Senior Scientist for Policy Initiatives, and Dara O'Rourke, founder and CEO of GoodGuide.com, will take a look at what eco-labels indicate, how standards are set, and what they mean for consumers and manufacturers around the world.

A Fine Romance (The Leonard Lopate Show: Tuesday, 10 November 2009)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:46 GMT

Poet, editor, and cultural critic David Lehman looks at the origins of the American songbook—jazz standards, iconic love songs, and famous movie sound tracks. In his book A Fine Romance: Jewish Songwriters, American Songs, explores the fact that the majority of this music was written exclusively by Jews.

Event: David Lehman will be speaking and he’ll be joined by pianist Jonathan Breit and vocalists Thomas Dolan, Hannah Oberman-Breindel, and Megan Stern
Tuesday, November 10th, at 8:15 pm
The 92nd Street Y
1395 Lexington Avenue, at 92nd Street
Tickets $27. More information and tickets here. Or call 212-415-5500.

Man of Constant Sorrow (The Leonard Lopate Show: Tuesday, 10 November 2009)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:58 GMT

Ralph Stanley looks back on his long career as the patriarch of old-time mountain music. In Man of Constant Sorrow, he tells the story of how music now popular around the world was created by two brothers from a dying southern mountain culture.

WNYC - The Leonard Lopate Show Archives: November, 2009

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:52 GMT

New Stu (Radiolab: Friday, 02 October 2009)

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

Stu Rasmussen, of Silverton, Oregon, is an avid metalworker, woodworker, and electrician - and in 2008 became our country's first transgendered mayor. News of his election swept the country, but what was it like at home?

The Scratch (Radiolab: Friday, 25 September 2009)

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:00 GMT

When executive producer Ellen Horne was expecting a baby, she really had no particular intention of becoming a self-made expert on a parasite named Toxoplasma Gondii. Robert Sapolsky explains to us why Ellen had reason to worry when she was scratched by her cat, and he traces the unlikely path that the parasite might follow, right up to the point that it rewires a rat's brain. Fuller Torrey details Toxoplasma's potential associations with other human disorders, possibly even schizophrenia.

A Cut Above (The Brian Lehrer Show: Monday, 26 October 2009)

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

First there were rock star chefs, then rock star mixologists – now it’s time to "meat" the new class of hip butchers. And, it’s one week and one day to election day - Bill Thompson discusses his home stretch strategy. And: the week-long series on inductees into the City Lore People’s Hall of Fame kicks off with DJ Rekha, who is fusing Hip Hop with Punjabi and Jamaican to make "basement bhangra."

Sex Abuse in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish Community (The Brian Lehrer Show: Friday, 30 October 2009)

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:08 GMT

A spike in sex crimes victims coming forward in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community is seen a positive first step for law enforcement. Charles Hynes, District Attorney for Kings County and Rhonnie Jaus, chief of the District Attorney's sex crime bureau, discuss their efforts to encourage reporting with various community partnerships, including one with Faye Wilbur, coordinator of family violence services to the Jewish community, Jewish Board of Family and Children Services in Borough Park.

But Am I Really Dead? (Radiolab: Friday, 18 September 2009)

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00 GMT

9. Booyah Mozart: Producer Lulu Miller brings us a conversation with geologist Jan Zalasiewicz about what we’ll leave behind … in a hundred million years. 10. Cyberternity: Producer Emily Voigt tells a story about a guy named Wyatt, fixed in time. 11. Goodbye: Paleontologist and professor Peter Ward describes the ultimate death, the death of the universe ... THE END.

The Jazz Loft Project

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:53 GMT

Explore The Jazz Loft Project Radio Series Jazz in the Flower District: Photographer W. Eugene Smith moved into a loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, in the heart of New York’s Flower District,....

Why Architecture Matters (The Leonard Lopate Show: Tuesday, 17 November 2009)

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:27 GMT

Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Paul Goldberger, who writes for The New Yorker, discusses the world of architecture. In Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, he looks at skyscrapers, museums, airports, monuments, suburban shopping malls, and white-brick apartment houses. His book Why Architecture Matters looks at how architecture affects us emotionally and intellectually.

