))
A mixture of history, current events and fun as seen through the eyes of a Midwesterner living in Munich.
S
Special Education Accommodations & Issues
1
Special Education Accommodations & Issues
Ali Parandi & Brenda Alvarado
This podcast speaks about the issues and the following factors of Special Education in the classrooms and students needs and the differences that lie in funding, training, and resources in different regional school districts comparing Pico Rivera District from Arnold O. Beckman High School in Tustin District. Brenda A. & Ali P. interviewed three special aide and teacher specialists who have had professional training and experience of directing special ed autistic students and those with phys ...
The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast fiction podcast / audio drama created by ALEX DOLAN and produced by AUDIOHM MEDIA. Haven Otomo spends her spare time saving people from jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. She also owns a private suicide hotline. Possessed with unnatural powers of persuasion, she’s always been good at talking people in and out of things. When a rash of suicides hits the city, a detective reaches out for her help on the investigation, and her insight into why people ...
Professor Jim Al-Khalili talks to leading scientists about their life and work, finding out what inspires them and asking what their discoveries might do for us in the future.
The investigation brings Detectives Gibson and Pryce to Haven for questioning. Between pressure from the police and the vigilantes, Haven if forced to seek help from Victor Blossem. The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast audio drama / fiction podcast created by Alex Dolan and produced by Audiohm Media. For more, visit www.suicidesaints.com For…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Marie Johnston on health psychology and the power of behavioural shifts
28:45
28:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:45
Marie Johnston is a pioneer in the field of health psychology: the discipline that seeks to understand how psychological, behavioural and cultural factors contribute to our physical and mental health. Today an emeritus professor in Health Psychology at the University of Aberdeen, her career exploring behavioural interventions has shown that even th…
Haven’s mother is in town and summons Haven for a tense visit, and a body is unearthed in the rubble of a demolished factory. The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast audio drama / fiction podcast created by Alex Dolan and produced by Audiohm Media. For more, visit www.suicidesaints.com For more on Alex Dolan, visit: www.alexdolan.com For more o…
Season 3 premiere. Haven’s old partner is found dead, sparking a new investigation. A threat emerges from a new vigilante organization, and Victor Blossem finds himself under investigation. The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast audio drama / fiction podcast created by Alex Dolan and produced by Audiohm Media. For more, visit www.suicidesaints…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Julia King on manipulating metals and decarbonising transport
28:16
28:16
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:16
Professor Dame Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, is an engineer whose fascination with metals, and skill for handling both research projects and people, has taken her from academia to industry to the House of Lords.She tells Jim Al-Khalili how the dressmaking skills she learnt from her mother as a child helped her to understand the composite…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Just ‘cause it’s American, Europeans ain’t buyin’ it
4:59
4:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
4:59
American companies have made serious inroads into the economies of Europe and elsewhere, but this has come at a cost. There have been some pretty big flops along the way as executives naively thought they could simply replicate the American marketing model in other countries without making any changes. Some of these misjudgments are rather entertai…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Danny Altmann on how T cells fight disease
28:45
28:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:45
Jim Al-Khalili talks T cells, our immune response and Long Covid with Prof Danny Altmann. Danny Altmann joined ‘team T cells’ in his twenties and has been studying how these killer operate ever since. How do they know which cells to search and destroy? The T cell wing of our immune response is highly targeted and incredibly clever, on a par with th…
E
Expat Chatter
1
When a fight with your mom costs millions: acrimony at Aldi
7:42
7:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:42
There are grocery stores, and then there’s Aldi. In the decades since WWII, this discounter chain has not only won over the wallets of its customers but also their hearts. Faithful Aldi customers from all walks of life wouldn’t dream of shopping anywhere else. But behind the well-oiled Aldi machine, there is also plenty of intrigue in this family-o…
