Podcast appearances and mentions of Howard Street

On the evening of May 10, 1988, a passing driver on Howard Street in Brockton, MA, stopped to investigate something unusual on the side of the road. When the driver got closer to what they thought was a bag, they realized it was actually the body of twenty-four-year-old Anthony LoConte, bleeding badly from injuries to his face and head.Initially, investigators believed LoConte was the victim of a hit-and-run accident; however, when the coroner examined the body, he discovered a bullet hole in the back of LoConte's head, indicating that he'd been murdered.It took twelve years for investigators to track down LoConte's killer, but in the winter of 2000, California Highway Patrol arrested Robert Morganti on drug charges and a quick background check connected them to a 1988 warrant for Morganti for the murder of Anthony LoConte. Robert Morganti was extradited back to Massachusetts, where he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for LoConte's murder. However, due to a controversial 2024 law concerning life sentences for young offenders, Robert Morganti could be granted parole in the near future.Consider signing the petition by visiting https://www.change.org/p/help-uncle-tony-uphold-mandatory-life-sentences-in-massachusetts-bill-s942 .Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!ReferencesBoston Globe. 1988. "Police believe drugs are linked to slaying of Brockton man." Boston Globe, May 12: 35.Boyle, Maureen. 2000. "Murder suspect caught in Calif." The Enterprise (Brockton, MA), March 21: 1.Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Robert J. Morganti. 2009. SJC-09830 (Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Plymouth, November 25).Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Robert J. Morganti. 2014. SJC-11281 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, February 12).Peterson, Dave. 2000. "Murder suspect's long flght ends in Modesto." Modesto Bee, March 21: 1.Stern, Amelia. 2025. 'No remorse': Taunton woman devastated by ruling that could free her brother's killer. April 25. Accessed May 04, 2025. https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/courts/2025/04/25/taunton-ma-brockton-anthony-loconte-murder-victim-sjc-robert-morganti-parole/83271252007/.Stay in the know - wondery.fm/morbid-wondery.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week's Mind Your Business leads off with an important update regarding the Blue Ridge Parkway.Summer and fall travelers love a good festival as much as local residents enjoy the influence and entertainment the arts bring to the High Country. Mark Freed, Director of Cultural Resources for the Town of Boone, previews Boonerang 2025, and provides an update on how Howard Street construction will be handled during the four-day downtown festival.Festivals and events don't happen without the hard work of the gig economy and arts industry. Both non-profit and for-profit arts sector accounts for $47 million annually in Watauga County, including $2.1 million in generated tax revenue. Amber Bateman, Executive Director of the Watauga Arts Council shares the importance of the 2025 summer and fall seasons for an industry that lost enormous revenue and market opportunity post Hurricane Helene. She'll also share how the Watauga Arts Council works to support the industry while working to inspire the next generation of artists and makers.Mind Your Business is written and produced weekly by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. This podcast is made possible thanks to the sponsorship support of Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.Catch the show each Thursday morning at 9AM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.Support the show

Who are the two people that have the most impact on the High Country's outdoor economy? Mother Nature and Old Man Winter! Our opportunities for recreation are not only a magnet for visitors, but they are also a core component of the quality of life that makes this region so attractive to residents.On this week's Mind Your Business, we hear the latest on the State of the Outdoor Economy. Andy Hill is the Watauga Riverkeeper and Regional Director for Mountain True. He shares the latest on post-storm river cleanup efforts, improved water quality, and the latest on where and what types of fish are biting. We'll also hear from River Girl Fishing Company's Renata Dos Santos, as she gives an account of the status of the river for tubing and kayaking, what outfitters see daily, and what they need most at this point in our Helene recovery.We wrap up with Howard Street construction news and details about the sale of a legacy local business.Mind Your Business is a weekly production of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. The program is made possible thanks to sponsorship support from Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.Catch the show each Thursday morning at 9AM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.Support the show

Since when did the stock market start following the High Country weather pattern? If you don't like what you see, wait a few days!The economic ups and downs of today have an impact on the stability and predictability many High Country businesses. On this week's Mind Your Business, we examine the long-term impacts from the daily financial volatility we see every time we look at the news. We define some "terms of the moment," to provide basic understanding of what we are seeing and look at how today's economic landscape is shaping the hurricane recovery efforts Northwest North Carolina. We get these details and more during our quarterly check-in with Jonathan Allen of Allen Wealth Management.Next week's groundbreaking on the Howard Street revitalization project has stirred excitement throughout the community. We hear from two long-time Howard Street business owners about their hopes and expectations for the project, and what they need most from customers and the Town of Boone during construction.Mind Your Business is written and produced weekly by the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. The program is made possible thanks to the sponsorship support of Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.Catch the show each Thursday morning at 9AM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.Support the show

Boone is soon to check another long-discussed project off the list! On this week's Mind Your Business, we share the details of the Howard Street Revitalization Project, including information about the groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for April 14th. Lane Moody, Director of the Downtown Boone Development Association discusses project details, communication plans, and how this project has been designed to enhance pedestrian access for both events and day-to-day use.We also hear the in-the-moment reaction from the 2025 4 Under 40 honorees.Mind Your Business is a weekly production of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. This program is made possible thanks to sponsorship support from Appalachian Commercial Real Estate. Catch the show each Thursday morning at 9AM on WATA (1450AM & 96.5FM) in Boone.Support the show

Cultivate Catskill is an all volunteer group dedicated to the beautification of their village. It all started over a dozen years ago when Shelly Pulver, who has lived in Catskill for 55 years and President of the organization, saw an email about hanging baskets. She thought that installing them along Main Street was something that could be done. Over a dozen years later, the village, with a population just under 4000, has over 90 hanging baskets along both Main Street and Bridge Street to the delight of the local residents.. Joining Shelly in this endeavor is her long-time friend, Robin Smith, who is a native Catskillian, Treasurer of the organization, and has been a Master Gardener Volunteer for over 20 years. The two of them along with another dozen volunteers get together every year to help plant pride in their community. In addition to the hanging baskets, they install brightly colored annuals in numerous urns and other containers, care for multiple pocket parks adding seasonal flowers, and  make the downtown shopping district attractive and inviting for visitors and residents alike. The local Tree Council, spearheaded by Hudson Talbott and now part of Cultivate Catskill, has planted over 76 trees in the village along Main Street and more recently in the cemetery. They even worked with the Village Board to create a Tree ordinance to protect and maintain the local trees. Their combined efforts have contributed to a kind of renaissance of the downtown area. To get started they worked with a national organization, America in Bloom, which helped to prioritize their efforts and provided a framework that helps revitalize other municipalities. With their guidance and a lot of hard work, the Bank of Greene County and the Department of Public Works have become great supportive partners in this initiative. To fund their efforts, they have sold memorial bricks, held cookie sales, applied for grants, hosted a Holiday House tour, and still hold monthly Trunk Sales (on the 2nd Saturday of the month between May and October). They decorate for all seasons including funding Holiday snowflake lights (complete with swags that cross the street). Working with local merchants, they organized 'Caturday' and Winter Solstice Strolls events, became an official non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and have gradually expanded their focus beyond Main Street. Uncle Sam's Bridge becomes a feature during the summer months adorned with window-boxes overflowing with multi-colored flowers. The Howard Street and Mott Street slides (alleyways) get attention, as do the Blue Star Park, Policeman's Park, Leggio Park, and now Dutchman's Landing. Recently, working with the local Fortnightly Club, they built a Sprayground (a.k.a. a spray playground) at Elliott Park for children and adults to enjoy during the summer months. Volunteers are always welcome especially to weed and water. Listen in to learn more and potentially apply this approach to your community. Hosts: Tim Kennelty and Jean Thomas Guests; Shelly Pulver and Robin Smith Photo by: Teresa Golden Production Support: Linda Aydlett, Deven Connelly, Teresa Golden, Tally Hahn, Tim Kennelty, Amy Meadow, Xandra Powers, Annie Scibienski, Robin Smith, Jean Thomas Resources

Goodman Theatre's GeNarrations program is a FREE storytelling program that engages adults aged 55 and over in writing and performance workshops that nurture the creative spirit.  Genarrations participants were then encouraged to write their own stories based on themes of lies and betrayal.This podcast is base on a recent reading of participants from the Wille Whyte Park location on the 1600 block of Howard Street in Rogers Park.

Tis the season for year in review content, and we will not disappoint!Over the next few weeks, our Mind Your Business episodes will feature local leaders with conversation around the year in review, but also what is to come in 2025. Our first guest is Town of Boone Mayor Tim Futrelle. We will discuss Helene recovery, the recently approved Howard Street development project, and the approval and eventual rollout of Boone Next. Mind Your Business is a weekly (for the most part) production of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce. The program is made possible thanks to sponsorship from Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.  Support the show

Today on LIVE! Daily News, Assistant Police Chief Craig Thomason gives a press conference regarding very serious situations regarding a stabbing and a murder. Also, Howard Street is closed for construction and Mountainview Park has a new playground. Today's Top Stories: UPDATE: Two Central High School Students Stabbed at McDonald's in San Angelo (10/01/2024)O.C. Fisher Unable to be Restocked Due to Low Oxygen Levels (10/01/2024)San Angelo Police Investigating Shooting on South David Street (10/01/2024)Texas Prepares to Execute Man Convicted of Multiple Murders (10/01/2024)Driver Disregards Red Light, Crashes Into San Angelo Police Detective (10/01/2024)Howard Street Road Closures Begin October 1st (10/01/2024)‘American Pickers' Star Frank Fritz Passes Away at 58 (10/01/2024)West Texas VA Health Care System to Hold Medication Take Back Day (10/01/2024)Texas CBP Officers Seize $17 Million in Meth Hidden in Coconut Shipment (10/01/2024)Crash on Chadbourne Sends Both Drivers to Hospital (10/01/2024)Crash at S. Koenigheim and W. Twohig in San Angelo This Morning (10/01/2024)Could Texas Turn Blue Without Straight-Ticket Voting? (10/01/2024)Terroristic Threat and Burglary Top Booking Report (10/01/2024)GoGo GoGi Korean BBQ Temporarily Closes Due to Road Construction (09/30/2024)Abilene Police Investigating Report of Weapon at Junior High (09/30/2024)Single-Vehicle Rollover on US 67 (09/30/2024)San Angelo's Newest Playground Opens at Mountainview Park (09/30/2024) 

Merchants in San Francisco's South of Market who have already been dealing with a downturn in business following the pandemic, say a major construction project in making things even worse. Crews are replacing water pipes and the sewer system, first along a stretch of Folsom Street and then moving on to Howard Street, with the work expected to last until late 2026. For more on this, KCBS Radio news anchors Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising spoke to KCBS Insider Phil Matier.

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(May 23, 2024) Grocery costs are high, so folks on tight budgets are learning how to grow their own food at a Potsdam gardening class; a new poll finds Republicans and Democrats agree that New York should ban social media platforms from using addictive algorithms to kids, and lawmakers are listening; and the history of an unlikely feminist icon from northern New York. In the late 1800s, Josephine McCarty was put on trial for trying to kill her children's father when he abandoned them, then performing abortions to support her kids. Her story is chronicled in the book "The Abortionist of Howard Street" by R.E. Fulton.

(May 3, 2024) Lobbyist... doctor... spy... accused murderer. Just a few words that describe Josephine McCarty, the "abortionist of Howard Street."

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Today on LIVE! Daily News, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office arrested a 37-year-old woman after a search warrant uncovered 8.5 ounces of meth. A stern warning has been thrown down in the Ray Vera murder trial, and we also have an update on the Howard Street construction along with a weather forecast for the weekend. Our interview for this edition is Keep San Angelo Beautiful's Executive Director Charlotte Anderson, and Ryan Chadwick updates us on local sports happenings. Today's Top Stories: TGC Sheriff's Make Drug Arrest and Seizure at Local Hotel (04/04/2024)VIDEO: Package Thief Uses Trash Bag For Cover (04/04/2024)Judge Warns of 'Wall of Law Enforcement' Amid Tensions in Whiskey River Murder Trial (04/04/2024)Afternoon Traffic Snarl at Main & 3rd St Following Crash (04/04/2024)The World's Oldest Man Has Passed Away (04/04/2024)Elderly Driver in Jeep Injures Pedestrian in College Hills (04/04/2024)Who Thinks They Can Catch the Biggest Fish? (04/04/2024)Mariachi Night to Support Music Education (04/04/2024)Here's An Update On The Howard St. Construction (04/04/2024)Angelo State Trumpet Ensemble Presents 'American Music' (04/04/2024)Did Anyone Win The Powerball Jackpot? (04/04/2024)Deadline for Filing Property Tax Renditions is Near (04/04/2024)Here's What Happened to Those Illegal Immigrant Rioters in El Paso (04/04/2024)Forgery & Firearms Arrests Top Wednesday Booking Report (04/04/2024) 

Jen Sabella, the Director of Strategy and co-founder of Block Club Chicago, joins Bob Sirott to share the latest Chicago neighborhood stories. She provides details on: Howard Street Improvement Plan Calls For Community Plazas, Public Art And More: For the first time, Chicago and Evanston came together to create a plan to improve the Howard Street […]

Prepare to be enlightened on the trailblazing advancements in Mass Timber Construction that are set to reshape our urban landscapes sustainably. We kick off this episode with a celebration of UTS Sydney's Associate Professor Feeney's grant victory, pioneering adhesive-free cross laminated timber—a move that could catalyze a green revolution in our buildings. Moving north, the Canadian Wood Council's fire compartment tests showcase mass timber's resilience, a testament to its reliability in the most extreme scenarios. Venture further into our discussion, and you'll discover the strategic moves shaping the future of mass timber globally. Australia's commitment to expanding forestry plantations is a bold step towards meeting the softwood log production demand by 2050. We also spotlight Oricon's generous backing of the University of Queensland's Industry Transformation Research Hub, set to foster innovations for a low carbon and circular economy. And we can't forget the HushLucker Group's strategic tie-up with Element 5, heralding a new dawn for North American cross laminated timber and glulam structures. Wrap up with us as we explore Andrew Ball's innovative project at 960 Howard Street in San Francisco, embodying the potential of mass timber to revolutionize urban development.Support the show

In 1924, Calvin Coolidge delivered the very first radio address from the White House, the Summer Olympics were held in Paris, and...and...Owsley Brown took barrels of whiskey with different mash bills to a warehouse on Howard Street in Louisville, KY and bottled them as Old Forester. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of this momentous occasion, Old Forester has released the 10 year old "1924" bourbon. This new edition to the Whiskey Row Series is 100 proof and diverges from the classic Old Forester mash bill. But what does it taste like? That is the question. You'll definitely want to hear our take as we laugh our way through another week of bourbon tasting. You'll get to hear our thoughts on this new release and how it stacks up against a heavyweight of the Old Forester lineup. -------------------------- Socials IG: https://www.instagram.com/themashupky FB: https://www.facebook.com/themashupky Partnership Visit Bourbonoutfitter.com and enter code THEMASHUP for a special discount or visit bourbonoutfitter.com/THEMASHUP Music: All the Fixings by Zachariah Hickman Thank you so much for listening!

In Part 2, Rudy picks up where he left off in Part 1, talking about the origin of United Playaz and a race riot at Balboa High School back in 1994.   Rudy gathered those students who'd been involved in the violence to talk and determine their own solutions. And that's exactly what they did. They told Rudy and other adults that there was nothing to do at the school, and out of that discovery, the school implemented many programs to better engage kids.   In 2005, Mauricio Vela gave Rudy the blessing to bring United Playaz to Rudy's home hood of South of Market. Rudy shares that story of first getting funding, then getting their building on Howard Street. They moved in around 2008/2009. And in 2015, UP bought the building.   We talk about the origin of UP's motto: “It takes the hood to save the hood …” That story starts in New Orleans post-Katrina, where Rudy saw what the people were doing for themselves to recover when officials at every level failed them. The phrase was inspired by what he saw there, including drug dealers, drug users, and "thugs" helping out in the community against unimaginable tragedy and stiff odds.   Today, UP has chapters all over the country, but their scope has evolved over time. Rudy shares a story of having talked with Stanley "Tookie" Williams, who was in San Quentin at the time. Tookie told Rudy to "work with the little kids," not just those at the high school level. Nowadays, as Rudy puts it, they work with every age group, “from the elementary to the penitentiary (their prison re-entry program).” Some in UP programs had been locked up for 30, 40, and 50 years. Some of them work with young kids today. We end this podcast with talk of changes in the South of Market, the massive gentrification in that neighborhood that's occurred over the last several decades, and the relationships Rudy has built to counteract that.   We recorded this episode at the United Playaz Clubhouse in South of Market in November 2023.   Photography by Jeff Hunt

Fentanyl-related deaths among teens more than tripled across the U.S. from 2019 to 2021. And the CDC reports that two thirds of teens who died had someone nearby who didn't provide an overdose response. Now San Francisco high school students are signing up for training sessions on how to recognize drug abuse and reverse overdoses. And it's not just teens who want to help. City residents are carrying overdose reversal nasal spray in case they come across someone in need of rescuing. But reversing an overdose isn't quite as simple as it might sound. In this sixth and final episode of our series on San Francisco and the overdose crisis, we hear about an organization dedicated to training people on how to reverse overdoses, and we drop in on a session to find out how it's done.Narcan resources mentioned in the episode:San Francisco residents can get Narcan from the Community Behavioral Health Services Pharmacy at 1380 Howard Street. Detailed instructions on how to administer Narcan can be found on the DOPE website at harmreduction.org and on YouTube "How to Use Narcan with the DOPE Project."The DOPE Project conducts Narcan distribution and in person trainings at the 6th Street Harm Reduction Center at 117 6th Street, during operating hours, Tuesday to Friday 11 am to 5 pm. 

