Podcasts (播客)

The B S. Report

Designed for the sports fan with a sense of humor, the B.S. Report is hosted by the sportswriter Bill Simmons. Simmons show is in very loose and free form and it’s not uncommon for him to go almost a whole show without even mentioning sports.

Wait, Wait…… Don’ t Tell Me

One of the most popular Programs on National Public Radio, Wait. Wait... Don’t Tell Me is now available as a podcast. The show is a news program in the form of a game show. Each week a group of humorists and writers join host Peter Sagal in Chicago, where they are quizzed on the weeks most important and funny news stories. Listeners also get to call in to play different news-related games for a prize

The Moth

The Moth is a weekly podcast run by a nonprofit art organization. The show is made up of recordings of “true stories told before a live audience without notes”. Each week. the group releases short 10-20 minute tales told by people from all walks of life. Past Presenters have included writers, comedians, scientists, and even New York City police officers.

Film spotting

Film spotting is a weekly podcast and is a must-listen for any movie fan. The show is focused on movie reviews, but hosts Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson do more than just tell their listeners which new movie is worth seeing. They also discuss and examine the film as an art form. The how doesn’t just focus on current movies, either, as the hosts frequently discuss old films as part of theme marathons.

I grew up in a middle﹣class family． Dad worked hard to support our family and Mom tried to save money while making sure we had enough food to eat and clothes to wear． One of their greatest desires was to raise decent， loving children who had an opportunity to finish college．

My brother， Gene， never hesitated to learn new things． He had an artistic hand， so he went into fine arts for a while． He also did a lot of screens about computers． He became so good at it that the school hired him to teach there after he completed his studies． My younger brother also pursued computers， following in his footsteps．

Gene did not have a history of any health problems from his very young age to adulthood． One day， he came home from teaching， ate his dinner and went to bed． That evening，my "healthy" brother died suddenly of a cardiac arrest（心跳骤停）．My parents were extremely sad．

At the viewing in the funeral house， amidst the sadness， my parents felt so much pride． So many people came and each was relating a story of how they were touched by Gene．

A cleaner came to say that practically every day Gene brought him a sandwich． Finally， Mom found out why Gene had taken so many sandwiches to school! Then there was a man who came in bringing money， saying that Gene had lent him some when he was down and out． Gene had never asked him for the money back．

From the school president to the guard， people came． And because of his good heart and deeds， my younger brother was awarded a full scholarship in the school as a tribute to my dead brother．

In the end， my parents realized that even at the young age of 26， my brother had lived a full life and was very instrumental in helping others live theirs a little better．

Next week California will try to take cell phones from the hands of drivers， telling everyone from millionaires to workers that conversations behind the wheel must be on an earphone．

Californians interviewed by Reuters mostly supported the law requiring hands﹣free phones in cars and banning cell phones entirely for drivers under 18， which will take effect on Tuesday， though they were puzzled by a loophole（漏洞） that allows seemingly more dangerous text messaging． Some were doubtful about lawmakers， who they blamed for failing to build more freeways or public transportation in the face of increasingly crowded roads in the nation's most populous state and said hands﹣free conversations were not safer．

KFI﹣AM radio talk﹣show host John Kobylt told Reuters． "It's stupid because we've one over about seven different studies and each one of them says it's the conversation that distracts you， not holding the phone．"

State Senator Joe Simitian， who introduced the bill， said keeping both hands on the wheel was always safer． He expected his law to save hundreds of lives． The Democratic lawmaker was considering introducing a new law to ban text messaging in the car， which he said wasn't an issue when he began working on the first one in 2001．

Connecticut， New Jersey and New York have already banned drivers from talking on hand﹣held cell phones． In New Jersey， police have issued 35，000 tickets for using a hand﹣held phone or texting while driving since the law went into effect on March 1．

But Californians interviewed by Reuters expressed ambivalence．"On the one hand I don't want to see people crash into each other， but I'm not going to get an ear thing．" 38﹣year﹣old bank employee Jason Fischer said in Los Angeles．

In his 1930 essay "Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren". John Keynes. a famous economist, wrote that human needs fall into two classes: absolute needs, which are independent of what others have, and relative needs. which make us feel superior to our fellows．He thought that although relative needs may indeed be insatiable（无法满足的), this is not true of absolute needs。

Keynes was surely correct that only a small Part of total spending is decided by the desire for superiority. He was greatly mistaken, however, in seeing this desire as the only source of insatiable demands.

Decisions to spend are also driven by ideas of quality which can influence the demands for almost all goods, including even basic goods like food. When a couple goes out for an anniversary dinner, for example, the thought of feeling superior to others probably never comes to them. Their goal is to share a special meal that stands out from other meals.

There are no obvious limits to the escalation of demand for quality. For example, Porsche, a famous car producer, has a model which was considered perhaps the best sport car on the market. Priced at over ＄ 120,000. it handles perfectly well and has great speed acceleration. But in 2001. the producer introduced some changes which made the model slightly better in handling and acceleration. People who really care about cars find these small improvements exciting. To get them, however. they must pay almost four times the price.

By placing the desire to be superior to others at the heart of his description of insatiable demands, Keynes actually reduced such demands. However, the desire for higher quality has no natural limits.