The Wizard’s Story

Guest: Bernie Carlson, Chair, Engineering and Society, Joseph L. Vaughan Professor of Humanities, Professor, History, Director, Engineering Business Programs, University of Virginia

Tesla was an important contemporary of scientific greats such as Edison, Bell, and Hertz. His motivation differed from Edison's, however, which might be why we know less about him. 

Depression Stories

Guest: David A. Taylor, author, "The Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America"

In the 1930s, the federal government sponsored unemployed teachers, writers, historians, and artists to create a comprehensive guide to the United States. 

Stories Told by the Stars

Guest: Anthony Aveni, Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, Astronomy, Anthropology, and Native American Studies, Colgate University

Human beings have always found stories in the stars that developed and reflected their culture, even providing parents with morality tales for their children. 

Who Gets to Name Asteroids?

Guest: Gareth Williams, Astronomer, Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Secretary, International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature

The asteroid with permanent number 2055 eventually was named ‘Dvorak,’ after the Czech composer; Asteroid 2244, Tesla, after the inventor Nikola Tesla; 13070 Sean Connery, after the actor. Who decides what asteroids are named?