Police and business owners think they may have caught a prolific San Francisco graffiti vandal who tags “Goer” on storefronts and walls across Downtown neighborhoods. Brian Wabl, 41, of San Francisco, was arrested Sunday morning on suspicion of vandalism after a witness directed officers to stop him on Howard Street between Seventh and Eighth streets in SoMa. Wabl was still in jail as of Monday afternoon, according to official records.Adam Mesnick, owner of the SoMa restaurant Deli Board, posted a video to X/Twitter Sunday documenting the arrest. "I walked out of my house, and I saw a guy rolling down the street on a scooter. A couple of cars turned on my block at Langton and Howard. A neighbor had called in an incident and was flagging down police, screaming, 'There he is!'” Mesnick told The Standard. “Police followed him down the block. They arrested him, and you can see my [video] from where he was sitting on the sidewalk on Folsom."Support the show

In a surprising turn of events, the concrete jungles of Downtown San Francisco are seeing a shocking slump in commercial real estate prices. Soaring skyscrapers that once commanded sky-high prices are being traded for dimes on the dollar, if not less. So, if you've been keeping an eye on the 180 Howard Street building, you'd know that Ellis Partners and Bob House Group snagged this once coveted piece of prime estate for just $62 million, a bargain compared to its anticipated $85 million price tag. But wait, there's more! This 13-story giant used to be worth over a hundred million. Now, isn't that an interesting turn of the tables?But let's take a moment to examine why. You see, as comfortable as a work-from-home scenario might seem, it's turning the city's commercial spaces into ghost towns. To put things into perspective, our Howard Street edifice is neighbors with Tenderloin and the downtown core, areas which were once bustling with professionals. Now, with a drastic drop in footfall, it's more like a ghost town and real estate prices are feeling the crunch. Not to mention the urban challenges of San Francisco - car theft, petty crime, and... well... let's just call them sanitary issues. All of this combined with a decrease in office occupancy is causing commercial property prices to spiral downwards, faster than a toupee in a hurricane. As for when we'll hit rock bottom, that remains the multi-million dollar question.#SanFranciscoRealEstate #CommercialPropertySlump #RemoteWorkEffectsSupport the show

In Part 3, we pick up where we left off in Part 2, with Mike's story of arriving at Bluxome Street early in the morning on Dec. 4, 2022. His San Francisco legacy business, Babylon Burning, was on fire. Mike recounts the SFFD firefighters taking care when breaking into the 63 Bluxome art gallery doors that led to Babylon Burning. It was Mike, his wife Judy, and his brother, Clam's, gallery, and it was special. Firefighters also saved finished orders that were just inside the doorway to the screenprinting shop. Some fire had trickled in, on the ceiling and in the back of the shop. But most of the damage came from water, as is the case in most fires. They saved as much as they could and got to work getting that stuff to storage. Rains were on the way. But their friends, Balboa Theater owner Adam Bergeron and his wife, told them it was time to go home and sleep. They took their friends' advice, but Judy was already at work looking for a new spot. They lucked out getting an insurance broker that Mike had an immediate connection with. Judy liked him, too. Meanwhile, the task of salvaging what there was to salvage and getting it into storage began in earnest. The heavy rains didn't stop them. The work was under way. Once they got the main business computer out and back to their coworker, Seth's, apartment, they could really get things going again. Friends with much smaller shops offered their spaces. They now credit their team, their friends, and the community with helping them keep the big ship going. They also got a lot of help from the folks at San Francisco's Legacy Business Program. Judy was working with the realtor and they began looking at spots around SoMA. They brought the broker to the old Babylon site so he could get an idea of who they were and what they were looking for. They ran through a checklist of things they needed—enough power, gas, walls that could be fashioned into a gallery. After only three weeks, they found 939 Howard Street. It seemed too big at first. And the landlord's construction crews stored equipment there, so it was hella cluttered. But they liked the front room and could already envision a gallery there. There was a strange middle area that intrigued them. And the back provided ample space for their new shop. Mike and Judy brought Seth to see the space, and it lifted him out of a funk he'd been in since the fire. They knew that they had to show some big-time love to everyone who got them out of the wilderness and into this new phase. In late-May, they threw a party with music, art, a taco truck, and filled with members of the community who love Babylon Burning. Jeff was there. It was magic. Now that they're operational, they're planning more events, including a July 29 benefit for The Stud collective, as that group continues the search for a new permanent home. Follow Babylon Burning to stay up to date. And please consider them for any screenprinting needs you might have. Also follow Gallery 939 for updates on art shows and other events. Photography by Jeff Hunt

When COVID hit, in March 2020, Babylon Burning kept working. In Part 2 of our episode on San Francisco's oldest screenprinting ship and their new location on Howard Street, we talk with owners Mike Lynch and Judy Tam-Lynch about the several years of hardship that lead to their new location. It started with the worldwide shutdown back in 2020. They were lucky enough to already have orders from essential businesses around The City. Two that Mike cites are Cheese Plus and Balboa Theater. Then they started to pick up schools around town. And then, the City and County of San Francisco. And so on, and so on. We rewind slightly to establish the COVID timeline for Babylon Burning: Love Letters to The City (our show), Jan. 11 thru Feb. 14, 2020 first citywide shutdown, initially for two weeks, March 17 stay-at-home orders extended through May, March 31 Around the time that PPP loans started to disburse, they had been coasting in low gear, doing just enough business to pay their employees and their landlord. Those loans saved them, just barely. Winter 2020 brought more shutdowns and hardship, but they weathered the storm. Vaccines started rolling out, and that provided another upswing. Toward the summer of 2021, they started doing outdoor shows and other events on Bluxome Street (Jeff went to one of these and they were awesome). These street parties made it feel like they had turned a corner. The new clients—essential, small SF businesses and schools—came back for more. Thanks to the boom in business, they were able to retain or replace their staff, some of whom have been with Babylon Burning for more than 15 years. And the printing veterans are able to teach the rookies. They were coasting along, recovering from the deepest impacts of the pandemic. And then, on December 4, 2022, a whole new tragedy struck. Early that morning, Bay Alarm called Mike. "You have an active fire at your shop. It's pretty bad." (Coincidentally, there had been a small arson fire outside the shop door about three months earlier, which prompted Mike and his crew to check up on their fire insurance.) Mike raced down 280. As he approached the Sixth Street off-ramp, he could see the fire. It was bad. Really bad. As he turned the corner onto Bluxome, the small street was lit up with flashing SFFD lights. He was brought to tears seeing it all. The fire had run through the upper levels of the building and its roof. The fire department used 500,000 gallons of water to extinguish the flames. Mike ends Part 2 with a vivid description of firefighters' efforts atop ladders to put the fire out while also risking the entire roof's collapse. Check back next week for Part 3 and the conclusion of our episode on the new Babylon Burning. We recorded Part 2 of this episode at Babylon Burning on Howard Street in SOMA in June 2023. Photography by Jeff Hunt

Beave officially recommends "Lane Call" at the Factory Theater on Howard Street. You'll absolutely love this play that is simultaneously nostalgic and timeless. You don't need to have lived in the Chicagoland area to enjoy this terrific show. Tickets on sale now! Also, Len celebrates the Cubs' latest hot streak. Beave bemoans the Guardians' pitch woes. With the 2023 NBA Finals in the books, Len and Beave get nostalgic over Michael Jordan's greatest NBA Finals game. Plus "I Recommend", Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums, Len's Favorite 500 Albums, and much more!

Welcome to the penultimate episode of Season 5! We're revisiting our 2018 podcast with Babylon Burning's Mike Lynch in Part 1. Part 2 next week will be a talk with Mike and his wife, Judy, about their new location on Howard Street. We'll also chat about their new art space: Gallery 939. We recorded Part 1 of this podcast at Babylon Burning in the South of Market in August 2018. Photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Article Referenced:   Noel, Marnie PharmD, BCPP; et all. The Howard Street Method: A Community Pharmacy-Led Low Dose Overlap Buprenorphine Initiation Protocol for Individuals Using Fentanyl. Journal of Addiction Medicine.   ASAM Resources:  2020 National Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder  OUD Treatment Education  Sign Up for the Q&S Newsletter Sign Up for the ASAM Weekly ASAM Membership

The Howard Street Method: A Community Pharmacy-Led Low Dose Overlap Buprenorphine Initiation Protocol for Individuals Using Fentanyl Journal of Addiction Medicine Concerns about precipitated withdrawal can be a barrier for patients initiating buprenorphine. This case series examined the implementation of buprenorphine low dose overlap initiation (LDOI) utilizing a community pharmacy. A blister pack was provided with a 7-day titration schedule increasing from 0.5 mg to 4 mg daily. Of the twenty-six patients who started treatment, fourteen completed the protocol with 79% reporting no withdrawal symptoms and 21% reporting only mild symptoms. At thirty days of follow-up, 71% were still receiving buprenorphine, and at 180 days 43% were retained in care but only 14% were still receiving buprenorphine. The study suggests that this community-based pharmacy approach is novel and may offer a new way to initiate buprenorphine in high-risk populations. Read this issue of the ASAM Weekly Subscribe to the ASAM Weekly Visit ASAM

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, Rob Lee interviews Victoria Adams-Kennedy, a Baltimore-based writer whose work explores the complexities of Black Love, and they discuss her influences, influences from Zora Neale Hurston and much more. About the GuestVictoria Adams-Kennedy is a Baltimore-based writer whose work explores the complexities of Black Love. She has published two novels and contributed to three anthologies. In addition to her writing, Victoria is the founder of Zora's Den, a social and support group for Black women writers. Inspired by legendary writers like Zora Neale Hurston, Zora's Den aims to cultivate and celebrate Black sisterhood in Baltimore and beyond.Victoria and her co-founders, Clynthia Burton Graham and Melissa Brooks-Cuffee, host monthly readings at the Eubie Blake Cultural Center on Howard Street. The group has published two volumes of The Fire Inside, an anthology of poems and stories by its members. Additionally, Victoria leads writing sessions online, offering story prompts and providing a virtual space for her followers to share their triumphs and rejections.With an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore, Victoria is dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black women writers. As she says, "Zora's Den is a safe place for Black women to be true to their stories and experiences without feeling like they are too different for others to accept or understand."The Truth in This Art podcast's current season is sponsored by The Gutierrez Memorial Fund and The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, both of which are dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Baltimore and beyond. The Gutierrez Memorial Fund focuses on supporting artists and art organizations that serve Maryland communities, while The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation invests in innovative individuals, projects, and ideas. We appreciate their support in making this season happen. ★ Support this podcast ★

This week we sit down with Chuck Patella of Howard Street Brewing to learn about the most northern Chicago brewery in Rogers Park. Theme music provided by Myke Kelli (@mykekelli) Break and outro music provided by @FluidMinds Check out all our episodes at www.themaltinghour.com

This summer a Howard Street homeowner contacted the historical society about a contraption boxed up in an old barn. We investigated the device and researched the story. Not all inventions are successful...

In 2001, a freight train derailed in Baltimore, causing a fire that burned for five days and over $12 million in damages.

In 2001, a freight train derailed in Baltimore, causing a fire that burned for five days and over $12 million in damages.

Also in the news: 14 shot in East Garfield Park were holding a vigil at time of shooting; Taylor Swift to stop in Chicago this summer; Rogers Park and Evanston team up to improve Howard Street corridor and more.

Also in the news: 14 shot in East Garfield Park were holding a vigil at time of shooting; Taylor Swift to stop in Chicago this summer; Rogers Park and Evanston team up to improve Howard Street corridor and more.

Also in the news: 14 shot in East Garfield Park were holding a vigil at time of shooting; Taylor Swift to stop in Chicago this summer; Rogers Park and Evanston team up to improve Howard Street corridor and more.

Shamus Toomey, Editor in Chief and co-founder of Block Club Chicago, joins Wendy Snyder (in for Bob Sirott) to share the latest Chicago neighborhood stories. Shamus had details on: A Chicago Man Quietly Left Behind $11 Million — The Largest Unclaimed Estate In American History: A Gage Park man’s $11 million estate will be divided among […]

This episode profiles the strangulation murder of 15-year-old Tara Allison Gladden, who was murdered by pedophile, 28-year-old Curtis Aden Jamison, on July 22, 1993. Killed so she would not testify against him for upcoming statutory rape charges, after Curtis strangled the teen, he left her body in a drainage tunnel under Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia. This episode also profiles the unsolved shooting murder of 52-year-old Glen H. Footman. Labeled as a possible hate crime, Glen was shot on September 22, 2008, a little after midnight, in the 600 block of N. Howard Street in the Mount Vernon area of Baltimore City, while he strolled hand in hand with his partner. Glen suffered physically and emotionally before dying from complications from the shooting, 14 months later, on November 9, 2009.

Rob Broadfield, professional food critic, joined Liam Bartlett on 6PR Mornings for his Monday morning chat, Eating for a Living. This week Rob spoke about the new restaurants, bars and cafes opening around Perth, including:  Terrarium, which has launched in Howard Street in the CBD and, according to Rob, has some great cocktails La Lune restaurant opens in September on George Street in East Fremantle and has a 1980s French bistro style. The Rowing Shed on the river at Mount Pleasant will open as a mega restaurant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ALSO: A campaign called Our Time Is Now aims to help Vermonters with disabilities join the workforce during a major shortage; Two state troopers have been put on paid leave during an investigation into an incident that seriously injured a Newfane man; Two property owners on Howard Street in Burlington are looking to remove one of the largest trees in the city.

Ottobar owner Tecla Tesnau joins the podcast to talk about the legendary Baltimore rock club. From its days as a tiny, stinky bar on Davis Street to its current status as a renowned music venue that attracts national acts, Tesnau recounts the entire journey. She shares countless only-in-Baltimore moments—including the best thing John Waters ever said to her, her favorite band residency at Ottobar to date, how the city kept her spirits up during the darkest days of the pandemic, and what musician she would give her left arm to see perform on Howard Street.

Kevin Coelho is a life-long lover of film and one of the three founding members of the Baltimore Video Collective.ABOUT BEYOND VIDEOBeyond Video is a volunteer-run home-video library based in Baltimore. We are located at 2545 N. Howard Street. Our current public hours are every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 3-9pm. Our inventory is crowdsourced by disc donations.Beyond Video is owned and operated by the Baltimore Video Collective. The BVC is dedicated to the continued growth and circulation of a world-class home-video collection representing cinema of all eras, regions, and genres on the DVD, blu-ray, and VHS formats. So far we've built a library of 21,000 movies and counting, one donation at a time!Since the prevalence of streaming services and video on demand have changed the economics of physical media and closed the overwhelming majority of video stores across the country, we have reinvented the video store under a more sustainable model: a non-profit, volunteer-based community video library.We view physical home video and the culture surrounding it as pivotal to our community's access to film history. We also see Beyond Video as a community resource that encourages and amplifies the open-minded exchange of ideas, awareness of different cultures and perspectives, and the fueling of creativity in Baltimore and the surrounding region.After several years of planning, we opened our doors to the public in 2018 with just under 9,000 titles. Despite COVID, we're going stronger than ever today, with over 21,000 titles and a robust membership-support group.The Truth In This ArtThe Truth In This Art is a podcast interview series supporting vibrancy and development of Baltimore & beyond's arts and culture.Mentioned in this episode:Beyond VideoTo find more amazing stories from the artist and entrepreneurial scenes in & around Baltimore, check out my episode directory.Stay in TouchNewsletter sign-upSupport my podcastShareable link to episode★ Support this podcast ★

The needle has moved on several long-planned projects in Downtown Boone. Lane Moody, Executive Director of the Downtown Boone Development Association, joins us on this week's installment of Mind Your Business. She discusses recent additions to parking and the addition of a new loading zone, along with continued progress on the streetscape program. We also hear the latest timeline on the Howard Street development project, and how the transformation of an old industrial district will bring meaningful change to the downtown landscape.Mind Your Business is produced weekly through a partnership between Appalachian Commercial Real Estate and High Country Radio.Support the show (https://www.boonechamber.com/membership-information)

  Note: Later this year, the Northside Development Group will mark its 10th year since it was founded to be a land bank to guide development and protect the community's interests on the Northside. The NDG partnered with the Northside Voyageurs, Northside residents and the City of Spartanburg to launch the Northside Initiative, the most comprehensive neighborhood revitalization effort in the city's history. To mark this moment, the City has been sharing a series of stories and podcasts about the Northside Initiative. You can check out part one of our podcast series  and part two .   If you've driven down Howard Street lately in Spartanburg's Northside neighborhood, you've undoubtedly seen a lot of construction. How did all of that happen and what does it mean for the neighborhood and the people who live there?   Well, it starts with a plan, takes a detour with a legal tussle with a billionaire NFL owner over control of one of Spartanburg's most challenging substandard apartment complexes, and ends with an inclusive development boom that will see a long-depopulated Northside filling again, this time as a mixed-income model for growth and sustainability that uplifts both those who call the area home and Spartanburg as a whole.   Today on the final installment of our Northside Rising podcast series, we're taking a look at the story of the neighborhood from 2014's master planning process to today's revitalization-in-progress. Listen below for more. 

On the day the vampire gigolo, Shane Chartres-Abbott is due to give evidence in his trial, he is intercepted outside his house on Howard St and shot down in cold blood. Real crime investigator Adam Shand reports on the beginning of a murder investigation. For more episodes download the LiSTNR app See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jackie Zykan, Master Taster for Old Forester, is back on the Bourbon Lens Podcast.  This time, we talk about the unique, new offering from her 117 Series; Warehouse K Barrels.  We discuss the various warehouses of Old Forester and what makes some of them unique and different; including the spiders of Warehouse K.  A true bourbon nerd is going to love the insight Jackie provides in this episode.  We discuss the construction of various warehouses, heat cycling warehouses, finding the perfect balance of proof and flavor, and more.  Enjoy this episode and be sure to let us know what your favorite Old Forester Whisky is! We are thankful for everyone who has supported us. A huge shoutout to our growing Patreon Community as well! We'd appreciate it if you can take the time to give us feedback on our podcast. If you enjoy our content, consider giving us a 5 star rating on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review, and tell a fellow bourbon lover about our show. Follow  us @BourbonLens on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.  And please check out our Patreon to learn how you can support our endeavors, earn Bourbon Lens swag, be part of future barrel picks, and more. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, please email us at TheBourbonLens@Gmail.com. Visit our website BourbonLens.com to check out our blog posts, or even purchase your own Bourbon Lens tasting glass or t-shirt. Cheers,Scott, Jake, & MichaelBourbon Lens   Press Release: Old Forester's The 117 Series: Warehouse K Barrels Batch   Louisville, Ky. (August 11, 2021) – Today, Old Forester Distilling Co. announces the release of the second expression in the 117 Series -- a blend of barrels from historic Warehouse K.    The 117 Series is a limited-expression lineup created in Spring 2021, directed by the unique palate of Old Forester Master Taster Jackie Zykan.  117 Series: Warehouse K features a blend of barrels aged on different floors from a warehouse known to produce exceptional liquid. Constructed in 1953, Warehouse K uses the time-honored tradition of heat-cycling and has long been one of Old Forester's favorite places for Single Barrel expressions.  "Warehouse K has gained a cult following among bourbon connoisseurs,” Zykan said. “This blend is a representation across multiple floors and locations within this warehouse, giving a more holistic example of the profile its barrels yield."  This year marks Old Forester's 151st anniversary, making it the only bourbon brand with an uninterrupted history, sold by the same family company before, during, and after Prohibition.   Old Forester Warehouse K is bottled at 110 proof and will be available starting August 12th at the retail shop at Old Forester Distilling Co. for $49.99 in limited quantities -- and at select Kentucky stores.  Visit OldForester.com for more information.  Distillery Notes:  Color:   Rich honey  Aroma: On the nose, creamy chocolate, caramel, and brown sugar lead, with a hint of golden raisin and a foreshadowing of the pepper the finish will unveil.  Taste: The palate brings with it a full-bodied and rich viscosity, peripheral spice, and a  touch of black cherry alongside bitter molasses.  Finish: The robust yet balanced spice finish completes the story of the well-known complexity which is the K warehouse.  Links: Old Forester - First Bottled Bourbon™ 95: Old Forester Master Taster, Jackie Zykan - Bourbon Lens  Old Forester 117 Series: Warehouse K Bourbon Review  Image Credit: Old Forester and Brown-Forman The Legacy of Brown-Forman begins with Old Forester - Old Forester Bourbon History & a Legacy of “Firsts” 1846 George Garvin Brown (GGB) was born in Munfordville, KY. 1870 GGB, a young pharmaceutical salesman starts J.T.S. Brown and Bro. with his half-brother with $5,500 in saved and borrowed money. Old Forester becomes America's First Bottled Bourbon​, the first bourbon to be sold exclusively in sealed glass bottles to ensure quality and consistency, an innovative approach at a time when whisky is commonly sold by the barrel. Their offices are housed at 322 W. Main Street Old Forester was blended from different distilleries, including Mattingly, Atherton and Mellwood to create a consistent flavor profile. Old Forester is originally presented at 90 Proof. Old Forester is named after a prominent physician and friend of GGB, Dr. William Forrester who endorsed Brown's innovative concept of medicinal whisky sold only in sealed glass bottles. Old Forester, originally spelled with 2 “r”s to be associated with the doctor, drops the second “r” when Forrester retired. 1882-1919 Brown-Forman offices and bottling lines were housed at 125 W. Main Street (today 119 W. Main Street). Main Street was the hub of the bustling bourbon business in Kentucky, home to 89 distilling companies. Only one of those companies is still operating today – Brown-Forman and its founding brand, Old Forester. 1890 George Garvin Brown gifts first single barrel selection to then Governor of Kentucky, Simon Bolivar Buckner 1897 U.S. Bottled in Bond Act is enacted. Old Forester moves to 100 Proof to comply with regulations. 1901 George Garvin Brown moved from blender to distiller with the purchase of B.F. Mattingly Distillery. 1910 Fire on the bottling line, housed at 125 Main Street (today 119 W. Main Street) threatened the building and the business. (October 2, 1910)  1920 Prohibition begins. Brown-Forman applies for and receives No. 3 of only six federal licenses in the state of Kentucky to continue selling Old Forester for medicinal purposes. 1924 Brown-Forman and Old Forester moves its headquarters to Howard Street at Dixie Highway 1933 Prohibition repealed. Old Forester increases production. Old Forester is the only Bourbon sold by the same company before, during and after Prohibition. 1941 Old Forester begins producing industrial alcohol (ethanol) to help World War II efforts. 1951 Old Forester is the first to issue Holiday Decanters 1959 Old Forester 86 Proof introduced, 100 Proof retained. 1964 Old Forester The President's Choice introduced by then President George Garvin Brown II 1970 Old Forester celebrates its 100th anniversary 2002 Old Forester celebrates the 156th birthday of founder George Garvin Brown with a limited-edition Old Forester Birthday BourbonTM on his birthday, Sept 2. Birthday Bourbon is the result of a single day's production and aged 12 years. 2014 Brown-Forman announces plans for Old Forester distillery on Whiskey Row 2015 Fire on Whiskey Row; 119 W. Main was not fire damaged, it becomes a vital piece of support while structural integrity was restored to the entire block, delaying completion by about one year. (July 7, 2015) 2018 Old Forester Distilling Co. returns home to Whisky Row and opens at 119 W. Main Street, housed in the same building that the brand called home from 1882 – 1919. Old Forester is the only bourbon continually sold by the same company before, during, and after Prohibition. Old Forester distillery is the only downtown distillery which houses an active cooperage, charring barrels in the same facility where spirits are being aged.

