Pilots Asleep?
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Federal officials are investigating whether two pilots on a Northwest Airlines flight to Minneapolis on Wednesday night dozed off or were distracted when they didn’t respond to radio communications for more than an hour and overshot their destination by 150 miles. We speak with Andy Pasztor, who covers the airline industry for the Wall Street Journal.
Alex the Parrot
Ethologist Irene Pepperberg with Alex, her African gray parrot,who died last fall. (AP)
Dr. Irene Pepperberg and her late friend and colleague, Alex, proved that a bird with a brain the size of walnut has intelligence. Alex was the incredible talking parrot who died in 2007. We speak to Dr. Pepperberg about Alex and about her latest research into what goes on inside an animal’s brain.
To The Moon – Not
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In an about face, a special panel charged by the White House to review the future of U.S. human space flight recommended yesterday that NASA abandon its current plan to return humans to the moon by 2020 and focus its efforts on landing on Mars or asteroids. Our guest is Pat Duggins, News Director at Alabama Public Radio and author of “Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program.”
Tracking Food
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Most people have no idea where their food comes from, and normally don’t think about it until something goes wrong. Last winter, 700 people got sick from tainted peanut products and last year, 1,400 people got sick from bad peppers. Now the food industry and Congress are looking for ways to electronically track food. We talk to Elliott Grant, founder of YottaMark, who works with suppliers to track food from the farm to the grocery store.
Who Will Take on the Phillies in the World Series?
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As the Philadelphia Phillies continue the waiting game to see who they will play in the World Series, we speak with Bill Littlefield of NPR’s Only A Game.
Amelia Earhart’s Impact on Women
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The famous flier vanished more than 70 years ago; but she never really disappeared. Historian Susan Ware says that’s because our image of her remains frozen in time as a brave, intelligent pioneering woman. As the new biopic “Amelia” hits theaters today, we discuss Earhart’s enduring appeal with Ware, author of “Still Missing: Amelia Earhart And The Search For Modern Feminism.”
Music from the Show
- Four Tet, “Slowjam”
- Essex Green, ” The Sixties”
- Robert Stolz & The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, “Blue Danube Waltz”
- Freakwater, “Amelia Earhart”
The pilots excuse is completely transparent to any parent of teenagers. It’s as credible as “It’s not mine, I was only holding it for a friend”.
Posted by Michael Fairbank, on October 23rd, 2009 at 12:11 pm