T
The Patron Saint of Suicides
1
Season 3 Trailer: The Patron Saint of Suicides
3:52
3:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
3:52
The final season of The Patron Saint of Suicides is coming March 8! In the final season, Haven Otomo is hunted by a vigilante organization while confronting the person she fears the most—her mother. Victor Blossem might face prison or worse when his secrets and skeletons are exposed. The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast audio drama / fiction…
Jim Al-Khalili talks to astrophysicist Haley Gomez about defying expectations and becoming a world expert on cosmic dust.For centuries, cosmic dust was a major source of irritation to optical astronomers because, like smog, it stopped them from seeing the stars. Now studies of these tiny particles are challenging some deeply held assumptions about …
E
Expat Chatter
1
The Super Bowl and other American sports make a touchdown in Germany
7:08
7:08
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:08
Many Americans think their sports are “all American” but football and baseball have long been a popular export. Millions of people across the world watch the Super Bowl. As an American raising my kids in Germany, I did my best to include basic sports knowledge and felt I had succeeded, at least until my daughter actually attended a baseball game an…
Germany has the reputation of having generous social programs, with vivid descriptions such as "cradle-to-grave" care. This makes it sound as if the state holds your hand and guides you gently through a carefree life. At the very latest when you try to navigate the German school system, comes a much different, sobering reality. At its core, the sch…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Adrian Smith on the power of Bayesian statistics
28:24
28:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:24
How a once-derided approach to statistics paved the way for AI. Jim Al-Khalili talks to pioneering mathematician, Professor Sir Adrian Smith.Accused early in his career of ‘trying to destroy the processes of science’, Adrian went on to prove that a branch of statistics (invented by the Reverend Thomas Bayes in 1764) could be used by computers to an…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Look here, U.S. election deniers – Berlin bungled it big time
9:09
9:09
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
9:09
The press and social media are still abuzz with deniers of the U.S. elections in 2020, despite the lack of proof. Yet across the ocean – in Germany of all places, that paragon of efficiency – Berlin stands out as the shining star of inefficiency, corruption, and slothful administration. Enjoying favored status since WWII, it was deluged with subsid…
T
The Life Scientific
1
Clifford Johnson on making sense of black holes and movie plots
32:57
32:57
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
32:57
Clifford Johnson's career to date has spanned some seemingly very different industries - from exploring quantum mechanics around string theory and black holes, to consulting on some of Hollywood's biggest movies; but it makes sense once you understand his ambition of making science accessible to all. A Professor in the Department of Physics and Ast…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Even better than bread: the best excuse to fatten up, complete with cream filling
8:33
8:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:33
January is when Germans confront the fact that Christmas is over but winter is just getting underway. They console themselves by getting an early start celebrating carnival, which involves consuming large quantities of a special pastry, called Krapfen, to prepare for a period of fasting for Lent. True, hardly anybody fasts anymore, but no matter – …
T
The Life Scientific
1
Rebecca Kilner on beetle behaviours and evolution
28:54
28:54
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:54
A fur-stripped mouse carcase might not sound like the cosiest of homes – but that’s where the burying beetle makes its nest; and where Rebecca Kilner has focused much of her research.A Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge, Rebecca’s work – initially with cuckoos, then more recently with the beetles – has shed invaluable …
E
Expat Chatter
1
The new, improved me – courtesy of the EU-conform driver's license
8:04
8:04
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:04
For years, I suffered from the lousy picture I had taken for my German license, not knowing I would have this document for decades. Trying to rent a car, get into a night club or bar, or even just have breakfast in a government building in Washington turned into an embarrassing experience when I had to show my picture ID. But in the end, this old-f…
T
The Life Scientific
401
Pam Shaw on the research battle against motor neurone disease