In local news, two Boone business owners are looking to give accessible, locally sourced goods to the area by opening a new market. The Wildwood Community Market, which is located at 182 Howard Street, looks to provide fresh produce, meats and prepared foods to support local farmers through their affordable exchange. According to the Watauga Democrat, the new farmers market is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2021 after the co owners are confident they can responsibly open a clean, new public space. In state news, the North Carolinian based fast food chain, Bojangles, will be closing its doors across all company owned and operated business for two days. CBS-17 News reports that this is done to give their staff a “well-deserved break”. However, employees will not be receiving any form of compensation for these required days off. This closure will only affect those businesses that are corporate owned and will take place on August 30th and September 13th. Nationally, The Wall Street Journal reports that Hurricane Ida made landfall in southern Louisiana Sunday afternoon, resulting in battered coastlines and torrential downpour. The category 4 hurricane landed in Port Fourchon, 60 miles south of New Orleans with winds reaching up to 150 miles an hour. It is reported that, within the state, up to 800,000 homes are currently without power and sewage pump stations are not operational throughout the state. This afternoon's weather comes from BooneWeather.com. Today, look for clear skies and pleasant temperatures with a high of 83 degrees and a low of 63 degrees. Expect light winds from the Northwest.

Theron and Tom are backstage with vocalist Evelyn Wright and drummer Robert Hubbard Jr. talking about the rich history of jazz music in Akron and Cleveland in the first of a two-part series. In Akron, legends like Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles would perform at the Palace theater before heading to Howard Street, where fans waited at clubs such as the hi hat, the Green Turtle, and the Cosmopolitan. The entertainers would then stay overnight at the Mathews Hotel. In Cleveland, those same performers would play at such clubs as the Tia Juana, the Loop Lounge, Winston Willis' Jazz Temple, Val's on the Alley, the Cotton Club and the Theatrical. Evelyn and Rob share their stories as we recapture some of the history of that era. Vocalist Evelyn Wright has been a professional singer for more than three decades with experience in jazz, R&B and pop. A native of Cleveland, Evelyn won the 1993 award for Most Promising Female Artist and Favorite Female R&B singer from Midwest Urban Music. Her recordings include a live performance with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at the Bop Stop. Wright has toured throughout the United States and Canada, performing in top hotels, nightclubs and concert halls. (Learn more about Evelyn here.) Drummer Robert Hubbard Jr. is known for his diverse style of music consisting of jazz, gospel, R&B and rock. A Cleveland native, Robert began to play drums in his father's church at the age of 5. During his junior and senior years in high school, he was recognized at the Tri-C Jazz Fest as the top high school jazz drummer in the state of Ohio. Robert began his music career playing with local artists throughout Greater Cleveland, and his first major tour began in 1993 with R&B group Men At Large. His touring and performing career has consisted of playing with numerous jazz and gospel artists, as well as playing as the opening act with his bad, Moments Notice. (Learn more about Robert here.)

In the debut of Backstage at the hi hat, co-hosts Tom and Theron discuss the origins of the podcast name, talk about the historic jazz entertainment district in downtown Akron, and reflect on the life of legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea. In Akron, jazz legends like Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Tommy Dorsey, Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles would perform at the Palace Theater before heading to Howard Street, where fans waited at clubs such as the hi hat, the Green Turtle, and the Cosmopolitan. Backstage at the hi hat is a nod to that history and will look to capture the type of conversations that occurred at those historic clubs, The podcast will feature interviews with musicians, book authors and other newsmakers as we explore the rich and diverse genre of jazz music. Learn more about Theron Brown at his website. Learn more about the Akron Symphony at its website. Learn more about the life and music of Chick Corea at his website.

Los cementerios a simple vista parecen un lugar muy tranquilo, pero las historias que te contaré en esta lista te mostrarán que los muertos hacen cualquier cosa menos descansar en paz. 5 cementerios más embrujados del mundo PARTE 2 Contenido: 00:00 Introducción 01:03 El cementerio de Saint Louis 02:19 El cementerio de Boot Hill 04:02 El cementerio de Howard Street 05:34 El cementerio de Aoyama 07:59 El cementerio La Noria

The San Francisco Bay Area has long been known for its impressive food and beverage scene. With its numerous Michelin-starred restaurants, award-winning bakeries, and early craft beer adopters, the city has come to be seen as a land of culinary opportunity.  That is, until COVID-19 hit. In reality, the pandemic is only the most recent challenge facing the city's food and drink businesses. Soaring rent prices over the last decade have forced many Bay Area natives to relocate, while firms like Twitter, Uber, Dropbox, Lyft, and GitHub have moved in. Within the last year, a mass exodus of programmers and other tech workers from their offices have left many bars, restaurants, and cafes located in the Financial District and SoMa (South of Market) neighborhoods without their normal lunchtime and after-work crowds. Given that many of these establishments are located far from residential areas and are surrounded by expensive parking meters, even to-go orders been a non-starter. Today, there doesn't seem to be much relief in site. Despite having spent over $1 billion on the tallest building in the city, cloud computing behemoth Salesforce announced a few weeks ago that it would no longer enforce traditional 9-to-5 work days, and would encourage the continuation of work-from-home policies for its employees (who number more than 9,000 in San Francisco alone).  With over 2,000 local businesses having closed permanently during the pandemic, what do these difficult conditions mean for hopeful entrepreneurs here in the Bay Area? On today's episode, I'm speaking to Arnaud Goethals. Arnaud, along with his wife Julie Vandermeersch, is the co-owner of Vive la Tarte, a bakery and cafe in San Francisco. Recently, it had to close its locations in the historic Ferry Building on the waterfront, as well as its original location on Howard Street, two doors down from Cellarmaker Brewing Company. I first met Arnaud when my wife worked at Vive la Tarte. We quickly connected over our love of beers from his homeland of Belgium. Throughout our friendship, Arnaud has struck me as someone who sees the industry, and his place in it, from a uniquely broad and incisive perspective, and I wanted to hear his thoughts about the future of hospitality in the Bay Area.

Host Clint Holley compares interviews with Joe Mosbrook and Theron Brown in order to tell the story of the rich Jazz history found in Akron , Ohio. Hear stories about historic Howard Street, The Hotel Matthews as well as what is happening in Akron now with events such as The Rubber City Jazz and Blues Festival.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More housing is coming for veterans and vets with families. It is part of an expansion by the Western New York Veterans Housing Coalition to a new campus on Howard Street on Buffalo's East Side, centered on the former School 75.

Hey Everyone! It's episode 2 of NaPodPoMo.  We'll be taking the next 30 days to "Stroll down Western Ave." and explore the longest street in Chicago. Western extends 24 miles from Howard Street on the north, to 119th St. on the south.  We will be dropping one episode a day for the entirety of November!  We're starting at the southern tip of Chicago in the Morgan Park community. Make sure you have your phone handy as you listen, it will make things so much better.  Trust me!  Let's take a walk together this November and explore this historic street.  Resources: Chicago in 77: My travels for work, fun, and daily life through Chicago's community areas by Karen Roddie Chicago Reader: Mount Greenwood is Chicago's Upside Down ABC7 News: McNally's Bar at center of racial allegations after band claims music set cut short.  Southside Weeky: Life, and a Death, in Mount Greenwood You can learn more about NaPodPoMo by visiting NaPodPoMo.org.  Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode of this special challenge series.Also, please take a moment to rate and review OTBP on your favorite podcast app. You can also SIGN UP for the Off The Beaten Podcast newsletter: Sign Up Here! I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Got something to say?Give us a call and leave a voicemail: (312) 488-9068Email us: beingsillyinthecity@gmail.comAlso don't be afraid to slide into my DM's on any of the social media platforms.  Follow OTBP on Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest/ Website / Store / Podchaser  Off The Beaten Podcast swag is finally here! Go visit the OTBP store on Teespring to get your own coffee mug and facemask today! OTBP Store You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Cup of Coffee. Every dollar donated goes into helping me make the podcast better. buymeacoffee.com/OffTheBeatenPodcast Also, I have an exclusive offer for OTBP listeners! Visit reppinpins.com and get 20% off your entire order with discount code OTBP20.  You won't find this deal anywhere else!    

Hey Everyone!So OTBP is participating in National Podcast Post Month. We'll be taking the next 30 days to "Stroll down Western Ave." and explore the longest street in Chicago. Western extends 24 miles from Howard Street on the north, to 119th St. on the south.  We will be dropping one episode a day for the entirety of November! Let's take a walk together this November and explore this historic street.  This episode, I offer an overview and drop some history on Western Ave. as well as let you know some of the things you have to look forward to this month! You can learn more about NaPodPoMo by visiting NaPodPoMo.org.  Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode of this special challenge series.Also, please take a moment to rate and review OTBP on your favorite podcast app. You can also SIGN UP for the Off The Beaten Podcast newsletter: Sign Up Here! I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Got something to say?Give us a call and leave a voicemail: (312) 488-9068Email us: beingsillyinthecity@gmail.comAlso don't be afraid to slide into my DM's on any of the social media platforms.  Off The Beaten Podcast swag is finally here! Go visit the OTBP store on Teespring to get your own coffee mug and facemask today! OTBP Store You can support the podcast by Buying Me a Cup of Coffee. Every dollar donated goes into helping me make the podcast better. buymeacoffee.com/OffTheBeatenPodcast Also, I have an exclusive offer for OTBP listeners! Visit reppinpins.com and get 20% off your entire order with discount code OTBP20.  You won't find this deal anywhere else!   Follow OTBP on Social Media: Instagram / Facebook / Pinterest/ Website / Store / Podchaser 

With the California Academy of Sciences reopening to the public on Oct. 23, Total SF is joined by Bart Shepherd, the senior director of Steinhart Aquarium. Shepherd and host Peter Hartlaub talk about Shepherd's early years working at the old aquarium, the move to 875 Howard Street, and what managing an aquarium has been like during the pandemic. Shepherd also provides an update on Methuselah the Lungfish, at 85+ years old the longest-living fish in captivity. Produced by Peter Hartlaub. Music is "The Tide Will Rise" by the Sunset Shipwrecks off their album "Community," and cable car bell ringing by 8-time champion Byron Cobb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sasha Ortega and her family own Tinuno, a Filipino restaurant on Howard Street in one of Toronto's most densely populated communities. Sasha talks about growing up in St. James Town, how the area has changed over the years, and what the future holds with the addition of two luxury condos. We also discuss the challenges the restaurant industry is facing these days, and finding creative ways to continue supporting local businesses.

Welcome to Episode 4Thank you for joining us on our musical journey through the history of music and the stacks of shellac. Please leave us a comment on our webpage storiesfromthestylus.com on our Mixcloud page or find us on social media to “Set the Record Straight!”You can also join our fan club us through Mixcloud Select.Your subscription will help ensure future episodes as well as make sure the original artists and their estates are compensated with their well deserved royalties. Let’s put on a record!Episode Notes:Episode 4 - 12004 - The Wives Have ItListen to Martha’s favorite song HERE!What’s a 5/6 time signature? Learn more HERE! (Tip of the hat to listener Max H. for “Setting the Record Straight”.)Do your like our logo? Martha did it! Se her other beautiful work HERE!More about Oscar Brand HERE!What is Ravinia?More about Sister Rosetta Tharpe HERE!What and where is Howard Street?More about The Good News Community Church HERE!

Hugh Stowell Brown was the older brother of our National Poet Thomas Edward (T.E.) Brown. At the age of only 23 he went to Liverpool to preach at Myrtle Street Baptist Church - and stayed there for the next 40 years! What he achieved was astounding, and has so inspired Baptist Minister Wayne Clarke that he has researched and written a biography of Hugh Stowell Brown, and joins me on the programme to tell the story of A READY MAN. A Ready Man is published by Instant Apostle and costs £8.99 - Churches Bookshop in Howard Street in Douglas have copies, some of which may be signed by the author, Wayne Clarke. Valentines Day on Friday the 14th will be popular with florists, the postal service and restaurants, as it's THE day for romantic gestures - and maybe some marriage proposals, as this is a leap year! But who was the REAL St Valentine? We have the story! And finally something from the PRAISE archive. On Sunday 1st August 1999, a very special service was held at Trinity Methodist Church at Rosemount in Douglas. It was led by Revered Kenneth Elworthy, minister of Trinity at the time, and it was to celebrate the 100th birthday of Reverend Leonard Duchars. His daughter-in-law Pam Duchars played the organ and directed the choir, Reverend Leonard's sons and grandchildren gave the readings, and Reverend Leonard himself preached the sermon. We end this week's programme with the hymn which summed up Revered Leonard's long years in ministry - All For Jesus! - mixed with some inspiring words from the sermon - well worth a listen! Music this week is from Marilyn Baker, Margaret Rizza and the Choir of The King's School, Canterbury

In this episode, we sit down with Matt Ryan, the farm manager at the Talking Farm in Skokie. The Talking Farm is a non-profit farm on Howard Street in Skokie. They grow fresh, hyper-local food using innovative and sustainable practices while educating the community about the environment, agriculture, biodiversity, permaculture, horticulture, gardening, and social justice and health issues. Through a land-use agreement with the Skokie Park District, the Howard Street Farm was created by developing 2.5 acres of uncontaminated, overgrown land (formerly a horse pasture) into vegetable, herb, and flower production integrated with a variety of fruit trees and bushes, nut trees, and other perennial species. In 2014, after being granted Skokie’s first zoning designation for urban agriculture, they began operating the Howard Street Farm as a full-production urban farm, which means that we are able to distribute and sell hyper-fresh, locally-grown produce to the community. The farm is located at 3669 Howard Street, in Skokie, Illinois, west of the intersection of Howard Street and McCormick Boulevard. Matt Ryan has been involved in urban agriculture and community gardening for over 7 years. In 2012 he graduated from the Botanic Garden’s Windy City Harvest Sustainable Urban Agricultural Certificate Program. In 2012 Matt was hired as the Assistant Farm Manager at The Talking Farm along with managing the ETHS school garden the “Edible Acre”. In 2015 he became the Talking Farms Operations Manager and has since been working to further develop both the educational and production capacities of the organization. The produce from the farm is sold at several restaurants in the area such as Blind Faith Cafe, Hewn, Farmhouse and Backlot Coffee. They also sell the produce at the local Skokie and Evanston Farmers markets. More information about the talking farm can be found at https://www.thetalkingfarm.org/ and on social media. I’d like to thank several people for help with today’s show. This includes my real estate brokerage, Dreamtown Realty in Evanston for helping me with my graphics for the show. I’d like to thank Industrious in Evanston for use of their space to record follow them on Instagram at @industriousevanston. And if listening to this podcast gave you the bug to buy or sell real estate, give me a call or go to my real estate website at http://www.aaronmasliansky.com And don’t forget to subscribe! Thank you.

Anthony Apodaca refurbished a studio space on Howard Street to open Revelry Theater. Revelry offers comedians, performers, and improvisers a small space to try more experimental pieces. Anthony and I go deep into his philosophies on improv, religion, and whether or not being nice is actually helpful.

San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood looked a bit different in 2013, when Cellarmaker Brewing Company opened here, on Howard Street. Tech companies were moving in, and the city’s new young and affluent workers moved into a part of San Francisco plagued by homelessness and drug use. It might have seemed difficult place to open a brewery, let alone any public-facing business, but Cellarmaker broke out, quickly gaining recognition as one of the city’s best breweries. In their five years in business, they made fast friends out of breweries like the Rare Barrel, Tired Hands, and Green Cheek, and boosted the city’s reputation as a world-class brewing destination. These days, its small taproom is bustling seemingly every night of the week, attracting IPA fanatics, devotees of their ever-rotating tap list lineup, and those who just appreciate the bartenders’ affinity for music by Dolly Parton and Carly Rae Jepsen. Now, with a barrel program in full force, they’re expanding their menu even wider. Fans irked by crowds at their taproom had long hoped that Cellarmaker would expand with a second location and in 2018, that wish came true. In the late summer, co-founder Connor Casey finally announced that the brewery had found an additional home in Bernal Heights, complete with an oven ready to pump out fluffy Detroit-style pizzas to complement their beers. It’s here in that space that I met Casey, co-founding brewer Tim Sciascia and Cellarmaker’s House of Pizza brew system manager Aaron Wittman as they taste tested some new pizza recipes being considered for the brewpub’s new menu. The new spot’s opening is just around the corner, and they clearly couldn’t be more excited. This is Connor Casey, Tim Sciascia, and Aaron Wittman of Cellarmaker Brewing Company. Listen in.

Childhood obesity is rising so are rates of Type Two Diabetes and early signs of heart disease. Loraine Ballard Morrill speaks with Jeff Long, President and Founder of Healthy Kids Running Series who has created a fun and affordable 5 week program that introduces children to running and healthy living. http://www.healthykidsrunningseries.org/When families lose a loved one to a violent crime – they often don't understand how to navigate the criminal justice system and know how to access the resources of victim services organizations. That's why Roz Pichardo founded Operation Save our City. She turned her own experience losing a brother to a shooting and almost dying herself after a brutal attack to help homicide victim families. There will be a fundraiser for her organization on September 27th 4-6 pm at 1746 N. Howard Street in Philadelphia. For more info on this and Operation Save Our City check out the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/OperationSaveOurCity/?tn-str=k*FWork Ready student intern Noor Bowman interviews Rich Sedmak of Schoolyard Ventures which helps teens launch businesses, non-profits and other real-world projects that are meaningful to them. https://www.schoolyardventures.com/

When families lose a loved one to a violent crime – they often don't understand how to navigate the criminal justice system and know how to access the resources of victim services organizations. That's why Roz Pichardo founded Operation Save our City. She turned her own experience losing a brother to a shooting and almost dying herself after a brutal attack to help homicide victim families. There will be a fundraiser for her organization on September 27th 4-6 pm at 1746 N. Howard Street in Philadelphia. For more info on this and Operation Save Our City check out the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/OperationSaveOurCity/?tn-str=k*F

In this episode, we hear a couple of amusing tales about how the Howard Street studio in San Francisco attracted crazy people!

