#npr

Highlight:A recent update to the Apple podcast app also included a tweak to how podcast downloads work. As a podcast user you’re free to shrug and move on. But for podcast creators this could be a big deal. According to data from Podtrac, overall downloads across the industry were down 15 percent as of February.  This American Life lost 20 percent of their downloads. Some shows at NPR saw a 30 percent dip. In this week's midweek podcast, OTM producer Molly Rosen looks at how Apple has shaped the podcast industry. A recent update to the Apple podcast app also included a tweak to how podcast downloads work. As a podcast user you’re free to shrug and move on. But for podcast creators this could b...

Engineers at Harvard University have figured out a way to make microscopic sculptures of roses, tulips and violets, each smaller than a strand of hair.

Kind of awesome

What complete bullshit.

So many nuances to the stupidity of Prohibition that I hadn't learned about before.

"Police in Canada say a boy celebrating his third birthday was unhurt after floating down a river riding on top of a toy truck. The boy's family was camping when the boy wandered off."

"You may also remember Campbell as the star of numerous B movies — think Man With the Screaming Brain. He's now directed and produced his own B movie, My Name is Bruce. He built the Western town featured in the film on his own property out of dead timber, and calls it "a very Little Rascals affair.""

"Use this tool to build a custom podcast of various topics, musicians, personalities and NPR programs."

"But what is NPR doing differently that’s causing their listener numbers to swell? They basically have a three-pronged strategy that is helping them not only grow now, but also prepare for the future media landscape where traditional methods of consumption (TV, radio, print) could be greatly marginalized in favor of digital distribution."

"A worker at the Connecticut Police Academy got into an argument with a man. She is an analyst at the academy, but the man called her a clerk. She says she responded by telling him, "bite me." She probably did not expect the man to take the invitation literally. And her antagoist, a former police captain, is accused of disorderly conduct."

"My All Things Considered story about the Model M keyboard is, of course, shot through with journalistic bias. I am unabashed in my preference for the metallic ring of an old keyboard's spring-loaded keys. I won't apologize for this partiality, but I will try to explain it."

"Almost all keyboards made since the early 1990s are, frankly, no good. A tiny group of writers and hackers know better. They use vintage IBM keyboards. Ugly, built like tanks, and, most importantly, with a spring under each key, and which clicks when you press it."

"Scott Horsley is a business correspondent for NPR. He covers general economic issues with a special emphasis on energy. In 2004, Scott took a break from business reporting to cover John Kerry's presidential campaign. He also reported from the Pentagon during the Afghan war and the early phases of the Iraq war. "

"Introduce ubiquity - public radio on iPods, cellphones, satellite radio, etc., and the connecting tissue between Favorite Show X and Station Y begins to fray."

"NPR has an OPML of all their podcasts."

Fair enough: "Each podcast/downloadable episode is free for exactly one week, beginning the Monday after broadcast."

"This American Life had converted from RealAudio streams to MP3s. That meant it was now possible to [synthesize] an RSS feed with enclosures,"

Last week, Ira Flatow of NPR's Science Friday program did a segment on politics and science, bringing on Tom Bethell, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, and Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science.

"over 70 percent of American music recorded before 1965 is not legally available in the United States."

Wow, this is amazing: "Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have."

"The acclaimed host of NPR's "This American Life" visits the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor for an evening of engaging recollections.""

"You've asked for it -- so we're going to give it a try. Introducing a podcast of Science Friday..."