I know I promised a while back not to write about any sort of ed-tech stuff, but I have to break that for this small announcement:

If you’re not listening to Radiolab, you’re being foolish.

Radiolab is an hour-long show on WNYC, my local-ish NPR affiliate.  The show is about science, philosophy, and other big ideas.  Now, I know that probably doesn’t sound too exciting–”Hey!  NPR’s got an hour-long talk show about science!  I gotta get me one of those!”–but trust me, it is.  The hosts, Jad and Robert, have an amazing rapport that lets them quickly turn complex ideas into something really accessible.  If you don’t believe me, cop a listen to this episode, “Morality.”

Much like This American Life, which is another podcast you should be listening to, almost every episode of Radiolab focuses on a single topic through a series of shorter stories.  “Stories” here is the operative word–concepts are explained through narrative, sound clips, music, and conversation between Jad, Robert, and a host of experts.

The implications for teachers here are fairly obvious.  I plan on assigning my Honors Am Lit I students to listen to the “Morality” episode while we read Moby-Dick, and I’m sure science teachers can find a million uses for the show.  But it’s also instructive to listen to the ways in which Jad and Robert explore their subjects.  There’s a lot of question-and-answer interspersed with first-person reports from people who have made important discoveries, historians, etc.  By the end of each episode, the central issue has been turned around, discussed from different angles, taken apart, and put back together.  Is that not what we want our students to be able to do in their reading, writing, and critical thinking?

Radiolab is compelling listening.  I’ve subscribed to the podcast and am working my way through the first four seasons now.  I usually listen to a couple a week when I’m on a long walk, taking the train to the city, doing laundry, etc.  I suggest you start doing something similar.

My favorite episodes so far:

“Emergence”

“Stress”

“Zoos”

“War of the Worlds