Tune in to Ann, L Boogie and Brotha J at The Lounge! Topics include: The King of Pop. Michael Jackson. It’s been 9 years since his death. We listen to the a few of his classics. Antwon Rose II, 17, was shot three times as he ran away from Officer Rosfeld following a traffic stop at Grandview Avenue and Howard Street about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday (June 19) in East Pittsburgh. On Wednesday (June 20), Bronx teen Lesandro “Junior”Guzman-Feliz was fatally stabbed by a group of unidentified men after a reported dispute. He was 15 years old. Alison “Petty Permit Patty” Ettel calls 911 on 8 year old girl selling water. Viral video has hurt her feelings as well as her cannabis business. Roseanne is sorry and regretful for her tweets now that’s she’s lost everything. A quick BET Awards recap Did Childish Gambino steal “This Is America? Teyana Taylor’s album K.T.S.E. “On The Run Eatin’ With N.O.R.E.” Happy Birthday Brotha J! Please subscribe, follow us on Instagram @theloungeradio, and tell a friend to tune in!

A sampling of street life in the San Francisco western South of Market area in late 2017 & early 2018.

In the second week of our Ramadan spotlight series, we talk with Ayman Mohyeldin, anchor and host at MSNBC. Ayman has spent years as a foreign correspondent and in front of a national audience, so Ahmed asks him about objectivity in media, covering the Trump administration, and some of the most moving moments he’s had observing Ramadan abroad. Plus: a quick fake news quiz! Plus: See Something Say Something is hosting Ramadan Lunch Break, a weekly live show every Wednesday at noon EST on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Follow Ayman @AymanM and watch him on MSNBC weekdays for Morning Joe First Look and Sundays for The Breakdown. Follow Ahmed @radbrowndads. Follow the show @seesomething and facebook.com/seesomethingpodcast. Email us at saysomething@buzzfeed.com. Our music is by The Kominas, follow them at @TheRealKominas and kominas.bandcamp.comSnooze these notifications for: an hour, eight hours, a day, three days, or the next week. Or, turn email notifications off. For more detailed preferences, see your account page. Made by Slack Technologies, Inc  •  Our Blog 500 Howard Street  •  San Francisco, CA  •  94105  •  United States | Click here to Reply or ForwardUsing 18.17 GBManageProgram PoliciesPowered by GoogleLast account activity: 1 hour agoDetails |  |  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A week ago Tuesday, a few minutes before midnight, the temperature in Baltimore was below freezing. A man named Imamu Baraka stepped out of his office on Howard Street, near the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus for a quick trip to the drugstore. He encountered security guards from the hospital pushing a young woman in a wheelchair, who was dressed only in a hospital gown and socks, despite the frigid cold.The reasons she came to be taken out of the hospital by security guards are also unclear. What is clear, however, is that Mr. Baraka saw something, and said something. He got involved. And he showed extraordinary compassion and concern for a woman who was a stranger to him. We continue our discussion about accessibility to care for those who suffer from mental health issues and are in the grips of homelessness, with Dr. Jonathan Sheppard of the Black Mental Health Alliance and Philip Reese, Pulitzer Prize winning finalist and reporter for the Sacramento Bee who has written about similar incidents in Nevada.

Last week, CSX Transportation shocked the Hogan administration and local officials by withdrawing its support for an expansion of the Howard Street Tunnel.

When the roman numerals on a City Council agenda reach high enough for folks to have to think back on their school days to remember what item number is up for discussion, you know it's a busy night. Such was the case this past Monday, as Spartanburg City Council gave unanimous approval to three new major developments. The projects include two on the city's Northside, a new 16,000 square foot mixed-use development on the corner of College and Howard Street and redevelopment of the historic Fremont School into 41 market rate apartments, and a new 19,000 square foot mixed use development at a major gateway into downtown on E Main and Pine streets. Council also heard from city residents and rental property owners about a proposed registry program for the city's 7,000+ residential rental properties. Under the plan, residential rental property owners pay a $25 per-unit fee (maximum $250, waived if the property owner holds a city business license). The plan also would include periodic inspections to ensure rentals meet city building codes. The objective of the registry program would be to, over time, reduce the number of unsafe and unlivable rental units currently in the city, thereby reducing neighborhood blight and improving overall housing stock within the city. Council made no decision regarding the registry proposal and will take up the matter at a later meeting. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Assistant City Manager Chris Story to give you the details on all the action from Monday's meeting.

Gregory Dawson, in conversation with C.S. Soong. Gregory Dawson is the founder and artistic director of dawsondancesf, which presents the world premiere of Dawson's work “les vérités” at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco on January 27th and 28th. An award-winning choreographer, Gregory is a former dancer with LINES Ballet, and he currently teaches and choreographs for all of LINES Ballet's educational programs. The theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is located at 700 Howard Street. dawsondancesf's website The post Interview: Gregory Dawson of dawsondancesf appeared first on KPFA.

As you may have , Oakview Apartments has one of the highest concentrations of poverty and crime in our city. Inside the cinderblock walls of the property's 105 units, 75 percent of residents earn less than $5,000 per year and live in conditions one resident described as "one step up from being homeless." Tearing down this barracks-style low income apartment complex on Howard Street and replacing it with a new community center has long been a central piece of the Northside Initiative, but before that can happen, the property and the privately-owned, publicly-subsidized housing complex that sits on it has to be purchased.     Oakview's owner, Related Properties, is principally owned by Stephen Ross, the multi-billionaire owner of the Miami Dolphins. Despite City estimates that value the property at roughly $600,000, Related's price is $2.5 million, far more than the Northside Development Corporation, the City, or any of our other partners on the Northside are willing or able to pay. The result being that, for now at least, much of what has been planned for the Northside hangs in the balance.   Why is there such a large discrepancy between the price Related is asking and what the City's estimate for the property's value? Why is the Oakview Apartments property so important to the future of the Northside Initiative? Today on the podcast, we're talking with Northside Development Corporation Project Manager Curt McPhail and Assistant City Manager Chris Story to get a deeper understanding of the issues at play.

Welcome to Our Own Voices Live with your hosts:  Angela Thomas, Rodney Smith with our guest(s):  Autumn Smith & Deon "Mama D." Lopez Our Topic(s) today:   “Caribbean American Heritage Month: Their Influence from Jean Baptiste Pont du Sable  the Founder of Chicago to current business success of Howard Street  Using the "Black Wall Street" approach.”  If you have a question, comment or just want to listen, give us a call:  (347) 826-9600

Intel Chip Chat will be on the road this week from one of the largest technology tradeshows, Oracle OpenWorld 2013 in San Francisco. While everyone else is out partying on Howard Street, we'll be interviewing reps from Deutsche Bank, U.S. Cellular, Intel, and others about what's hot at the show.

Kori and Jen chat about The Messiah of Howard Street and Steampunk. It's a great discussion filled with information about Omaha, why she writes, Write Life Publisher, and, of course, Shakespeare with a Steampunk twist. Listen in!

