The Nature of Phenology 3/21/20: Red-winged Blackbirds

Producers: Hazel Stark & Joe Horn
Host: Hazel Stark

Like the first spring sighting of a robin or the first blooming dandelion of the year, red-winged blackbirds can inspire the phenology observers in all of us. Males return ahead of the females to determine their territory and belt their characteristic radio static “conk-la-ree” calls from marshes throughout Maine.

Photos, a full transcript, references, contact information, and more available at thenatureofphenology.wordpress.com.

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Camden Conference 2020- Social Media and Democracy: Sorting True Information from “Fake News”

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
Broadcast Date: 3-19-20

Social Media, Democracy, Fake News, and Fact Checking

Key Discussion Points:
-Research on how well online news users can distinguish between real news articles and phony “news”
-Methods for establishing “ground truth” for news articles
-Discussion of pros and cons of crowd-sourced fact checking

Guests:
Joshua Tucker, Professor, New York University
David Brancaccio, American Public Media
Nic Newman, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
Jeff Jarvis, Professor, City University of New York
Nicco Mele, Kennedy School, Harvard University

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 3/19/20: Magical Thinking and Tech

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Technology is a powerful part of our everyday lives but, although it sometimes seems so, technology isn’t magic. That is something that some of our politicians and government leaders don’t always seem to understand. Two recent examples of that lack of understanding can have real consequences for our everyday lives.

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