TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE


PROMO FOR   2/15/2009         "The Wonders of Physics"
*President Obama's surrounded by science advisors.  So you might figure
he doesn't need to know much about physics, but you'd be mistaken.  How
is a President supposed to assess the risk of a "dirty bomb," or weigh
the pros and cons of various energy sources, from solar power to nuclear
energy.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, we'll get a basic
primer in physics. 


PROGRAM RUNDOWN:  "The Wonders of Physics"

0:00 - 13:42        SEGMENT 1: (13:43)
            Physicist Richard Muller has written a book called
            "Physics for Future Presidents."  He tells Jim Fleming
            that the President shouldn't rely on his science advisors
            to explain what a dirty bomb is or why clean coal is
            important. Muller says only the President understands the
            broader context within which scientific policy decision
            must be made.
                         
            Segment One Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

13:43 - 14:12  LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

14:13 - 32:22       SEGMENT 2: (18:10)
            Robert Laughlin tells Steve Paulson that physicists are
            an eccentric bunch.  He should know. Laughlin is a Nobel
            Prize winning physicist at Stanford and the author of "A
            Different Universe" and "The Crime of Reason, and the
            Closing of the Scientific Mind."  Also, Steve Paulson
            introduces us to Mark Oliver Everett, better known as "E"
            - lead singer of the Eels, and son of Hugh Everett, the
            man who came up with the theory of parallel worlds.  Mark
            never really knew his father, but served as the narrator
            for a documentary about him ("Parallel Worlds, Parallel
            Lives") produced by the BBC for release in the U.S. by
            PBS in the WGBH NOVA series. We hear Mark's music,
            excerpts from the film, and Mark's reflections on his
            father's life and what they share.  Mark is also the
            author of a memoir, "Things the Grandchildren Should
            Know". 
                              
            Segment Two Outcue:  "...PRI - Public Radio
            International."

32:24 - 32:52       LOCAL OPTION with music bed (:29)

32:53 - 53:00       SEGMENT 3: (20:07)
            Rebecca Stott lives in Cambridge, England, and made it
            the setting of her novel, "Ghostwalk."  The book is an
            intellectual thriller set partly in Isaac Newton's time
            and concerning his interest in alchemy.  Stott reads an 
            excerpt for Anne Strainchamps and talks with her about
            aspects of the quantum world and its possible effects on
            ours.  Also, A. Van Jordan has put together a collection
            of poems about physics.  "Quantum Lyrics" touches on the
            lives of famous physicists like Einstein and Richard
            Feynman, and uses comic book heroes like The Green
            Lantern and The Flash.  The poet reads some of his work,
            and talks about it with Steve Paulson.
              
            Segment Three Outcue: PRI Audio Logo


For a copy of this hour, call 1-800-747-7444, and ask for program number
2-15-A.


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