In part 1, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Michael Eisen talks about his research, the field, and both experimental and computational biology. Eisen is Associate Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Development in UC Berkeley's Dept. of Molecular Biology.TranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible]. Welcome to [inaudible] Speaker 1: section, the Science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program bringing you interviews [00:00:30] featuring bay area scientists and technologists as well as a calendar of local events and news. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. My name is Brad Swift. Thanks for tuning in. Today we are presenting part one of two interviews with Michael Eisen and associate professor of genetics, genomics and development in UC Berkeley's department of molecular biology. Iceland employs a combination of experimental and computational methods to the study of gene regulation [00:01:00] using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Isen and his colleagues have pioneered genomic approaches in modern molecular biology and our leaders in the emerging field of computational biology. In part one, Michael talks about how he got started in biology and how his research has evolved onto the interview. Michael Isen, welcome to spectrum. Thank you. My pleasure. Would you give us a narrative of how you initiated your research and how your research has [00:01:30] changed to what it is currently? Speaker 4: Okay. Actually, I grew up in a family of scientists. My parents were both biologists, so I always had an interest in biology. But as a kid, my talents were primarily in math and I was a heavy duty math geek and went to college expecting to be a mathematician and took this freshman calculus class and all the hardcore math geeks tuck. And I did fine. I did well in the class, but [00:02:00] there were several people in the class who were clearly a notch better than me in a way that I think you only can realize and you know, basketball and mathematics at the age of 18 that you're not destined to be the best. And I think math is a field where if you're not the best, it's just kind of boring. And so I stayed as a mathematician and math major in college, but I started increasingly taking a lot of biology classes and had more or less, you know, realized that biology was what really captured my, my attention and [00:02:30] my heart. Speaker 4: And so I went to graduate school but had the idea that I'm interested in biology, but I'm really good at math. So there must be some way of combining these two things. And so I entered a graduate program in biophysics, which is sort of a place where people who are interested in biology maybe haven't taken all the prereqs for a normal biology department but also have a quantitative background go cause. And so, you know, in the way that people sort of drifted into things, I drifted into working on protein structure and [00:03:00] did my phd studying the evolution of the proteins on the surface of flu viruses and using a combination of experimental work and I would hesitate to call it mathematics. It was really just sort of kind of physics and it's, it's a lot of data. You generate a lot of raw data, you generate a lot of data on the coordinates of individual protein molecules and things that they might bind to. Speaker 4: And so it was very natural to start using computers in that work. You know, my background was not in computer science. I programmed as a kid [00:03:30] because my grandfather bought me a computer and I taught myself how to program and I wrote programs to, you know, keep track of baseball statistics and other things like that. In College, I basically never programmed anything in the math department I was in. It was considered not math that you were touching a computer. And so I didn't really do anything with computers until I got to graduate school when you started seeing all this data coming down the pipe. But I wasn't particularly interested in structural biology and I discovered that through six years from graduate school that [00:04:00] although I liked doing it, it wasn't intellectually satisfying, was too small. You're working on one sugar bound to one protein in one virus and I was having trouble seeing how that would expand into something grand and whatever. Speaker 4: You know, the ambitions of, uh, of a graduate student wanting to do something big. And I got lucky in the way that often happens in that my advisor had a colleague he knew from an advisory board. He sat on and he was coming into town because his brother was getting some honorary degree [00:04:30] and I met him in his hotel room, Austin. And he had with him, uh, glass microscope slide onto which had been spotted down little pieces of DNA, each of which corresponded to one gene in the yeast genome. So it's about 6,000 genes in the yeast genome. And you could see them because there was still salt in the spots, but it was a very evocative little device. You could sort of hold it up in front of the sun and you could see the sun sort of glittering on all these little spots. Speaker 4: You could just see the grandness of [00:05:00] the device. Didn't know how people were using them. I didn't know what they would be used for. I didn't know what I would do with them, but I was sort of drawn in by the scale of it all. The idea that you could work on everything at once and you didn't have to choose to work on just one little thing and disappear into a little corner and study. Just that. And so my advisor said, oh, you really should go do this. They need someone who's, you know, understands biology, but can deal with the computational side of things. It's clear that this was going to generate a lot of data [00:05:30] and that, you know, he was right. I mean this was a field that really was in great need of people who understood the biology but could work well in the quantitative computational side of things. Speaker 4: So I packed up and moved to Stanford with a short stint as a minor league baseball announcer in between. Really it was just a very fortuitous time to have gotten into this new field. I mean, the field was really just beginning. So this was in 1996 the first genomes been sequenced, they were microbes, there's bacteria and yeast [00:06:00] and so forth. And we were just getting our first glimpse of the scale of the kind of problems that we were going to be facing in genomics. But what I loved about this device, which is a DNA microarray, it's the sort of became a very hot tool in biology for a number of years was that it wasn't just a computer, it wasn't just data in a computer. It actually you were doing to do experiments with this. I'm interested in biology cause I liked living things. I like doing experiments, I like seeing things and I didn't want to just disappear with someone else's data and [00:06:30] analyze it. Speaker 4: So I went to Stanford to work on these and it really was just this awesome time and we were generating huge amounts of data in the lab and not just me. There were, you know, dozens of people generating tons of different types of experiments and so forth. And we lacked any kind of framework for looking at that data constructively. You couldn't look at those experiments and figure out by looking line by line in an excel spreadsheet at what gene was expressed, at what level and what condition. It just wasn't [00:07:00] the way to do it. And so my main contribution to the field at the time was in bringing tools for organizing the information and presenting it visually and being able to interact with that kind of incredibly complicated data in a way that was intuitive for people who understood the biology and allowed them to go back and forth between the experiment in the computer and the data and really try to make sense of what was a huge amounts of data with huge amounts of information, but something nobody had really been trained to [00:07:30] look at. And so it was there that I really realized kind of the way I like to do science, which is this constant back and forth between experiments on the computer. In my mind and in what I try to teach people in my lab. There's no distinction between doing experiments on the bench or in the field or in a computer that they're just different ways of looking at biology. Speaker 3: This is spectrum line KALX Berkeley. Today, Michael [00:08:00] I's associate professor at UC Berkeley explains his research in developmental biology. Speaker 4: On the basis of that time at Stanford, I got a job at Berkeley and what I did when I started my lab at Berkeley was really tried to focus on one problem. I mean I had been working on a million different problems at Stanford where we had a huge group and a million different people working on, and I was sort of moving around from problem the problem and helping out people with their data or thinking of different experiments. And when I came to Berkeley, I really [00:08:30] wanted to focus on one problem. And the problem that had intrigued me from the beginning of working on the microarray stuff was figuring out how it is that an animal's genome, which is the same essentially in every cell in the body, how it instructs different cells to behave differently, to turn on different genes and to acquire different properties. And so partly because of the influence of people here at Berkeley who were working on fruit flies, I switched my research program to work on [inaudible] when I started my lab at Berkeley, the genome of that [00:09:00] had just been sequenced and I liked working with animals. Speaker 4: I like having something that moves around and you know, had some behaviors and so the lab started to work on flies and pretty much since then that's what we've worked on. That's sort of the story of how I got to where I am. So your research then is you're looking at flies over time? Yeah, I mean, I mean I see how the genes are expressed. I'd say we're looking at classified more as developmental biology in the sense that we're looking at how genes are expressed over time during the lifespan of a lie. To this day, [00:09:30] we can't look at a newly sequenced genome and say, oh well this is what the animal's going to look like. That is, I couldn't tell you except sort of by cheating and knowing, comparing it to other genomes. If I, you gave me a fly genome, I look at it, I wouldn't know it was a fly or a worm or a tree or it's just the way in which the organism acquires it. Speaker 4: Things that make them interesting, their form, their appearance, their function. We have just the tiniest scratch of understanding of how that works. And so it's, for me, the most [00:10:00] interesting problem in biology is how do you get in a complicated structure like an animal out of a single cell. And how is that encoded in a genome sequence? I mean it's a fascinating mystery that I thought, you know, when I first started doing this I thought we'd have solved that problem by now. Not Easily. You know, because we had all this new data, we had the genome sequences we could measure. And a lot of what my lab does is actually measure which genes come on when, during development and try to understand for individual genes where that's been encoded in the genome [00:10:30] and how that happens. And I just sort of figured, well, you know, the problem for all these years was not that the problem was that hard. Speaker 4: We just didn't have the right data to look at this problem. And now we can do these experiments. I can sequence the genome of a fly and in a day I can characterize which genes are turned on when during development. And I sort of naively thought, well, we'll just sort of put it into a computer and shake things up and be clever and we'll figure out how these things are related to each other. And I mean now it's laughable that I would've ever thought that, but it was a very, very complicated thing. It's a process that's [00:11:00] executed by very complicated molecular machines operating in a very complicated environment or the nucleus and it, you know, we really don't understand it very well. We've learned a lot, but it's not a problem. We really understand. And so what is it that you've accumulated in terms of knowledge in that regard? Speaker 4: What do you think you've learned? A small amount of this is coming from my lab, but this is a whole field of people looking at this. But that we know the basic way in which that information is encoded in the genome. [00:11:30] We know that there are tuneable switches that can turn genes on and off in different conditions. And we know basically what molecular processes are involved in doing that in the sense that we know that there are proteins that can bind DNA in a sequence specific manner. So they will stick only to pieces of DNA that contain a motif or a particular code that distinct for each of these factors. In flies, there's several hundred of these factors and for humans that are several thousand of these factors that bind DNA in a [00:12:00] sequence specific manner, and they basically translate the nucleotide sequence of the genome into a different kind of code, which is the code of proteins bound to DNA. Speaker 4: And we know from a million different experiments that it's the action of those proteins binding to DNA that triggers the differential expression of genes in different conditions. So if you have a particular proteins, these are called transcription factors. If you have one in a cell at high levels than the genes [00:12:30] that are responding to that factor will be turned on in that cell. And if there's another cell where that protein isn't present, the set of genes that responds to it won't be turned on. So we know that as a general statement, but working out exactly how those proteins function, what it is that they actually do to turn a gene on and off, how they interact with each other, what conditions are necessary for them to function. All of those things are, I wouldn't say we know nothing about it, but they're very, [00:13:00] very poorly understood. Speaker 4: A lot of this sort of simple ideas that people had of there being a kind of regulatory code that looked something like the protein code that we're, you know, amino acid code that people are familiar with, right, that there'll be a genetic code for gene regulation. The idea that that's true is long disappeared from our thinking in the sense that it's much more like a very, very complicated problem with hundreds of different proteins that all interact with each other in a dynamic way. Something bind recruits, something else. [00:13:30] The thing it recruits changes the coding on the DNA and essence to a different state and then that allows other proteins to come in and that somehow or another that we still really don't understand. You eventually reach a state where the gene is turned on or turned off depending on what these factors are doing and you know, while there's lots of models for how that might function, they're all still tentative and we're getting better. The techniques for doing these kinds of experiments get better all the time. We can take individual pieces of or Sophala embryo [00:14:00] and sequence all the RNA contains and get a really complete picture of what's turned on when the technology is improving to the point where we can do a lot of this by imaging cells as amazing things we can do, but still the next level of understanding the singularity in our understanding of transcriptional regulation is still before us. Speaker 3: Spectrum is on KALX, Berkley alternating Fridays today. Michael [inaudible], associate professor at UC Berkeley [00:14:30] is our guest. In the next section, Michael describes the challenges his research poses Speaker 4: and is the task then the hard work of science and documenting everything's, yeah. Mapping a little bit about just observing. I mean, I'm a big believer in observational science that what's limited us to this has been just our poor tools for looking at what's going on. I mean we still hard to visualize the activity of individual molecules within cells, although we're on the precipice [00:15:00] of being able to do that better. So yeah, it's looking and realizing when the paradigms we have for thinking about this thing are clearly just not sufficient. And I think the fields get trapped sometimes in a way of thinking about how their system works and they do experiments that are predicated on some particular idea. But you know, usually when you have an idea and you pursue it for quite a long time and it doesn't pan out, it's because the idea is wrong. Speaker 4: And not always, but I think the transcriptional regulation field has been slow to adapt [00:15:30] to new sort of models for thinking. Although that is changing, I think that there's a lot of activity now and thinking about the dynamics of DNA and proteins within the nucleus. You know, we tend to think about DNA as kind of a static thing that sits in the nucleus and it's a, it's sort of read out by proteins, but really much more accurate as to think of it as a living kind of warned me like thing in the nucleus that gets pulled around to different parts of the nucleus and where it is in the nucleus is one way in which you control what's turned on and off. And I think people are really [00:16:00] appreciating the importance of this sort of three-dimensional architecture of the nucleus as a key facet and controlling the activity that there's, the nucleus itself is not a homogeneous place. Speaker 4: There is active and inactive regions of the nucleus and it's really largely from imaging that we're learning how that's functioning and you know, we as the whole field and are there lots of collaborators and people who are doing work? Yeah, I mean I'd say oh yeah. I mean it's a, it's an active feeling. Pay Attention to [00:16:30] oh yeah. So it's an active, if not huge field and not just in flies. I mean, I think it's transcriptional regulations of big field and in particular in developmental biology where amongst scientists we're interested in how animals develop. It's long been clear that gene regulation is sort of sits at the center of understanding development and so people interested in developmental biology and have long been interested in transcriptional regulation and I think everybody's got their own take on it here. But yeah, it's a very active field with lots of people, including several other people at Berkeley who are doing really [00:17:00] fascinating stuff. Speaker 4: So it's not out in the wilderness. This is not the hinterlands of science, but it's um, it's a nice field to work in about appropriate size. Our annual meetings only have a thousand, a few thousand people. It's not like some of these fields with 25,000 people. I can realistically know all the people who are working on problems related to ours and I literally know them and I know what they're doing and we sort of exchange ideas. So I like it. It's, it's nice community of people. [00:17:30] Is the field driving a lot of tool development? Absolutely. I say, this is something I really try to encourage people in my lab and people I trained to think, which is when you have a problem, you should be thinking not what am I good at? What can I apply to this problem? What technique has out there that would work here? Speaker 4: But what do I need to do? What is the right way to solve this problem? And if someone else has figured out how to do it, great, do it. But if they haven't, then do it yourself. And I think that this applies sort of very specifically [00:18:00] to doing individual experiments, but also to this broader issue we were talking about before with this interplay between computation and experiment. I think too many people come into science graduate school or wherever, thinking, well, I'm an experimentalist or I'm a computational biologist or whatever. And then they ask a question and then the inevitably hit the point where the logical path and pursuing their question would take them across this self-imposed boundary. Either you're an experimentalist who generated data and you're not [00:18:30] able to get at it in the right way and therefore, you know what you really need to be doing is sitting at a computer and playing around with the data. Speaker 4: But if you view that as a boundary that you're not allowed to cross or you're incapable of crossing, you'll never solve it because it almost never works. You almost never can find somebody else no matter how talented they are. Who's as interested in the problem that you're working on as you are. And I think that's a general rule. Scientists should feel as uninhibited about pursuing new things even if they're bad at it. It's certainly been a mantra [00:19:00] I've always tried to convey to the people in my lab, which is, yeah, sure, you come in with a computer science background and you know you're a coder and you've never picked up a pipette or grown a fly. But that's why the first thing you should do in the lab is go grow flies and vice versa. For the people who come in perfectly good in the lab but unable to do stuff in the computer, the first thing you should do is start playing around with data on the computer and it doesn't always work and not everybody sort of successfully bridges that gap, but the best scientists in my mind are ones who don't [00:19:30] circumscribe what they're good at. Speaker 4: They have problems and they pursue them. When something like visualization, is that a bridge too far to try to embrace that kind of technology? I've always done that. I mean I almost every time I do an analysis in the computer, I reduce it to picture some way or another. You know, because of the human brain, no matter how fancy your analysis is, the human brain is just not good at assimilating information as numbers. What we're good at as thinkers is looking at patterns, [00:20:00] finding patterns and things, looking at looking at images, recognizing when patterns are interesting and important, and there's a crucial role for turning data into something the human brain can pull in. And that's always, for me, one of the most fun things is taking data that is just a string of numbers and figuring out how to present it to your brain in a way that makes some sense for it and the refinement of it so that it's believable. Speaker 4: Yeah, and so then you can do it over and over and over and get the same result. Yeah, and all, I mean it is one of the dangers [00:20:30] you deal with when you're working with, when you're relying on human pattern recognition is we're so good at it that we recognize patterns even when they don't exist. There's a lot of statistics that gets used in modern biology, but often people I think use it incorrectly and people think that statistics is going to tell them what things are important, what things they should be paying attention to. For me, we almost entirely used statistical thinking to tell us when we've fooled ourselves into thinking something's interesting, you know, with enough data and enough things going on, you're going [00:21:00] to find something that looks interesting there and having a check on that part of your brain that likes to find patterns and interesting things is also crucial. Speaker 4: You know, I think people understand that if you flip a coin three times, it's not that we are trying to land on heads, but they have much, much harder time thinking about what happens if you flip a coin a billion times. We're struggling with this in biology, this transformation from small data to big data, it taxes people's ability to think clearly about what kinds of phenomena are interesting and aren't interesting. [00:21:30] Big Data is sort of the promise land now for a lot of people. Yeah. I'm a big believer in data intrinsically. If you're interested in observing things and interested in understanding how they work, the more you can measure about them better. It's just that's not the end of the game. Right? Just simply measuring things that doesn't lead to insight. Going from observing something to understanding it. That's where the challenges and that's true. Whether you're looking at the movement of DNA in a nucleus or you're [00:22:00] looking at people by a target, right? Like the same. It's the same problem. Speaker 3: This concludes part one of our interview with Michael [inaudible]. On the next spectrum, Michael Eisen will explain the Public Library of science, which he [inaudible]. He will give his thoughts on genetically modified organisms and a strategy for labeling food. He discusses scientific outreach and research funding. Don't miss him now. Our calendar of science and technology [00:22:30] events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Renee Rao present the calendar Speaker 5: tomorrow, February 9th from noon to one wild Oakland presents nature photography basics at lake merit. Meet in front of the Rotary Nature Center at 600 Bellevue Avenue at Perkins in Oakland. For this free event, learn to get more out of the camera you currently have and use it to capture beautiful photos of Oakland's jewel lake merit. [00:23:00] Bring your camera and you'll learn the basics of composition, camera settings, but photography and wildlife photography. Okay. Your instructor will be Dan. Tigger, a freelance photographer that publishes regularly in Bay Nature and other magazines. RSVP at Wild Oakland dot o r G. UC Berkeley Speaker 6: is holding its monthly blood drive. This February 12th you are eligible to no-name blood if you are in good health way, at least 110 pounds and are 17 years or older. You can [00:23:30] also check out the eligibility guidelines online for an initial self screening if you're not eligible or you prefer not to donate blood. There are other ways to support campus blood drives through volunteering, encouraging others and simply spreading the word. You can make an appointment online, but walk ins are also welcome. The blood drive will be on February 12th and the alumni house on the UC Berkeley campus will last from 12 to 6:00 PM you can make an appointment or find more information at the website. [00:24:00] Red Cross blood.org using the sponsor code you see be February 13th Dr. Bruce Ames, senior scientist at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute will speak at a colloquium on the effects that an inadequate supply of vitamins and minerals has on aging. Speaker 6: Dr Ames posits that the metabolism responds to a moderate deficiency of an essential vitamin or mineral by concentrating on collecting the scarce proteins [00:24:30] to help short term survival and reproductive fitness, usually at the expense of proteins important for longterm health. This is known as triaged theory. Dr Ian Discuss ways in which the human metabolism has evolved to favor short term survival over longterm health. He will also present evidence that this metabolic trade-off accelerates aging associated diseases such as cancer, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular disease. The colloquium will be on February 13th from 12 [00:25:00] to 1:15 PM on the UC Berkeley campus in five one oh one Tolman hall February 16th the Monthly Science at Cau Lecture series will hold a talk focusing on the emerging field of synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to biology to build sales with new capabilities. The Speaker, John Dabber is a mentor in the international genetically engineered machines competition or ai-jen and a UC Berkeley professor, [00:25:30] Dr Debra. We'll discuss the new technique created in J key's link's lab to make low cost drugs to treat malaria. He will also introduce student members of the UC Berkeley Igm team who will discuss their prize winning project. The free public event will be on February 16th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM will be held on the UC Berkeley campus in room one oh five of Stanley hall Speaker 5: on Tuesday the 19th how long now and Yearbook Buenos Center for the Arts Presents. Chris Anderson's talk [00:26:00] on the makers revolution. He describes the democratization of manufacturing and the implications that that has. Anderson himself left his job as editor of wired magazine to join a 22 year old from Tijuana and running a typical makers firm. Three d robotics, which builds is do it yourself. Drones, what based collaboration tools and small batch technology such as cheap 3d printers, three d scanners, laser cutters and assembly. Robots are transforming manufacturing. [00:26:30] Suddenly large scale manufacturers are competing, not just with each other on multi-year cycles are competing with swarms of tiny competitors who can go from invention to innovation to market dominance. In a weeks today, Anderson notes there are nearly a thousand maker spaces shared production facilities around the world and they're growing at an astounding rate. The talk is seven 30 to 9:00 PM at the Lam Research Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the arts at 700 Howard Street in San Francisco. Speaker 5: [00:27:00] Tickets are $15 for more information, visit long now.org now to new stories presented by Renee and Rick. The Federal Communication Commission has released a proposal to create super wifi networks across the nation. This proposal created by FCC Chairman Julius Jenna Koski, is it global first, and if approved, could provide free access to the web in every metropolitan area and many rural areas. The powerful new service could even allow people [00:27:30] to make calls for mobile phones using only the Internet. A robust public policy debate has already sprung up around the proposal, which has drawn aggressive lobbying on both sides. Verizon wireless and at t, and t along with other telecommunications companies have launched a campaign to persuade lawmakers. The proposal is technically and financially unfeasible. Meanwhile, tech companies like Google and Microsoft have championed the ideas sparking innovation and widening access to an [00:28:00] increasingly important resource. We can add this to the growing list of public policy debate over our changing and complex relationship with the Internet. Speaker 5: A team at McMaster university as reported in the February 3rd issue of nature chemical biology that they have found the first demonstration of a secreted metabolite that can protect against toxic gold and cause gold. Biomineralization. That's right. Bacterium Delphia, [00:28:30] a seat of [inaudible] take solutions continuing dissolve the gold and creates gold particles. This helps protect the bacteria from absorbing harmful gold ions, but it also might be used to harvest gold. The researchers found genes that cause gold, precipitation, engineered bacteria that lack these jeans and observed that these bacteria had stunted growth and that there was no gold precipitation. They also extracted the chemical responsible [00:29:00] for the gold mineralization naming it delftibactin a, the molecule creates metallic gold within seconds in Ph neutral conditions at room temperature. Gold exists in extremely dilute quantities in many water sources and the bacteria or the metabolite might be used to extract gold from mine. Waste in the future. Speaker 3: [inaudible] the music her during the show is by Luciana, David [00:29:30] from his album foam and acoustic, released under a creative Commons license, 3.0 attribution. Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about show, please send Speaker 1: them to us. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. Speaker 2: [inaudible]. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In part 1, investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Michael Eisen talks about his research, the field, and both experimental and computational biology. Eisen is Associate Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Development in UC Berkeley's Dept. of Molecular Biology.TranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible]. Welcome to [inaudible] Speaker 1: section, the Science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program bringing you interviews [00:00:30] featuring bay area scientists and technologists as well as a calendar of local events and news. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. My name is Brad Swift. Thanks for tuning in. Today we are presenting part one of two interviews with Michael Eisen and associate professor of genetics, genomics and development in UC Berkeley's department of molecular biology. Iceland employs a combination of experimental and computational methods to the study of gene regulation [00:01:00] using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. Isen and his colleagues have pioneered genomic approaches in modern molecular biology and our leaders in the emerging field of computational biology. In part one, Michael talks about how he got started in biology and how his research has evolved onto the interview. Michael Isen, welcome to spectrum. Thank you. My pleasure. Would you give us a narrative of how you initiated your research and how your research has [00:01:30] changed to what it is currently? Speaker 4: Okay. Actually, I grew up in a family of scientists. My parents were both biologists, so I always had an interest in biology. But as a kid, my talents were primarily in math and I was a heavy duty math geek and went to college expecting to be a mathematician and took this freshman calculus class and all the hardcore math geeks tuck. And I did fine. I did well in the class, but [00:02:00] there were several people in the class who were clearly a notch better than me in a way that I think you only can realize and you know, basketball and mathematics at the age of 18 that you're not destined to be the best. And I think math is a field where if you're not the best, it's just kind of boring. And so I stayed as a mathematician and math major in college, but I started increasingly taking a lot of biology classes and had more or less, you know, realized that biology was what really captured my, my attention and [00:02:30] my heart. Speaker 4: And so I went to graduate school but had the idea that I'm interested in biology, but I'm really good at math. So there must be some way of combining these two things. And so I entered a graduate program in biophysics, which is sort of a place where people who are interested in biology maybe haven't taken all the prereqs for a normal biology department but also have a quantitative background go cause. And so, you know, in the way that people sort of drifted into things, I drifted into working on protein structure and [00:03:00] did my phd studying the evolution of the proteins on the surface of flu viruses and using a combination of experimental work and I would hesitate to call it mathematics. It was really just sort of kind of physics and it's, it's a lot of data. You generate a lot of raw data, you generate a lot of data on the coordinates of individual protein molecules and things that they might bind to. Speaker 4: And so it was very natural to start using computers in that work. You know, my background was not in computer science. I programmed as a kid [00:03:30] because my grandfather bought me a computer and I taught myself how to program and I wrote programs to, you know, keep track of baseball statistics and other things like that. In College, I basically never programmed anything in the math department I was in. It was considered not math that you were touching a computer. And so I didn't really do anything with computers until I got to graduate school when you started seeing all this data coming down the pipe. But I wasn't particularly interested in structural biology and I discovered that through six years from graduate school that [00:04:00] although I liked doing it, it wasn't intellectually satisfying, was too small. You're working on one sugar bound to one protein in one virus and I was having trouble seeing how that would expand into something grand and whatever. Speaker 4: You know, the ambitions of, uh, of a graduate student wanting to do something big. And I got lucky in the way that often happens in that my advisor had a colleague he knew from an advisory board. He sat on and he was coming into town because his brother was getting some honorary degree [00:04:30] and I met him in his hotel room, Austin. And he had with him, uh, glass microscope slide onto which had been spotted down little pieces of DNA, each of which corresponded to one gene in the yeast genome. So it's about 6,000 genes in the yeast genome. And you could see them because there was still salt in the spots, but it was a very evocative little device. You could sort of hold it up in front of the sun and you could see the sun sort of glittering on all these little spots. Speaker 4: You could just see the grandness of [00:05:00] the device. Didn't know how people were using them. I didn't know what they would be used for. I didn't know what I would do with them, but I was sort of drawn in by the scale of it all. The idea that you could work on everything at once and you didn't have to choose to work on just one little thing and disappear into a little corner and study. Just that. And so my advisor said, oh, you really should go do this. They need someone who's, you know, understands biology, but can deal with the computational side of things. It's clear that this was going to generate a lot of data [00:05:30] and that, you know, he was right. I mean this was a field that really was in great need of people who understood the biology but could work well in the quantitative computational side of things. Speaker 4: So I packed up and moved to Stanford with a short stint as a minor league baseball announcer in between. Really it was just a very fortuitous time to have gotten into this new field. I mean, the field was really just beginning. So this was in 1996 the first genomes been sequenced, they were microbes, there's bacteria and yeast [00:06:00] and so forth. And we were just getting our first glimpse of the scale of the kind of problems that we were going to be facing in genomics. But what I loved about this device, which is a DNA microarray, it's the sort of became a very hot tool in biology for a number of years was that it wasn't just a computer, it wasn't just data in a computer. It actually you were doing to do experiments with this. I'm interested in biology cause I liked living things. I like doing experiments, I like seeing things and I didn't want to just disappear with someone else's data and [00:06:30] analyze it. Speaker 4: So I went to Stanford to work on these and it really was just this awesome time and we were generating huge amounts of data in the lab and not just me. There were, you know, dozens of people generating tons of different types of experiments and so forth. And we lacked any kind of framework for looking at that data constructively. You couldn't look at those experiments and figure out by looking line by line in an excel spreadsheet at what gene was expressed, at what level and what condition. It just wasn't [00:07:00] the way to do it. And so my main contribution to the field at the time was in bringing tools for organizing the information and presenting it visually and being able to interact with that kind of incredibly complicated data in a way that was intuitive for people who understood the biology and allowed them to go back and forth between the experiment in the computer and the data and really try to make sense of what was a huge amounts of data with huge amounts of information, but something nobody had really been trained to [00:07:30] look at. And so it was there that I really realized kind of the way I like to do science, which is this constant back and forth between experiments on the computer. In my mind and in what I try to teach people in my lab. There's no distinction between doing experiments on the bench or in the field or in a computer that they're just different ways of looking at biology. Speaker 3: This is spectrum line KALX Berkeley. Today, Michael [00:08:00] I's associate professor at UC Berkeley explains his research in developmental biology. Speaker 4: On the basis of that time at Stanford, I got a job at Berkeley and what I did when I started my lab at Berkeley was really tried to focus on one problem. I mean I had been working on a million different problems at Stanford where we had a huge group and a million different people working on, and I was sort of moving around from problem the problem and helping out people with their data or thinking of different experiments. And when I came to Berkeley, I really [00:08:30] wanted to focus on one problem. And the problem that had intrigued me from the beginning of working on the microarray stuff was figuring out how it is that an animal's genome, which is the same essentially in every cell in the body, how it instructs different cells to behave differently, to turn on different genes and to acquire different properties. And so partly because of the influence of people here at Berkeley who were working on fruit flies, I switched my research program to work on [inaudible] when I started my lab at Berkeley, the genome of that [00:09:00] had just been sequenced and I liked working with animals. Speaker 4: I like having something that moves around and you know, had some behaviors and so the lab started to work on flies and pretty much since then that's what we've worked