Events: Paul Goldberger will be speaking and signing books
Tuesday, November 17, at 6:30 pm
The Tenement Museum
108 Orchard Street

He’ll also be speaking and signing books
Monday, November 23, at 6:30 pm
The Skyscraper Museum
39 Battery Place

Where's the Beef? (The Brian Lehrer Show: Monday, 02 November 2009)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:50 GMT

Author of the bestselling novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer, discusses his new work of non-fiction, Eating Animals, and his attempt to resolve the issue of meat-eating versus vegetarianism.

Upcoming event with Jonathan Safran Foer: November 16, 2009 Barnes and Noble Union Square, 7pm.

Numbers (Radiolab: Friday, 09 October 2009)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

Radiolab dedicates this hour to an exploration of numbers. Those pesky little things on the chalkboard. Where do they come from and what do they really do for us? We bring you stories on how they confuse us, connect us, and reveal secrets about us.

Arts Education and Graduation Rates (The Leonard Lopate Show: Tuesday, 17 November 2009)

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:22 GMT

A new study by the Center for Arts Education has found that schools that have increased access to arts education programs also have higher graduation rates. We’ll talk with Richard Kessler, CAE's Executive Director, and Doug Israel, Director of Research and Policy.

Read the report here.

Across the Ages (The Leonard Lopate Show: Wednesday, 28 October 2009)

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:46 GMT

On today’s show Robert Skidelsky talks about what we can learn from the economist John Maynard Keynes. Then, pianist Lang Lang discusses his upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall. And A. S. Byatt is here to talk about her latest novel, The Children’s Book. Plus, our Word Maven Patricia T. O’Conner answers your questions about the English language.

Are you running the New York City Marathon?
Tell us why you are running! Share your story as a comment here.

Come see our show live in the Greene Space on November 11th! Get tickets here.

Pros and Cons of Teaching to the Test (The Brian Lehrer Show: Wednesday, 11 November 2009)

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:29 GMT

Earlier this year, we collaborated with the Vote 18 Political Literacy Project, which looked to engage Pace High School students in the mayoral election. Education was a hot topic, and in particular the question of how much NYC schools should rely on standardized testing. Christopher Malone, associate professor of political science at Pace University, is organizer of the project. He's joined by Quincy Adonis and Melanie Lugo, two Pace High School students who participated in the project.

Stealing Time (The Brian Lehrer Show: Thursday, 19 November 2009)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:31 GMT

Don't have time to listen to the entire show? Listen to this and you might gain it. Sue Shellenbarger, "Work & Family" columnist and senior writer for The Wall Street Journal, offers tips on managing time, deadlines and life.

New Baboon (Radiolab: Friday, 02 October 2009)

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:00 GMT

John Horgan examines how Americans seem to have a completely different attitude toward war than we did thirty years ago. He takes us on a stroll through Hoboken, asking strangers one of the great unanswerable questions: "Will humans ever stop fighting wars?" Strangely, everyone seems to know the answer. Robert Sapolsky brings us farther afield - to eastern Africa, where a population of baboons defies his expectations of violent behavior. Robert is surprised to feel hopeful for a gentler future, but then primatologist Richard Wrangham asserts that their aggressive nature is innate, unchanging, and hanging over them like a guillotine.

WNYC - Slideshow: The Map as Art

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:52 GMT

Momofuku (The Leonard Lopate Show: Monday, 02 November 2009)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:39 GMT

Chef David Chang, owner of award-winning New York restaurants Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko, and Milk Bar, discusses his new cookbook. Momofuku tells the story behind the cuisine that has altered New York’s culinary landscape and shares recipes (including his famous pork buns).

Events: David Chang will be in conversation with co-author Peter Meehan and Anthony Bourdain
Monday, November 23, at 7:00 pm
Barnes & Noble, Union Square
33 East 17th Street

David Chang will be in conversation with co-author Peter Meehan and Mario Batali
Wednesday, December 2, at 7:00 pm
The Strand
828 Broadway, at 13th Street