28:40
28:40
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:40
Motor Neuron Disease (MND) is a degenerative disease that relentlessly attacks the human nervous system, deteriorating muscle function to the point where patients can no longer move, talk, eat, or even breathe. To date there’s no cure, and until fairly recently there were only minimal treatments to ease the symptoms. Pam Shaw has dedicated her care…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Catapulting the plague into Europe and other viral tales
8:05
8:05
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:05
The coronavirus isn’t the first disease that jumped from animals to humans. This is historically the way that many of the communicable diseases that plague humankind have spread, beginning with the plague. It was when humans became sedentary and first figured out how to domesticate animals, confining them to small spaces – and often living with the…
Professor Chris Elliott is something of a ‘food detective’.A Professor of Food Safety and Microbiology at Queen's University Belfast and a founding director of its Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS), his work is all about developing scientific solutions to protect us from contaminated food, be it accidental or criminal.Following the 2013 hor…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Belt out “Walk the Line” all you want, but walking in the U.S. is not an option
7:00
7:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:00
Long gone are the days when you could walk down to the local five-and-dime store to buy anything. These days, no matter what you want to buy, you’re going to have to drive. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Germans are so careful about maintaining their cars and build their houses so well that they are practically airtight. But on New Year’s Eve, their sense of caution quite literally vanishes into thin air. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
I loved Christmas cookies growing up and thought they were pretty good, but have since discovered that German holiday confectionary is in a league of its own – the premier league. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
The best show the World Cup has to offer is outside the stadiums
8:47
8:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:47
The news is all abuzz about the World Cup games in Qatar, but the coolest action is taking place outside the stadiums. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
It wouldn’t be a holiday without pumpkin pie, but what I bake today is a far cry from what my mother used to put in the oven. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
The 100 meters between fascism and democracy in Munich
7:51
7:51
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:51
On just a 10-minute walk through Munich, I passed a murder scene leading to the end of Bavaria’s first parliament, an infamous chapter of WWII and the rebirth of Bavaria’s democracy. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
Led astray by my naïve trust in a native speaker, but I should have known better
8:53
8:53
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:53
My trust in native speakers was boundless, and it caused me to maneuver myself into an excruciatingly embarrassing situation www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
In not-so-hot pursuit of the Way of St. James
9:24
9:24
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
9:24
Somehow I keep coming across the camino or Way of St. James, leading to surprising encounters on rural country roads in Spain and urban squares in Munich. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
What is the Inquisition doing in 21st-century America?
8:21
8:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:21
Looking at U.S. politics over the past few years, Germans recognize many patterns from the Third Reich. One of these is the banning of books. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Some Germans celebrate Halloween, but not all of them. I was determined to find a way for my kids to enjoy it the way I did, spurring me to take some unusual action. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
Noise in the modern world—from cacophonous to carefully controlled
7:21
7:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:21
It’s that time of year again: The leaf blowers are back! They add to an increasingly noisy world, but it’s also possible to create pleasant sounds or eliminate them altogether. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
What use to science is a pesky organism that feeds on rotting fruit? Professor Bambos Kyriacou has spent fifty years observing the behaviour of fruit flies. He keeps them in the lab and in his garden in their thousands, has recorded fruit fly courtship songs using a microphone loved by Jonny Carson (because it made his voice sound deeper) and inven…
E
Expat Chatter
1
Three cheers for English: Concise, neutral, to the point.