on. That's sort of the story of how I got to where I am. So your research then is you're looking at flies over time? Yeah, I mean, I mean I see how the genes are expressed. I'd say we're looking at classified more as developmental biology in the sense that we're looking at how genes are expressed over time during the lifespan of a lie. To this day, [00:09:30] we can't look at a newly sequenced genome and say, oh well this is what the animal's going to look like. That is, I couldn't tell you except sort of by cheating and knowing, comparing it to other genomes. If I, you gave me a fly genome, I look at it, I wouldn't know it was a fly or a worm or a tree or it's just the way in which the organism acquires it. Speaker 4: Things that make them interesting, their form, their appearance, their function. We have just the tiniest scratch of understanding of how that works. And so it's, for me, the most [00:10:00] interesting problem in biology is how do you get in a complicated structure like an animal out of a single cell. And how is that encoded in a genome sequence? I mean it's a fascinating mystery that I thought, you know, when I first started doing this I thought we'd have solved that problem by now. Not Easily. You know, because we had all this new data, we had the genome sequences we could measure. And a lot of what my lab does is actually measure which genes come on when, during development and try to understand for individual genes where that's been encoded in the genome [00:10:30] and how that happens. And I just sort of figured, well, you know, the problem for all these years was not that the problem was that hard. Speaker 4: We just didn't have the right data to look at this problem. And now we can do these experiments. I can sequence the genome of a fly and in a day I can characterize which genes are turned on when during development. And I sort of naively thought, well, we'll just sort of put it into a computer and shake things up and be clever and we'll figure out how these things are related to each other. And I mean now it's laughable that I would've ever thought that, but it was a very, very complicated thing. It's a process that's [00:11:00] executed by very complicated molecular machines operating in a very complicated environment or the nucleus and it, you know, we really don't understand it very well. We've learned a lot, but it's not a problem. We really understand. And so what is it that you've accumulated in terms of knowledge in that regard? Speaker 4: What do you think you've learned? A small amount of this is coming from my lab, but this is a whole field of people looking at this. But that we know the basic way in which that information is encoded in the genome. [00:11:30] We know that there are tuneable switches that can turn genes on and off in different conditions. And we know basically what molecular processes are involved in doing that in the sense that we know that there are proteins that can bind DNA in a sequence specific manner. So they will stick only to pieces of DNA that contain a motif or a particular code that distinct for each of these factors. In flies, there's several hundred of these factors and for humans that are several thousand of these factors that bind DNA in a [00:12:00] sequence specific manner, and they basically translate the nucleotide sequence of the genome into a different kind of code, which is the code of proteins bound to DNA. Speaker 4: And we know from a million different experiments that it's the action of those proteins binding to DNA that triggers the differential expression of genes in different conditions. So if you have a particular proteins, these are called transcription factors. If you have one in a cell at high levels than the genes [00:12:30] that are responding to that factor will be turned on in that cell. And if there's another cell where that protein isn't present, the set of genes that responds to it won't be turned on. So we know that as a general statement, but working out exactly how those proteins function, what it is that they actually do to turn a gene on and off, how they interact with each other, what conditions are necessary for them to function. All of those things are, I wouldn't say we know nothing about it, but they're very, [00:13:00] very poorly understood. Speaker 4: A lot of this sort of simple ideas that people had of there being a kind of regulatory code that looked something like the protein code that we're, you know, amino acid code that people are familiar with, right, that there'll be a genetic code for gene regulation. The idea that that's true is long disappeared from our thinking in the sense that it's much more like a very, very complicated problem with hundreds of different proteins that all interact with each other in a dynamic way. Something bind recruits, something else. [00:13:30] The thing it recruits changes the coding on the DNA and essence to a different state and then that allows other proteins to come in and that somehow or another that we still really don't understand. You eventually reach a state where the gene is turned on or turned off depending on what these factors are doing and you know, while there's lots of models for how that might function, they're all still tentative and we're getting better. The techniques for doing these kinds of experiments get better all the time. We can take individual pieces of or Sophala embryo [00:14:00] and sequence all the RNA contains and get a really complete picture of what's turned on when the technology is improving to the point where we can do a lot of this by imaging cells as amazing things we can do, but still the next level of understanding the singularity in our understanding of transcriptional regulation is still before us. Speaker 3: Spectrum is on KALX, Berkley alternating Fridays today. Michael [inaudible], associate professor at UC Berkeley [00:14:30] is our guest. In the next section, Michael describes the challenges his research poses Speaker 4: and is the task then the hard work of science and documenting everything's, yeah. Mapping a little bit about just observing. I mean, I'm a big believer in observational science that what's limited us to this has been just our poor tools for looking at what's going on. I mean we still hard to visualize the activity of individual molecules within cells, although we're on the precipice [00:15:00] of being able to do that better. So yeah, it's looking and realizing when the paradigms we have for thinking about this thing are clearly just not sufficient. And I think the fields get trapped sometimes in a way of thinking about how their system works and they do experiments that are predicated on some particular idea. But you know, usually when you have an idea and you pursue it for quite a long time and it doesn't pan out, it's because the idea is wrong. Speaker 4: And not always, but I think the transcriptional regulation field has been slow to adapt [00:15:30] to new sort of models for thinking. Although that is changing, I think that there's a lot of activity now and thinking about the dynamics of DNA and proteins within the nucleus. You know, we tend to think about DNA as kind of a static thing that sits in the nucleus and it's a, it's sort of read out by proteins, but really much more accurate as to think of it as a living kind of warned me like thing in the nucleus that gets pulled around to different parts of the nucleus and where it is in the nucleus is one way in which you control what's turned on and off. And I think people are really [00:16:00] appreciating the importance of this sort of three-dimensional architecture of the nucleus as a key facet and controlling the activity that there's, the nucleus itself is not a homogeneous place. Speaker 4: There is active and inactive regions of the nucleus and it's really largely from imaging that we're learning how that's functioning and you know, we as the whole field and are there lots of collaborators and people who are doing work? Yeah, I mean I'd say oh yeah. I mean it's a, it's an active feeling. Pay Attention to [00:16:30] oh yeah. So it's an active, if not huge field and not just in flies. I mean, I think it's transcriptional regulations of big field and in particular in developmental biology where amongst scientists we're interested in how animals develop. It's long been clear that gene regulation is sort of sits at the center of understanding development and so people interested in developmental biology and have long been interested in transcriptional regulation and I think everybody's got their own take on it here. But yeah, it's a very active field with lots of people, including several other people at Berkeley who are doing really [00:17:00] fascinating stuff. Speaker 4: So it's not out in the wilderness. This is not the hinterlands of science, but it's um, it's a nice field to work in about appropriate size. Our annual meetings only have a thousand, a few thousand people. It's not like some of these fields with 25,000 people. I can realistically know all the people who are working on problems related to ours and I literally know them and I know what they're doing and we sort of exchange ideas. So I like it. It's, it's nice community of people. [00:17:30] Is the field driving a lot of tool development? Absolutely. I say, this is something I really try to encourage people in my lab and people I trained to think, which is when you have a problem, you should be thinking not what am I good at? What can I apply to this problem? What technique has out there that would work here? Speaker 4: But what do I need to do? What is the right way to solve this problem? And if someone else has figured out how to do it, great, do it. But if they haven't, then do it yourself. And I think that this applies sort of very specifically [00:18:00] to doing individual experiments, but also to this broader issue we were talking about before with this interplay between computation and experiment. I think too many people come into science graduate school or wherever, thinking, well, I'm an experimentalist or I'm a computational biologist or whatever. And then they ask a question and then the inevitably hit the point where the logical path and pursuing their question would take them across this self-imposed boundary. Either you're an experimentalist who generated data and you're not [00:18:30] able to get at it in the right way and therefore, you know what you really need to be doing is sitting at a computer and playing around with the data. Speaker 4: But if you view that as a boundary that you're not allowed to cross or you're incapable of crossing, you'll never solve it because it almost never works. You almost never can find somebody else no matter how talented they are. Who's as interested in the problem that you're working on as you are. And I think that's a general rule. Scientists should feel as uninhibited about pursuing new things even if they're bad at it. It's certainly been a mantra [00:19:00] I've always tried to convey to the people in my lab, which is, yeah, sure, you come in with a computer science background and you know you're a coder and you've never picked up a pipette or grown a fly. But that's why the first thing you should do in the lab is go grow flies and vice versa. For the people who come in perfectly good in the lab but unable to do stuff in the computer, the first thing you should do is start playing around with data on the computer and it doesn't always work and not everybody sort of successfully bridges that gap, but the best scientists in my mind are ones who don't [00:19:30] circumscribe what they're good at. Speaker 4: They have problems and they pursue them. When something like visualization, is that a bridge too far to try to embrace that kind of technology? I've always done that. I mean I almost every time I do an analysis in the computer, I reduce it to picture some way or another. You know, because of the human brain, no matter how fancy your analysis is, the human brain is just not good at assimilating information as numbers. What we're good at as thinkers is looking at patterns, [00:20:00] finding patterns and things, looking at looking at images, recognizing when patterns are interesting and important, and there's a crucial role for turning data into something the human brain can pull in. And that's always, for me, one of the most fun things is taking data that is just a string of numbers and figuring out how to present it to your brain in a way that makes some sense for it and the refinement of it so that it's believable. Speaker 4: Yeah, and so then you can do it over and over and over and get the same result. Yeah, and all, I mean it is one of the dangers [00:20:30] you deal with when you're working with, when you're relying on human pattern recognition is we're so good at it that we recognize patterns even when they don't exist. There's a lot of statistics that gets used in modern biology, but often people I think use it incorrectly and people think that statistics is going to tell them what things are important, what things they should be paying attention to. For me, we almost entirely used statistical thinking to tell us when we've fooled ourselves into thinking something's interesting, you know, with enough data and enough things going on, you're going [00:21:00] to find something that looks interesting there and having a check on that part of your brain that likes to find patterns and interesting things is also crucial. Speaker 4: You know, I think people understand that if you flip a coin three times, it's not that we are trying to land on heads, but they have much, much harder time thinking about what happens if you flip a coin a billion times. We're struggling with this in biology, this transformation from small data to big data, it taxes people's ability to think clearly about what kinds of phenomena are interesting and aren't interesting. [00:21:30] Big Data is sort of the promise land now for a lot of people. Yeah. I'm a big believer in data intrinsically. If you're interested in observing things and interested in understanding how they work, the more you can measure about them better. It's just that's not the end of the game. Right? Just simply measuring things that doesn't lead to insight. Going from observing something to understanding it. That's where the challenges and that's true. Whether you're looking at the movement of DNA in a nucleus or you're [00:22:00] looking at people by a target, right? Like the same. It's the same problem. Speaker 3: This concludes part one of our interview with Michael [inaudible]. On the next spectrum, Michael Eisen will explain the Public Library of science, which he [inaudible]. He will give his thoughts on genetically modified organisms and a strategy for labeling food. He discusses scientific outreach and research funding. Don't miss him now. Our calendar of science and technology [00:22:30] events happening locally over the next few weeks. Rick Karnofsky and Renee Rao present the calendar Speaker 5: tomorrow, February 9th from noon to one wild Oakland presents nature photography basics at lake merit. Meet in front of the Rotary Nature Center at 600 Bellevue Avenue at Perkins in Oakland. For this free event, learn to get more out of the camera you currently have and use it to capture beautiful photos of Oakland's jewel lake merit. [00:23:00] Bring your camera and you'll learn the basics of composition, camera settings, but photography and wildlife photography. Okay. Your instructor will be Dan. Tigger, a freelance photographer that publishes regularly in Bay Nature and other magazines. RSVP at Wild Oakland dot o r G. UC Berkeley Speaker 6: is holding its monthly blood drive. This February 12th you are eligible to no-name blood if you are in good health way, at least 110 pounds and are 17 years or older. You can [00:23:30] also check out the eligibility guidelines online for an initial self screening if you're not eligible or you prefer not to donate blood. There are other ways to support campus blood drives through volunteering, encouraging others and simply spreading the word. You can make an appointment online, but walk ins are also welcome. The blood drive will be on February 12th and the alumni house on the UC Berkeley campus will last from 12 to 6:00 PM you can make an appointment or find more information at the website. [00:24:00] Red Cross blood.org using the sponsor code you see be February 13th Dr. Bruce Ames, senior scientist at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute will speak at a colloquium on the effects that an inadequate supply of vitamins and minerals has on aging. Speaker 6: Dr Ames posits that the metabolism responds to a moderate deficiency of an essential vitamin or mineral by concentrating on collecting the scarce proteins [00:24:30] to help short term survival and reproductive fitness, usually at the expense of proteins important for longterm health. This is known as triaged theory. Dr Ian Discuss ways in which the human metabolism has evolved to favor short term survival over longterm health. He will also present evidence that this metabolic trade-off accelerates aging associated diseases such as cancer, cognitive decline, and cardiovascular disease. The colloquium will be on February 13th from 12 [00:25:00] to 1:15 PM on the UC Berkeley campus in five one oh one Tolman hall February 16th the Monthly Science at Cau Lecture series will hold a talk focusing on the emerging field of synthetic biology, which applies engineering principles to biology to build sales with new capabilities. The Speaker, John Dabber is a mentor in the international genetically engineered machines competition or ai-jen and a UC Berkeley professor, [00:25:30] Dr Debra. We'll discuss the new technique created in J key's link's lab to make low cost drugs to treat malaria. He will also introduce student members of the UC Berkeley Igm team who will discuss their prize winning project. The free public event will be on February 16th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM will be held on the UC Berkeley campus in room one oh five of Stanley hall Speaker 5: on Tuesday the 19th how long now and Yearbook Buenos Center for the Arts Presents. Chris Anderson's talk [00:26:00] on the makers revolution. He describes the democratization of manufacturing and the implications that that has. Anderson himself left his job as editor of wired magazine to join a 22 year old from Tijuana and running a typical makers firm. Three d robotics, which builds is do it yourself. Drones, what based collaboration tools and small batch technology such as cheap 3d printers, three d scanners, laser cutters and assembly. Robots are transforming manufacturing. [00:26:30] Suddenly large scale manufacturers are competing, not just with each other on multi-year cycles are competing with swarms of tiny competitors who can go from invention to innovation to market dominance. In a weeks today, Anderson notes there are nearly a thousand maker spaces shared production facilities around the world and they're growing at an astounding rate. The talk is seven 30 to 9:00 PM at the Lam Research Theater at the Yerba Buena Center for the arts at 700 Howard Street in San Francisco. Speaker 5: [00:27:00] Tickets are $15 for more information, visit long now.org now to new stories presented by Renee and Rick. The Federal Communication Commission has released a proposal to create super wifi networks across the nation. This proposal created by FCC Chairman Julius Jenna Koski, is it global first, and if approved, could provide free access to the web in every metropolitan area and many rural areas. The powerful new service could even allow people [00:27:30] to make calls for mobile phones using only the Internet. A robust public policy debate has already sprung up around the proposal, which has drawn aggressive lobbying on both sides. Verizon wireless and at t, and t along with other telecommunications companies have launched a campaign to persuade lawmakers. The proposal is technically and financially unfeasible. Meanwhile, tech companies like Google and Microsoft have championed the ideas sparking innovation and widening access to an [00:28:00] increasingly important resource. We can add this to the growing list of public policy debate over our changing and complex relationship with the Internet. Speaker 5: A team at McMaster university as reported in the February 3rd issue of nature chemical biology that they have found the first demonstration of a secreted metabolite that can protect against toxic gold and cause gold. Biomineralization. That's right. Bacterium Delphia, [00:28:30] a seat of [inaudible] take solutions continuing dissolve the gold and creates gold particles. This helps protect the bacteria from absorbing harmful gold ions, but it also might be used to harvest gold. The researchers found genes that cause gold, precipitation, engineered bacteria that lack these jeans and observed that these bacteria had stunted growth and that there was no gold precipitation. They also extracted the chemical responsible [00:29:00] for the gold mineralization naming it delftibactin a, the molecule creates metallic gold within seconds in Ph neutral conditions at room temperature. Gold exists in extremely dilute quantities in many water sources and the bacteria or the metabolite might be used to extract gold from mine. Waste in the future. Speaker 3: [inaudible] the music her during the show is by Luciana, David [00:29:30] from his album foam and acoustic, released under a creative Commons license, 3.0 attribution. Thank you for listening to spectrum. If you have comments about show, please send Speaker 1: them to us. Our email address is spectrum dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. Speaker 2: [inaudible]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Maggie Koerth-Baker, the science editor for boingboing.net, discusses her book "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before it Conquers Us" and talks about the past, present, and future of energy infrastructure. www.maggiekb.com/booksTranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Welcome [00:00:30] to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program bringing you interviews featuring bay area scientists and technologists. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. I'm Rick Karnofsky, Brad swift and I are the hosts of today's show. I'd like to thank past spectrum guests and director of the Bay Area Science Festival Kashara Hari for helping to coordinate this interview. We're speaking with Maggie, Chris Baker, science editor for the hugely [00:01:00] popular blog, [inaudible] dot net and the author of the recent book before the lights go out, conquering the energy crisis before it conquers us. Maggie, welcome to the spectrum. Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. So why this book? This book came about because I'm married to a guy who actually works in the energy industry. My husband is an energy efficiency analyst, which means that he basically uses software algorithms to figure out how to make buildings as energy efficient as possible for the least amount of money. [00:01:30] And so when he got that job, he started coming home and talking to me a lot about how energy worked and how electricity worked. And it started to occur to me that there was this big disconnect between what the experts knew about our energy infrastructure and what everybody else, you know, not just lay people that government and business and you know, everybody actually has to make decisions about energy. What they knew, and there was all these details that were, you know, just basic information [00:02:00] to my husband to the point that he didn't even talk about them to people, but that void not basic information at all outside this niche. And so I really wanted to try to bridge that gap in education between the experts and everyone else. You cover Speaker 3: both sort of energy infrastructure and energy generation in use as well as some of the environmental issues that are Speaker 1: of concern to this. Yeah, I really wanted to have a book that kind of explains sort of a behind the scenes look at [00:02:30] w you know, where our electricity comes from and why it comes to us in the way that it comes to us and how this current infrastructure that we have affects what we can and can't do to solve our energy crisis problems over the next 30 or 40 years. People are familiar with gasoline in a way that they're not familiar with electricity. You know, I spill gas on my shoes on a monthly basis and it's right there at the pump every day. Electricity's different, you know, it's kind of has this [00:03:00] sort of feeling of like magical elves in the wall that make my lights turn on and I don't, I don't know what happens. It's a black box and that was really interesting to me is kind of going inside that black box and helping people understand what's going on behind is incredibly important part of their daily lives that they depend upon for everything. Speaker 1: So what is going on and how do we get here? Yeah, so we have a really imperfect system. This is I think something that is hard for people [00:03:30] to understand sometimes that when we're talking about changing the energy system, we're not talking about going from something that works really well to something that's risky. We're talking about taking this thing that wasn't designed by anybody. It just evolved piecemeal, like a little patchwork quilt made up by 50 or 60 or 70 different quilters and trying to make it something that can work for the future. Right now we have a system that is surprisingly precarious. There are, you know, centers all over the u s where these people called grid controllers [00:04:00] have to manually balance electric supply and electric demand on a minute by minute basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You know that process have to be manual basically because we've never made it anything else. Speaker 1: There are technologies. Some of the things that we talk about, we talk about smart grids that could make this more automated, but we've never bought those, so we just have these guys. It would also be a lot easier if we had more storage on our electric grid, but we don't really have any storage on our electric grid because [00:04:30] it's always been cheaper to just have these guys and that puts us at risk, not just in terms of how we integrate wind and solar onto our grid, but it also puts us at risk in terms of blackouts. There have been a lot of times, particularly as you get more extreme weather events where this old manual grid can't respond fast enough to changes that are happening and people lose power. I'm interested about the blackouts that have happened historically. [00:05:00] Did you find in your research that there lessons learned from all the blackouts that have happened? Speaker 1: Some yes and some no. We have learned a lot more about interconnecting parts of the grid to kind of help people get past some of these blackouts. Up until the 1970s even a lot of our grids were just these completely separate islands where a town would be its own grid and another town would be its own grid and there'd be no connection between the two. But [00:05:30] there were a lot of rolling blackouts that happened because you had this constantly increasing electric demand that this small grid couldn't actually keep up with in terms of creating more generation. So one of the things that we found is that it made more sense to start connecting these things to one another and now we have this completely national system where places that don't have enough electricity can get it from somewhere else. And that's a really important thing. Speaker 1: That's a important change that has happened and has made the system more reliable. [00:06:00] There are better things we could do with that interconnection. One of the things that would really help is to have a little bit more distributed generation. So you know, generation, instead of being on the scale of millions of homes being powered by one power plant, hundreds or thousands of homes being powered by one power plant, and those things can be scattered around in a lot more places and they can allow us to access natural resources like gas from landfills or hydroelectric power that we can't get to at [00:06:30] a really large scale right now. And would also then strengthen the system up. Because if you have your power coming from a lot of places, shutting down, one of them doesn't shut down power to millions of people. And that's a big deal. Kind of a resilience thing. Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Is there any reason I shouldn't just build a solar farm in my backyard? There's not a reason why you shouldn't build a solar farm in your backyard, but there is a good reason to think [00:07:00] that you're not going to supply all the energy you need for yourself. You know, this isn't, when I talk about de-centralization, I'm not talking about everybody going off the grid and everybody becoming, you know, their own self-sufficient farm basically. That's not a really realistic way to think about the world. I could make this great garden in my backyard, but my chances of feeding my entire family for a full year based only in what's in that garden are pretty slim, but at the same time, I might not like the choices that I have at the giant supermarket in the suburbs. [00:07:30] So this is where I kind of like to talk about decentralization as being a lot like a farmer's market. It's kind of somewhere in the middle. It's got enough diversity of choices that it's better than the really large scale that way, but it also still enables you to share resources among multiple people and make use of these shared networks of energy use and energy, a production that we really need to have a reliable system. You're not going to have [00:08:00] a reliable system. You're not going to have a 21st century system if you're trying to have everybody be off the grid. It just won't work. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 3: you are listening to spectrum the science and technology show on k l x Berkeley. I'm Rick Karnofsky. Brad swift and I are interviewing Maggie. Chris Baker about our energy infrastructure Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 1: [00:08:30] so how much energy do we produce and consume in this country? Here we used 98 quadrillion BTUs of energy in 2010 which is enough energy to take something decide is the great salt lake and boil it dry twice. So that's a lot of energy. It's, it's kind of hard to wrap your head around, it's just that massive. [00:09:00] But if you think about boiling away a lake, the size of the Great Salt Lake, twice in a year, you kind of get an idea of how much energy we're using and what's the trend of our energy usage. It generally goes up, it goes, it fluctuates a lot. We've had some dips in the past eight or nine, eight or seven years because of recession issues. But if you look at like the overall trend, what you see as it going up. So one of the things that would be really helpful is if we can kind [00:09:30] of find ways to stabilize energy use and not grow at this constant growth rate without having to be in a recession to do that. Speaker 1: What are some of the surprising things you found when researching the book? One of the biggest surprises for me was that we don't have storage on the electric grid. I honestly thought just had not even ever considered that. That wasn't there until I found out that it wasn't, you know, batteries [00:10:00] are just such this huge part of our lives. They're in everything we use there in our cars. They're in laptops, they're, you know, just all over the place. It just made sense that there would be batteries on the grid and there really aren't not enough to actually make a difference. And that's because they're much bigger and much more expensive and we don't necessarily have battery technology worked out in a way that can make it cheap and make it big. And that's something that we really need a lot more r and D on. Speaker 1: But [00:10:30] there are other ways to store energy and I just was really surprised to find out that we weren't using them. Can you give examples? One of the things is called compressed air energy storage, which is one of the most cost effective ways that we can store energy at a grid scale. And it basically involves how you bring electricity potentials from overnight when there's not a lot of demand for it into the day when there is on the great plains where get most of our wind power from wind [00:11:00] actually blows more at night in a lot of those places, but there's no demand for that electricity. So you just can't use it, which is a problem because we have, you know, these wind farms built and they're not getting us all of the power they could be giving us. So one of the things you can do is have your wind farm hooked up to an air compressor and at night when the wind is blowing and there's not demand, you use that wind power to power the air compressor, which pumps compressed air into porous rock underground. Speaker 1: Basically use the earth as a giant battery [00:11:30] and then the next day you just run the system backwards and that compressed air comes out and helps to run a natural gas generator that produces electricity for far, far less energy than we'd otherwise need. So in addition to making our system smarter and putting storage on the grid, what other improvements can be made to the system? We need a lot more ways people to use energy efficiency better than we do today. There's a big difference between energy efficiency and conservation. [00:12:00] Conservation is great, but conservation is all about not doing something. Whereas energy efficiency is about finding ways to do it better. So you can get the services you need and want. You can get these things that make our lives clean and comfortable and convenient. But you can do that for less energy. And a lot of that has to do with making it easy for energy efficiency to happen. Speaker 1: You do make the case that individual consumer contribution is great, but we do need to make these system level changes. How do we actually start to do that? [00:12:30] Yeah. So that's, that's a tough thing. One of the things that I've learned in the course of this research is that energy isn't just our choices. It's not just the sources we're using, it's the systems and the infrastructure that kind of control how we use energy. You know, I've been telling people that the average American uses twice as much energy as the average European, but that's not because they're better people than us. That's because they have infrastructures that allow them to do that without becoming energy experts or without agonizing over every single choice they make every day. And I think [00:13:00] a big part of it has to start with making the case for this. In terms of practicality. Speaker 1: I think the places where I've seen that kind of top down infrastructure change happen, particularly the u s military or things where it started with the people who wanted to make individual changes, going to the people in charge and making a practical case for what benefits we're going to get if we make a couple of these changes and then those changes started influencing the way that everybody [00:13:30] else at the bottom of this chain of command thought about how they used energy and they became more aware of it in their lives and they became smarter about what they were doing. And then that led to pressure. That led to more changes at the top, which led to more cultural changes at the bottom. And you kind of get this nice feedback loop, but I think it has to start with what kind of pressures we put on our government, not just in terms of you need to do this because it's good for the environment, but here are these really good practical things we're going to get out [00:14:00] of making these changes. Speaker 1: We're going to make our system more stable. We're going to make us better able to deal with weather, with terrorism, with all these different things that can affect the grid. And I think that that's a good place to start. How vulnerable is the grid to attack either physically or software wise? Software wise it's not very much right now. It will be more when we have a smart grid and I think this is something that worries people a lot and I think it's reasonable cause it's a reasonable risk, but we have [00:14:30] to kind of consider the balance between benefits and detriments. You know the analogy I ended up using in the book was my dad's typewriter from 1986 was a lot less vulnerable to cyber attack and identity theft than his internet enabled computer now. But I don't think he'd ever go back to that typewriter because their stuff he gets from that Internet enabled computer that he could never possibly get otherwise. And I think that we [00:15:00] need to be cautious in how we set things up. We need to be intelligent in how we set up our security systems and we need to know that we're not ever going to have anything set up perfectly and there's going to be failures, but that the benefits are going to outweigh the risks. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 1: you're listening to spectrum on k a l ex Maggie. Chris Baker is discussing [00:15:30] her recent book before the lights go out. Speaker 1: Do you think dynamic pricing of energy has any role? Definitely does. This is another one of those aspects of how you reduce demand and reduce the need to build new power plants has to do a lot with reducing those peak loads. When we build power plants, we don't just build power plants for the amount of energy that is used. Most of the time we have to [00:16:00] build power plants for the theoretical peak in energy that we might hit at any given point, which means we have a lot of power plants in the u s that aren't actually producing much electricity and it just kind of sitting in idle for most of the year because we need them in the middle of summer, in the afternoon. And if we can cut those peak loads down, that means that we don't have to have as many of those things. They don't have to be on, they don't have to be idling because idling is not a really efficient way to use those fuels. Speaker 1: [00:16:30] So that's where the dynamic pricing thing comes in because right now if you are a business, you are charged for electricity in a really different way than individuals are. As a business, your electricity costs more when people want more of it and costs less when people want less of it so that you're kind of incentivized to not use electricity during that peak time. We don't charge people in residential areas like that and [00:17:00] I think that there could be a big benefit. It would take also implementing systems so people know what's going on because if you don't know that the cost changes throughout the day, there's really nothing you can do about it. But there's some really cool technologies, like a, an orb that sits on your table and changes color based on the price of electricity or you know what demand for electricity is like. And so you can look at that and know, well, the orb is red. Speaker 1: I shouldn't run the dishwasher right now, and that's the kind [00:17:30] of thing that you need built in if you're going to make dynamic pricing work, don't to swap out all of your appliances. Right. Which is a nice thing. Also, one of the things I found interesting about the book is that you get a lot of evidence for climate change, but then you also say even if you don't believe in climate change, energy efficiency is still very important. Yeah. This is one of those things that I was really surprised by when I was doing the research was the idea that I don't have to convince people that climate change is real in order to convince them that we need energy change. This [00:18:00] is something people are willing to sign on for for a whole host of reasons. There was a really great story that ended up opening the book with where a nonprofit in Kansas was doing these focus groups to kind of find out what people thought about climate and energy and kind of get a good idea of, you know, how they would develop their programs. Speaker 1: And they kept running over and over into these situations where you'd have some guy talking about how climate change is a socialist plot. It's going to destroy us all. And then you'd ask him, you know, [00:18:30] what are you doing about energy? And the same guy would have switched out all of his light bulb to cfls and he'd owned a Prius and he was excited about wind power because he was excited about those things for different reasons. To save a lot of money. He gets to save money, he gets to be part of this Apollo project, kind of USA, USA kind of thing. And you know, there's lots of different reasons why people care about this stuff. There are opportunities we're missing to communicate with people in their language, their cultural language instead [00:19:00] of trying to convince them to be part of our cultural language. And I think that's a mistake that we make a lot as you know, communicators of sustainability and of environmentalism is that we don't make a big enough effort to talk to people in different cultural languages. Speaker 3: I would like to say I really like your footnotes in the book. They're not only like useful links that were, you know, I was able to fall on my kindle. I don't know how useful they are in the hard backwards. I don't know about that either. The uh, [00:19:30] just the stories that are hitting back there are, are absolutely fantastic. So what sort of motivated you to put all that in? Speaker 1: Not being able to cut out great stories that didn't quite have a place in the main text. You know, there's just so many cool things that I learned that didn't quite fit with the narrative of the story and I needed a place to put them. And then I had all these footnotes and now there's like 50 pages of footnotes, but one like one of my favorites was the [00:20:00] story of Thomas Edison when he was developing the grid system in New York City, which was the first grid system in the world. And they had this faulty junction box under a street corner that when it rained and the ground got saturated that you had kind of an electric connection up to the street. And that ended up leading to everybody in New York crowded around the street corner watching horses and buggies go by and then the horses hitting this electrified patch of ground and like rearing [00:20:30] and freaking out and kind of got to the point apparently where people sort of like urging them on like, no, no, there's no problem here and bring your horse through. Speaker 1: Um, and so they finally called down Edison's staff bowsers. Yeah, exactly. Basically giant joy buzzer. And they finally down Edison staff to get this thing fixed. And so they get it fixed and everything's fine. But then the next day, this used horse salesman shows up at Edison's office asking him to install an intentionally faulty junction box under [00:21:00] his used horse paddock to make the horses look more energetic than they actually are. And that's really where the story ends in the Edison archives. There's no record of whether or not he took the guy up on that offer. Has the way you use energy actually changed at all? Definitely. It's changed not because of the book. It changed when my husband got the job that he has. Uh, we've done a lot to make our house more energy efficient. We have a 1920s bungalow in Minneapolis that, you know, it's, [00:21:30] it's not going to be something where we can like reorient it on the site and make it save energy. Speaker 1: But there's a lot of things that were already done because of how they used to design buildings that involved that, you know, we have a 40 foot wide lot and our house is not right in the middle of it. Our House is set so that the north side of our lot is extremely small. Like is basically the smallest setback you can possibly have while the south side of our lot is much wider. And that was done in old Minneapolis neighborhoods [00:22:00] specifically. So you got more light coming in during the winter and more warmth and we're able to capture some of that energy that you wouldn't be able to capture otherwise if your house didn't have that kind of setback. So, I mean there's a lot of that kind of stuff that was built into how our house was built. And we've since gone through and my husband has like an expanding foam addiction and took it through the entire house and basically patched up everything that could possibly be construed as a, uh, leak in the house. [00:22:30] So we're, we're held up now with our, uh, with stucco and expanding foam. Oh, make it bigger. Thanks for joining. Yes, thank you so much. Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Now for some science news headlines, here's Brad swift and Lisa Katovich Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 4: [00:23:00] The California condors returned to flying free in the wild after a close brush with extinction, maybe an illusory recovery. The hundred plus condors soaring over California swallow so much led shot as they scavenge carcasses that the population can't sustain itself without steady medical care and continual resupply from captive populations. Toxicologist Myra Finkelstein of UC Santa Cruz described analyses of lead [00:23:30] in blood and feathers in the June 25th proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Each year about 20% of the state's monitored birds flunk their lead tests badly enough to need detox. This grim paper supplies the data to confirm the toll of lead ammunition on condors in the wild, regional or species. Specific regulations do restrict ammunition in California and Arizona, the two states where condos live, but those rules don't seem to be solving the problem without a politically difficult nationwide ban [00:24:00] on lead ammunition. California condors will exist in the wild only due to costly extensive human intervention. Essentially in an outdoor zoo state Speaker 5: science news reports that quantum information has leaped through the air about 100 kilometers in two new experiments further and with greater fidelity than ever before. The research brings truly long distance quantum communication networks in which satellites could beam encrypted information around the globe closer to reality. [00:24:30] Both studies involve quantum teleportation, which transports the quantum state of one particle to another. This star trek like feet is possible because of a phenomenon called entanglement in which pairs of particles become linked in such a way that measuring a certain property in one instantly determines the same property for the other, even if separated by large distances. In the first experiment, Anton Zeilinger of the University of Vienna and his colleagues used a pair of entangled photons [00:25:00] to transmit a piece of quantum information over 143 kilometers between two of the Canary Islands. In the second experiment, John Way Pawn of the University of Science and technology of China in Shanghai and his colleagues and tangled many protons together and teleported information 97 kilometers across the lake in China. These experiments are a milestone towards future satellite based quantum teleportation. Speaker 4: In the July issue of [00:25:30] the Journal cell, researchers from Stanford University reported the world's first complete computer model of an organism, the bacteria, Mycoplasma genitalium, a humble parasitic bacterium known mainly for showing up uninvited in the human urogenital and respiratory tracks. Its distinction is that it contains the smallest genome of any free living organism, only 525 genes as opposed to the 4,288 genes of eco lie. [00:26:00] The final model made use of more than 1900 experimentally determined parameters to integrate these disparate data points into a unified machine. Researchers modeled individual biological processes at 28 separate modules each governed by its own algorithm. These modules communicated to each other after every step making for a unified whole that closely matched the bacteria as real world behavior models like this could bring rational design to biology, allowing for computer guided experimental regimes and wholesale [00:26:30] creation of new micro organisms. Speaker 3: Irregular feature of spectrum is a calendar of science related events happening in the bay area over the next two weeks. Here's Lisa Katovich and Brad's swift, Speaker 4: the coming century war against your computers. The title of the August long now foundation seminar, Tuesday, July 31st Cory Doctorow, the night Speaker contend set the war against computer freedom will just keep escalating. Copyright wars, net neutrality and stop [00:27:00] online piracy act. We're early samples of what's to come. Victories in those battles were temporary and conflict in the decades ahead. We'll feature even higher stakes, more convoluted issues, and far more powerful technology. The debate is how civilization decides to conduct itself and in whose interests. Cory Doctorow writes contemporary science fiction. Recent books include for the win makers and little brother. The seminar will be held Tuesday, July 31st seven 30 to 9:00 PM at the Yerba Buena Center, Novellus Theater [00:27:30] 700 Howard Street, San Francisco admission is $10 [inaudible] Speaker 5: cosmos reconsidered. Alex Philapannco, UC Berkeley astronomy professor will present key video excerpts from Carl Sagans, legendary Cosmos Television series, offer uptodate commentary and invite audience questions. This event is presented by wonder fest and ask a scientist. The presentation will be held at the California Institute of Integral Studies. 1453 [00:28:00] mission street in San Francisco, July 31st 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM and mission is free. Speaker 4: The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is nearing the end of its eight month voyage to Mars to deliver the newest Mars rover. August 5th there will be two events featuring live feeds of the attempt to land the rover called curiosity on the Martian surface at Ames research center in mountain view, a public gathering to view the landing will take place from five to midnight. For details go to the NASA Ames research [00:28:30] center site, nasa.gov/centers/ames this event is free. The Chabot science center in Oakland will also have a live feed from 6:00 PM to 11 o'clock along with other presentations about the mission and landing. These events are included in the general admission to the center Speaker 2: [inaudible] the music you [00:29:00] heard during say show. We'll spend the Stein and David from his album book and Acoustic [inaudible]. It is released under a creative Commons license version 3.0 spectrum was recorded and edited by me, Rick [inaudible], and by Brad Swift. Thank you for listening to spectrum. We are happy to hear from listeners. If you have comments about the show, please send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum [00:29:30] dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. [inaudible] [inaudible]. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maggie Koerth-Baker, the science editor for boingboing.net, discusses her book "Before the Lights Go Out: Conquering the Energy Crisis Before it Conquers Us" and talks about the past, present, and future of energy infrastructure. www.maggiekb.com/booksTranscriptSpeaker 1: Spectrum's next Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Welcome [00:00:30] to spectrum the science and technology show on k a l x Berkeley, a biweekly 30 minute program bringing you interviews featuring bay area scientists and technologists. Speaker 3: Good afternoon. I'm Rick Karnofsky, Brad swift and I are the hosts of today's show. I'd like to thank past spectrum guests and director of the Bay Area Science Festival Kashara Hari for helping to coordinate this interview. We're speaking with Maggie, Chris Baker, science editor for the hugely [00:01:00] popular blog, [inaudible] dot net and the author of the recent book before the lights go out, conquering the energy crisis before it conquers us. Maggie, welcome to the spectrum. Speaker 1: Thank you for having me. So why this book? This book came about because I'm married to a guy who actually works in the energy industry. My husband is an energy efficiency analyst, which means that he basically uses software algorithms to figure out how to make buildings as energy efficient as possible for the least amount of money. [00:01:30] And so when he got that job, he started coming home and talking to me a lot about how energy worked and how electricity worked. And it started to occur to me that there was this big disconnect between what the experts knew about our energy infrastructure and what everybody else, you know, not just lay people that government and business and you know, everybody actually has to make decisions about energy. What they knew, and there was all these details that were, you know, just basic information [00:02:00] to my husband to the point that he didn't even talk about them to people, but that void not basic information at all outside this niche. And so I really wanted to try to bridge that gap in education between the experts and everyone else. You cover Speaker 3: both sort of energy infrastructure and energy generation in use as well as some of the environmental issues that are Speaker 1: of concern to this. Yeah, I really wanted to have a book that kind of explains sort of a behind the scenes look at [00:02:30] w you know, where our electricity comes from and why it comes to us in the way that it comes to us and how this current infrastructure that we have affects what we can and can't do to solve our energy crisis problems over the next 30 or 40 years. People are familiar with gasoline in a way that they're not familiar with electricity. You know, I spill gas on my shoes on a monthly basis and it's right there at the pump every day. Electricity's different, you know, it's kind of has this [00:03:00] sort of feeling of like magical elves in the wall that make my lights turn on and I don't, I don't know what happens. It's a black box and that was really interesting to me is kind of going inside that black box and helping people understand what's going on behind is incredibly important part of their daily lives that they depend upon for everything. Speaker 1: So what is going on and how do we get here? Yeah, so we have a really imperfect system. This is I think something that is hard for people [00:03:30] to understand sometimes that when we're talking about changing the energy system, we're not talking about going from something that works really well to something that's risky. We're talking about taking this thing that wasn't designed by anybody. It just evolved piecemeal, like a little patchwork quilt made up by 50 or 60 or 70 different quilters and trying to make it something that can work for the future. Right now we have a system that is surprisingly precarious. There are, you know, centers all over the u s where these people called grid controllers [00:04:00] have to manually balance electric supply and electric demand on a minute by minute basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You know that process have to be manual basically because we've never made it anything else. Speaker 1: There are technologies. Some of the things that we talk about, we talk about smart grids that could make this more automated, but we've never bought those, so we just have these guys. It would also be a lot easier if we had more storage on our electric grid, but we don't really have any storage on our electric grid because [00:04:30] it's always been cheaper to just have these guys and that puts us at risk, not just in terms of how we integrate wind and solar onto our grid, but it also puts us at risk in terms of blackouts. There have been a lot of times, particularly as you get more extreme weather events where this old manual grid can't respond fast enough to changes that are happening and people lose power. I'm interested about the blackouts that have happened historically. [00:05:00] Did you find in your research that there lessons learned from all the blackouts that have happened? Speaker 1: Some yes and some no. We have learned a lot more about interconnecting parts of the grid to kind of help people get past some of these blackouts. Up until the 1970s even a lot of our grids were just these completely separate islands where a town would be its own grid and another town would be its own grid and there'd be no connection between the two. But [00:05:30] there were a lot of rolling blackouts that happened because you had this constantly increasing electric demand that this small grid couldn't actually keep up with in terms of creating more generation. So one of the things that we found is that it made more sense to start connecting these things to one another and now we have this completely national system where places that don't have enough electricity can get it from somewhere else. And that's a really important thing. Speaker 1: That's a important change that has happened and has made the system more reliable. [00:06:00] There are better things we could do with that interconnection. One of the things that would really help is to have a little bit more distributed generation. So you know, generation, instead of being on the scale of millions of homes being powered by one power plant, hundreds or thousands of homes being powered by one power plant, and those things can be scattered around in a lot more places and they can allow us to access natural resources like gas from landfills or hydroelectric power that we can't get to at [00:06:30] a really large scale right now. And would also then strengthen the system up. Because if you have your power coming from a lot of places, shutting down, one of them doesn't shut down power to millions of people. And that's a big deal. Kind of a resilience thing. Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Is there any reason I shouldn't just build a solar farm in my backyard? There's not a reason why you shouldn't build a solar farm in your backyard, but there is a good reason to think [00:07:00] that you're not going to supply all the energy you need for yourself. You know, this isn't, when I talk about de-centralization, I'm not talking about everybody going off the grid and everybody becoming, you know, their own self-sufficient farm basically. That's not a really realistic way to think about the world. I could make this great garden in my backyard, but my chances of feeding my entire family for a full year based only in what's in that garden are pretty slim, but at the same time, I might not like the choices that I have at the giant supermarket in the suburbs. [00:07:30] So this is where I kind of like to talk about decentralization as being a lot like a farmer's market. It's kind of somewhere in the middle. It's got enough diversity of choices that it's better than the really large scale that way, but it also still enables you to share resources among multiple people and make use of these shared networks of energy use and energy, a production that we really need to have a reliable system. You're not going to have [00:08:00] a reliable system. You're not going to have a 21st century system if you're trying to have everybody be off the grid. It just won't work. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 3: you are listening to spectrum the science and technology show on k l x Berkeley. I'm Rick Karnofsky. Brad swift and I are interviewing Maggie. Chris Baker about our energy infrastructure Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 1: [00:08:30] so how much energy do we produce and consume in this country? Here we used 98 quadrillion BTUs of energy in 2010 which is enough energy to take something decide is the great salt lake and boil it dry twice. So that's a lot of energy. It's, it's kind of hard to wrap your head around, it's just that massive. [00:09:00] But if you think about boiling away a lake, the size of the Great Salt Lake, twice in a year, you kind of get an idea of how much energy we're using and what's the trend of our energy usage. It generally goes up, it goes, it fluctuates a lot. We've had some dips in the past eight or nine, eight or seven years because of recession issues. But if you look at like the overall trend, what you see as it going up. So one of the things that would be really helpful is if we can kind [00:09:30] of find ways to stabilize energy use and not grow at this constant growth rate without having to be in a recession to do that. Speaker 1: What are some of the surprising things you found when researching the book? One of the biggest surprises for me was that we don't have storage on the electric grid. I honestly thought just had not even ever considered that. That wasn't there until I found out that it wasn't, you know, batteries [00:10:00] are just such this huge part of our lives. They're in everything we use there in our cars. They're in laptops, they're, you know, just all over the place. It just made sense that there would be batteries on the grid and there really aren't not enough to actually make a difference. And that's because they're much bigger and much more expensive and we don't necessarily have battery technology worked out in a way that can make it cheap and make it big. And that's something that we really need a lot more r and D on. Speaker 1: But [00:10:30] there are other ways to store energy and I just was really surprised to find out that we weren't using them. Can you give examples? One of the things is called compressed air energy storage, which is one of the most cost effective ways that we can store energy at a grid scale. And it basically involves how you bring electricity potentials from overnight when there's not a lot of demand for it into the day when there is on the great plains where get most of our wind power from wind [00:11:00] actually blows more at night in a lot of those places, but there's no demand for that electricity. So you just can't use it, which is a problem because we have, you know, these wind farms built and they're not getting us all of the power they could be giving us. So one of the things you can do is have your wind farm hooked up to an air compressor and at night when the wind is blowing and there's not demand, you use that wind power to power the air compressor, which pumps compressed air into porous rock underground. Speaker 1: Basically use the earth as a giant battery [00:11:30] and then the next day you just run the system backwards and that compressed air comes out and helps to run a natural gas generator that produces electricity for far, far less energy than we'd otherwise need. So in addition to making our system smarter and putting storage on the grid, what other improvements can be made to the system? We need a lot more ways people to use energy efficiency better than we do today. There's a big difference between energy efficiency and conservation. [00:12:00] Conservation is great, but conservation is all about not doing something. Whereas energy efficiency is about finding ways to do it better. So you can get the services you need and want. You can get these things that make our lives clean and comfortable and convenient. But you can do that for less energy. And a lot of that has to do with making it easy for energy efficiency to happen. Speaker 1: You do make the case that individual consumer contribution is great, but we do need to make these system level changes. How do we actually start to do that? [00:12:30] Yeah. So that's, that's a tough thing. One of the things that I've learned in the course of this research is that energy isn't just our choices. It's not just the sources we're using, it's the systems and the infrastructure that kind of control how we use energy. You know, I've been telling people that the average American uses twice as much energy as the average European, but that's not because they're better people than us. That's because they have infrastructures that allow them to do that without becoming energy experts or without agonizing over every single choice they make every day. And I think [00:13:00] a big part of it has to start with making the case for this. In terms of practicality. Speaker 1: I think the places where I've seen that kind of top down infrastructure change happen, particularly the u s military or things where it started with the people who wanted to make individual changes, going to the people in charge and making a practical case for what benefits we're going to get if we make a couple of these changes and then those changes started influencing the way that everybody [00:13:30] else at the bottom of this chain of command thought about how they used energy and they became more aware of it in their lives and they became smarter about what they were doing. And then that led to pressure. That led to more changes at the top, which led to more cultural changes at the bottom. And you kind of get this nice feedback loop, but I think it has to start with what kind of pressures we put on our government, not just in terms of you need to do this because it's good for the environment, but here are these really good practical things we're going to get out [00:14:00] of making these changes. Speaker 1: We're going to make our system more stable. We're going to make us better able to deal with weather, with terrorism, with all these different things that can affect the grid. And I think that that's a good place to start. How vulnerable is the grid to attack either physically or software wise? Software wise it's not very much right now. It will be more when we have a smart grid and I think this is something that worries people a lot and I think it's reasonable cause it's a reasonable risk, but we have [00:14:30] to kind of consider the balance between benefits and detriments. You know the analogy I ended up using in the book was my dad's typewriter from 1986 was a lot less vulnerable to cyber attack and identity theft than his internet enabled computer now. But I don't think he'd ever go back to that typewriter because their stuff he gets from that Internet enabled computer that he could never possibly get otherwise. And I think that we [00:15:00] need to be cautious in how we set things up. We need to be intelligent in how we set up our security systems and we need to know that we're not ever going to have anything set up perfectly and there's going to be failures, but that the benefits are going to outweigh the risks. Speaker 2: [inaudible]Speaker 1: you're listening to spectrum on k a l ex Maggie. Chris Baker is discussing [00:15:30] her recent book before the lights go out. Speaker 1: Do you think dynamic pricing of energy has any role? Definitely does. This is another one of those aspects of how you reduce demand and reduce the need to build new power plants has to do a lot with reducing those peak loads. When we build power plants, we don't just build power plants for the amount of energy that is used. Most of the time we have to [00:16:00] build power plants for the theoretical peak in energy that we might hit at any given point, which means we have a lot of power plants in the u s that aren't actually producing much electricity and it just kind of sitting in idle for most of the year because we need them in the middle of summer, in the afternoon. And if we can cut those peak loads down, that means that we don't have to have as many of those things. They don't have to be on, they don't have to be idling because idling is not a really efficient way to use those fuels. Speaker 1: [00:16:30] So that's where the dynamic pricing thing comes in because right now if you are a business, you are charged for electricity in a really different way than individuals are. As a business, your electricity costs more when people want more of it and costs less when people want less of it so that you're kind of incentivized to not use electricity during that peak time. We don't charge people in residential areas like that and [00:17:00] I think that there could be a big benefit. It would take also implementing systems so people know what's going on because if you don't know that the cost changes throughout the day, there's really nothing you can do about it. But there's some really cool technologies, like a, an orb that sits on your table and changes color based on the price of electricity or you know what demand for electricity is like. And so you can look at that and know, well, the orb is red. Speaker 1: I shouldn't run the dishwasher right now, and that's the kind [00:17:30] of thing that you need built in if you're going to make dynamic pricing work, don't to swap out all of your appliances. Right. Which is a nice thing. Also, one of the things I found interesting about the book is that you get a lot of evidence for climate change, but then you also say even if you don't believe in climate change, energy efficiency is still very important. Yeah. This is one of those things that I was really surprised by when I was doing the research was the idea that I don't have to convince people that climate change is real in order to convince them that we need energy change. This [00:18:00] is something people are willing to sign on for for a whole host of reasons. There was a really great story that ended up opening the book with where a nonprofit in Kansas was doing these focus groups to kind of find out what people thought about climate and energy and kind of get a good idea of, you know, how they would develop their programs. Speaker 1: And they kept running over and over into these situations where you'd have some guy talking about how climate change is a socialist plot. It's going to destroy us all. And then you'd ask him, you know, [00:18:30] what are you doing about energy? And the same guy would have switched out all of his light bulb to cfls and he'd owned a Prius and he was excited about wind power because he was excited about those things for different reasons. To save a lot of money. He gets to save money, he gets to be part of this Apollo project, kind of USA, USA kind of thing. And you know, there's lots of different reasons why people care about this stuff. There are opportunities we're missing to communicate with people in their language, their cultural language instead [00:19:00] of trying to convince them to be part of our cultural language. And I think that's a mistake that we make a lot as you know, communicators of sustainability and of environmentalism is that we don't make a big enough effort to talk to people in different cultural languages. Speaker 3: I would like to say I really like your footnotes in the book. They're not only like useful links that were, you know, I was able to fall on my kindle. I don't know how useful they are in the hard backwards. I don't know about that either. The uh, [00:19:30] just the stories that are hitting back there are, are absolutely fantastic. So what sort of motivated you to put all that in? Speaker 1: Not being able to cut out great stories that didn't quite have a place in the main text. You know, there's just so many cool things that I learned that didn't quite fit with the narrative of the story and I needed a place to put them. And then I had all these footnotes and now there's like 50 pages of footnotes, but one like one of my favorites was the [00:20:00] story of Thomas Edison when he was developing the grid system in New York City, which was the first grid system in the world. And they had this faulty junction box under a street corner that when it rained and the ground got saturated that you had kind of an electric connection up to the street. And that ended up leading to everybody in New York crowded around the street corner watching horses and buggies go by and then the horses hitting this electrified patch of ground and like rearing [00:20:30] and freaking out and kind of got to the point apparently where people sort of like urging them on like, no, no, there's no problem here and bring your horse through. Speaker 1: Um, and so they finally called down Edison's staff bowsers. Yeah, exactly. Basically giant joy buzzer. And they finally down Edison staff to get this thing fixed. And so they get it fixed and everything's fine. But then the next day, this used horse salesman shows up at Edison's office asking him to install an intentionally faulty junction box under [00:21:00] his used horse paddock to make the horses look more energetic than they actually are. And that's really where the story ends in the Edison archives. There's no record of whether or not he took the guy up on that offer. Has the way you use energy actually changed at all? Definitely. It's changed not because of the book. It changed when my husband got the job that he has. Uh, we've done a lot to make our house more energy efficient. We have a 1920s bungalow in Minneapolis that, you know, it's, [00:21:30] it's not going to be something where we can like reorient it on the site and make it save energy. Speaker 1: But there's a lot of things that were already done because of how they used to design buildings that involved that, you know, we have a 40 foot wide lot and our house is not right in the middle of it. Our House is set so that the north side of our lot is extremely small. Like is basically the smallest setback you can possibly have while the south side of our lot is much wider. And that was done in old Minneapolis neighborhoods [00:22:00] specifically. So you got more light coming in during the winter and more warmth and we're able to capture some of that energy that you wouldn't be able to capture otherwise if your house didn't have that kind of setback. So, I mean there's a lot of that kind of stuff that was built into how our house was built. And we've since gone through and my husband has like an expanding foam addiction and took it through the entire house and basically patched up everything that could possibly be construed as a, uh, leak in the house. [00:22:30] So we're, we're held up now with our, uh, with stucco and expanding foam. Oh, make it bigger. Thanks for joining. Yes, thank you so much. Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 1: Now for some science news headlines, here's Brad swift and Lisa Katovich Speaker 2: [inaudible].Speaker 4: [00:23:00] The California condors returned to flying free in the wild after a close brush with extinction, maybe an illusory recovery. The hundred plus condors soaring over California swallow so much led shot as they scavenge carcasses that the population can't sustain itself without steady medical care and continual resupply from captive populations. Toxicologist Myra Finkelstein of UC Santa Cruz described analyses of lead [00:23:30] in blood and feathers in the June 25th proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Each year about 20% of the state's monitored birds flunk their lead tests badly enough to need detox. This grim paper supplies the data to confirm the toll of lead ammunition on condors in the wild, regional or species. Specific regulations do restrict ammunition in California and Arizona, the two states where condos live, but those rules don't seem to be solving the problem without a politically difficult nationwide ban [00:24:00] on lead ammunition. California condors will exist in the wild only due to costly extensive human intervention. Essentially in an outdoor zoo state Speaker 5: science news reports that quantum information has leaped through the air about 100 kilometers in two new experiments further and with greater fidelity than ever before. The research brings truly long distance quantum communication networks in which satellites could beam encrypted information around the globe closer to reality. [00:24:30] Both studies involve quantum teleportation, which transports the quantum state of one particle to another. This star trek like feet is possible because of a phenomenon called entanglement in which pairs of particles become linked in such a way that measuring a certain property in one instantly determines the same property for the other, even if separated by large distances. In the first experiment, Anton Zeilinger of the University of Vienna and his colleagues used a pair of entangled photons [00:25:00] to transmit a piece of quantum information over 143 kilometers between two of the Canary Islands. In the second experiment, John Way Pawn of the University of Science and technology of China in Shanghai and his colleagues and tangled many protons together and teleported information 97 kilometers across the lake in China. These experiments are a milestone towards future satellite based quantum teleportation. Speaker 4: In the July issue of [00:25:30] the Journal cell, researchers from Stanford University reported the world's first complete computer model of an organism, the bacteria, Mycoplasma genitalium, a humble parasitic bacterium known mainly for showing up uninvited in the human urogenital and respiratory tracks. Its distinction is that it contains the smallest genome of any free living organism, only 525 genes as opposed to the 4,288 genes of eco lie. [00:26:00] The final model made use of more than 1900 experimentally determined parameters to integrate these disparate data points into a unified machine. Researchers modeled individual biological processes at 28 separate modules each governed by its own algorithm. These modules communicated to each other after every step making for a unified whole that closely matched the bacteria as real world behavior models like this could bring rational design to biology, allowing for computer guided experimental regimes and wholesale [00:26:30] creation of new micro organisms. Speaker 3: Irregular feature of spectrum is a calendar of science related events happening in the bay area over the next two weeks. Here's Lisa Katovich and Brad's swift, Speaker 4: the coming century war against your computers. The title of the August long now foundation seminar, Tuesday, July 31st Cory Doctorow, the night Speaker contend set the war against computer freedom will just keep escalating. Copyright wars, net neutrality and stop [00:27:00] online piracy act. We're early samples of what's to come. Victories in those battles were temporary and conflict in the decades ahead. We'll feature even higher stakes, more convoluted issues, and far more powerful technology. The debate is how civilization decides to conduct itself and in whose interests. Cory Doctorow writes contemporary science fiction. Recent books include for the win makers and little brother. The seminar will be held Tuesday, July 31st seven 30 to 9:00 PM at the Yerba Buena Center, Novellus Theater [00:27:30] 700 Howard Street, San Francisco admission is $10 [inaudible] Speaker 5: cosmos reconsidered. Alex Philapannco, UC Berkeley astronomy professor will present key video excerpts from Carl Sagans, legendary Cosmos Television series, offer uptodate commentary and invite audience questions. This event is presented by wonder fest and ask a scientist. The presentation will be held at the California Institute of Integral Studies. 1453 [00:28:00] mission street in San Francisco, July 31st 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM and mission is free. Speaker 4: The Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is nearing the end of its eight month voyage to Mars to deliver the newest Mars rover. August 5th there will be two events featuring live feeds of the attempt to land the rover called curiosity on the Martian surface at Ames research center in mountain view, a public gathering to view the landing will take place from five to midnight. For details go to the NASA Ames research [00:28:30] center site, nasa.gov/centers/ames this event is free. The Chabot science center in Oakland will also have a live feed from 6:00 PM to 11 o'clock along with other presentations about the mission and landing. These events are included in the general admission to the center Speaker 2: [inaudible] the music you [00:29:00] heard during say show. We'll spend the Stein and David from his album book and Acoustic [inaudible]. It is released under a creative Commons license version 3.0 spectrum was recorded and edited by me, Rick [inaudible], and by Brad Swift. Thank you for listening to spectrum. We are happy to hear from listeners. If you have comments about the show, please send them to us via email. Our email address is spectrum [00:29:30] dot k a l x@yahoo.com join us in two weeks at this same time. [inaudible] [inaudible]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claude Marks is the Project Director of The Freedom Archives, a political, cultural oral history project in SF. He is a former political prisoner who served time for a conspiracy to break a Puerto Rican political prisoner out of Leavensworth. Claude taught ESL, literacy, writing and history inside. He will speak about the the San Francisco Premiere of COINTELPRO 101, Sunday, October 10, 2010, at 4 and 7 pm at Mission Cultural Center of Latino Arts in San Francisco, CA, 2868 Mission Street. Suggested donation $10, youth $5. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Soffiyah Elijah and the filmmakers we speak after the program. Regina Y. Evans is a Poet, Storyteller and Playwright from Oakland, Ca. She is the Writer of Echo: A Poetic Journey Into Justice, a theatrical performance designed to bring awareness to the horrors of sex trafficking/slavery. "Echo: A Poetic Journey into Justice," braids together the fabric of poetry, Negro Spirituals and movement in an effort to shine a light upon the extraordinarily similar threads that run between present day sex trafficking/slavery and past day African-American slavery. The work has two performances, Saturdays, Oct. 9 & 16, both at 7 PM at the City of Refuge United Church of Christ, 1025 Howard Street, San Francisco. It is a fundraiser for several organizations combating child sexual exploitation. Visit echopoeticjustice.blogspt.com; Executive Director: Mbarouk Saad & Project Director: Alice Aida Ayers of creativesolutionszanzibar.co.tz join us to talk about an event this weekend: Creative Solutions Africa, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2010, 6-9 PM at the Afrikan Children's Advanced Learning Center, 959-33rd Street, Oakland. We close with Barbara Thompson, Ph.D., Phyllis Wattis Curator of the Arts of Africa and the Americas, about two exhibits: Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas and the new exhibition opening Wed., Oct.13,2010: "Vodoun/Vodounon: Portraits of Initiates." There is a blessing at 5.

