For many high school and college students, the summer months are hardly the ideal time for learning. Summer is the season of beaches, major league baseball, and part-time jobs, not to mention forgetting about that stressful biology class. Between having fun and dodging school, the last thought on a student's mind this time of year is refreshing one's education.
What if you could learn something new and interesting without feeling like you're in class? Enter Radiolab. Part pop culture show, part science fair project, Radiolab is a program based in New York City under the auspices of National Public Radio. It addresses topics such as memory, numbers, and randomness and takes them for an exciting new spin. The program is so entertaining that you do not realize you are learning until you are telling people all the new things you have picked up.
The show has recently interviewed Malcolm Gladwell--author of "Outliers" and “The Tipping Point”--and the band They Might Be Giants. Other episodes explored physical limits through the grueling Race Across America, the potential usefulness of infecting one's self with hookworms, and how having too many choices can be just as stressful as having no choice. The show even made parasites look less like bloodthirsty opportunists and more like innovators at odds with an ever-changing, hostile world. Radiolab allows listeners to be on top of new ideas without even trying.
Although not on the airwaves in Arkansas, the radio show does offer free podcasts and live streaming of recent and old episodes alike. This is ideal for the person who doesn't want to be chained to his or her computer all summer. You can download them to your iPod when you go running or stream them while playing video games. Radiolab turns public radio into something relevant, modern, and approachable and should not be missed.
Radiolab can be accessed from their radio station’s website at www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/ .
