Wild’s Cheryl Strayed Has a New Advice Podcast

Posted on December 19, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Before Wild, Cheryl Strayed was the pseudonymous “Dear Sugar” advice columnist for The Rumpus. Her columns were collected in Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar. Writer Steve Almond (Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America) also wrote as Dear Sugar. And now Strayed and Almond are joining forces on a new Dear Sugar podcast, promising “radically empathic advice.” You can write in to dearsugar@wbur.org.

Listen to People’s Lives: David Plotz’s Working Podcast

Posted on December 18, 2014 at 3:59 pm

Former Slate editor David Plotz, now at Atlas Obscura, says that he is a big fan of Studs Terkel’s classic book Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. He has paid tribute to that great work in the best possible way, by updating it with his podcast series, Working. With thoughtful, insightful questions, he interviews people about how they spend their workday. Some of the people have high profile jobs. The first in the series is Stephen Colbert, and whether the idea of the series appeals to you or not, whether you are a fan of the Colbert Report or not, you have to listen to this one, and I guarantee you will be moved. Other interviews include an LA waiter, a lexicographer (she works on dictionaries), a farmer, a hospice worker, a television writer, a musician, a porn star, a political cartoonist, and a pastor. The stories are fascinating, illuminating, and inspiring. You will not think about the people around you or about your own job the same way again. Highly, highly recommended.

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Learn Code with Elsa and Anna!

Posted on December 4, 2014 at 8:00 am

Code.org is a non-profit dedicated to giving every student in every school the opportunity to learn computer programming. They have partnered with Disney to create tutorials hosted by “Frozen’s” heroines, Anna and Elsa. Disney is also very generously contributing $100,000 contribution to fund Code.org’s work to bring computer science education to afterschool programs around the United States. Disney Interactive offices nationwide will also host their own Hour of Code activities for neighborhood students.

In this one-hour activity, you will learn to write code to help Anna and Elsa create snowflakes and magical “ice craft,” while also learning logic, math and cultivating creative confidence. Then, you can share your creations online or with friends.

Try a preview now, at Code Studio!

Celebrities and technologists, including Polyvore CEO Jess Lee, app developer and model Lyndsey Scott, Microsoft engineer Paola Mejia, and model Karlie Kloss (a beginner who’s learning to code herself), will provide short video lectures to guide students. The girl-power theme of the tutorial is a continuation of our efforts to expand diversity in computer science and broaden female participation in the field, starting with younger students.

Give it a try! It is lots of fun, and who knows, maybe you will be on your way to creating the next “Frozen!”

Sir Paul McCartney in Virtual Reality

Posted on November 29, 2014 at 8:00 am

Jaunt promises that you can have a virtual reality experience with Sir Paul McCartney, using their app to get a 360 degree view of his performance of “Live and Let Die” at Candlestick Park, featuring immersive audio and stereo 3D. It requires a recent 5″ or 6″ phone and a Google Cardboard virtual reality viewer.

Gortimer Gibbons: Life on Normal Street

Posted on November 23, 2014 at 3:58 pm

Amazon Prime’s new series for families is a delight. Gortimer Gibbons: Life on Normal Street is the story of three middle school-age friends and the mysteries they investigate on Normal Street are anything but normal. It has fun and fantasy but mostly it has friendship. It’s a perfect choice for some family viewing in between the turkey and the football games.