9:12
9:12
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
9:12
English has its downsides. But when you compare it to German, French, and Spanish it suddenly looks surprisingly efficient and user-friendly. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Leon Barron monitors pollution in our rivers, keeping tabs on chemicals that could be harmful to the environment and to our health. He’s also gathered intelligence on the behaviour of millions of Londoners by studying the water we flush down the loo. His analysis of sewage revealed, for example, just how much cocaine is consumed in London every day…
Following a three-year hiatus, Munich’s favorite party returned. Corona didn’t dampen people’s spirits, but I wondered if the fleas survived the long stretch. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Tim Lamont is a young scientist making waves. Arriving on the Great Barrier Reef after a mass bleaching event, Tim saw his research plans disappear and was personally devastated by the destruction. But from that event he discovered a novel way to restore coral reefs. Playing the sounds of a healthy coral reef entices fish in to recolonise the wreck…
E
Expat Chatter
1
When life gives you lemons, it helps to recognize them
8:15
8:15
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:15
I thought my French was good enough to get me around southern France. But language skills were not enough. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Daphne Koller was a precociously clever child. She completed her first degree – a double major in mathematics and computer science – when she was just 17 and went on to become a distinguished Professor at Stanford University in California. But before long she’d given up this comfortable academic position to create the biggest online education platf…
My experience with mushrooms was confined to cans as a kid. In Germany, collecting them is a cherished hobby – but don’t bother asking anybody where to find them because they aren’t telling. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Emily Holmes is a distinguished Professor of Clinical Psychology at Uppsala University and a neuroscientist who struggled to learn to read and write as a child. She tells Jim Al-Khalili about her work as a mental health scientist and her life-long love of art and explains why the images we see in our mind’s eye have more of an impact on our emotion…
E
Expat Chatter
1
50 years later – Triumph and tragedy of the Munich Olympics Part II: Tragedy
5:59
5:59
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
5:59
The 1972 Munich Olympic Games brought many long-lasting improvements to the city, but they were overshadowed by a tragic terrorist attack. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
T
The Life Scientific
1301
Judith Bunbury on the shifting River Nile in the time of the Pharaohs
28:27
28:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:27
Think Sahara Desert, think intense heat and drought. We see the Sahara as an unrelenting, frazzling, white place. But geo-archaeologist Dr Judith Bunbury says in the not so distant past, the region looked more like a safari park.In the more recent New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, from around 3.5 thousand years ago (the time of some of Egypt’s most fam…
E
Expat Chatter
1
50 years later: The triumph and tragedy of the Munich Olympics Part one: Triumph
7:42
7:42
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
7:42
It’s been 50 years since the Munich Olympics were held, but their impact lives on in both triumph and tragedy. Part I – Triumph. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
T
The Life Scientific
1351
Frances Arnold: From taxi driver to Nobel Prize
28:11
28:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
28:11
Nobel Prize-winning chemist Frances Arnold left home at 15 and went to school ‘only when she felt like it’. She disagreed with her parents about the Vietnam War and drove big yellow taxis in Pittsburgh to pay the rent. Decades later, after several changes of direction (from aerospace engineer to biotech pioneer), she invented a radical new approach…
E
Expat Chatter
1
How chicken legs, triangles and sphincters will make you laugh
8:30
8:30
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
8:30
The German language is very precise and detailed, sometimes to the extent that it goes well beyond being descriptive and descends into hilarity. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
Language class is where you learn to speak a language, but just memorizing vocabulary and practicing dictations won’t do the trick. I found a surprising way to get our exchange student to talk. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
Linguistic sleight of hand - bilingualism at any cost
10:00
10:00
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
10:00
Raising a family in Germany was a golden opportunity to raise my kids bilingually. I initially thought this meant just speaking to them in English, but reality proved to be a lot trickier. I discovered I had quite a few tricks up my sleeve. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
E
Expat Chatter
1
The Ukraine invasion made it dangerous to be a Russian abroad
6:48
6:48
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
6:48
It’s funny, but when you go abroad, you are suddenly expected to be fully informed about activities in your home country. Worse still, you are often held responsible for their shenanigans, especially abroad. www.expatchatter.net Brenda ArnoldBy Brenda Arnold
T
The Patron Saint of Suicides
1
Season 2 Behind The Scenes with the cast & crew
53:37
53:37
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
53:37
The Patron Saint of Suicides creators sit down with voice actors Elissa Park (Haven Otomo) and Rob Schwarb (Victor Blossem) to recap the latest season and talk about the fun behind the mics. Plus, plenty of teasers for Season 3, coming soon! The Patron Saint of Suicides is a full-cast audio drama / fiction podcast created by Alex Dolan and produced…