Carol Metellus, Artist, Activist; & project Co-Director & Campaign Coordinator Patrice Mallard: "The Partnership for a Sustainable Haiti" formed immediately after the devastating earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. PFSH efforts resemble the fable of stone soup- even when no one has enough to eat, if everyone contributes what little they can, it feeds a village. Organizers felt compelled to act- to volunteer whatever skills they have and the resources they can mobilize and hope others will help too.Visit http://www.partnershipforasustainablehaiti.org/Taneshia Campbell's Sankofa Mizizi (A Love healing herstory) is a theater movement piece exploring the experience of mental health and spirituality in my family; grounded in a love story. This piece is a work in progress and doubles as a grad school fundraiser towards the artist's Masters in Divinity education beginning in the fall. Directed by Tia Jennings the play is going up Sat., Aug. 14, 2010, 6:45 doors/7:15 PM show, at City of Refuge United Church, 1025 Howard Street (betw. 6th & 7th) in SF, CA, 415-861-6130, $20 (no one turned away). Bay Area Bandits: Women's Tackle Football team: The Bay Area Bandits, Women's Tackle Football Team with Jenae Beverly, Sarah Henry and team owners: Neda Mohammadi and Danielle Golay. Visit http://bayareabandits.com/ We close with the playwright, Wendy E. Taylor, director & head of the CSUEB Musical Program, Darryl V. Jones, and actress & star, Jeannine Anderson. "Halie! A Celebration: The Life and Legacy of Mahalia Jackson," is up Thurs.-Sat. July 29-31(8pm),Sunday August 1 (4pm) University Theatre at CSUEB, Coproduced with CSUEB Associated Students, Inc. Musical Arrangements and Musical Direction by Mary D. Watkins, Original Arrangements by Andrzej Danek and Wendy E. Taylor, Associate Musical Director, Marcus McCauley, 510-885-3118, tickets@csueastbay.edu http://class.csueastbay.edu/theatre and in the college bookstore.