A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: killing coal, Joe Biden and Iran (10:30), and how Taiwan’s economy remains resilient (16:20)
Program 2909, Air Dates December 6-12, 2020 & June 6-12, 2021 Texas Paddling Trails Paddling Trails of Texas.
There are new paddling trails popping up all over Texas. Grab your canoe and come along as we check out some of the state’s best river trips, on the coast, in Houston, and on the Guadalupe River. All you need is a paddle and an excuse to get wet.
Mission Reach Paddling Trail – When you think of a river adventure in San Antonio, the famous Riverwalk comes to mind. But there is a paddling trail of a different sort that’s worth checking out.
Dallas Trinity Paddling Trail – Grab a paddle and hit the river, wherever you live there is a paddling trail nearby. For folks in Dallas there’s one right in the heart of the city. The Dallas Trinity Paddling Trail is 10.2 miles of unexpected fun.
Caddo Lake Paddling Trails – Straddling the Texas-Louisiana border, swampy Caddo Lake in Northeast Texas has an enduring air of mystery. And the paddling trails is the ideal way to explore this fascinating lake.
Port O’Connor Paddling Trail – If you love to paddle and you want to get away there is no better paddling trail than the one in Port O’Connor. From paddling the bays, to sliding through a saltwater marsh, this one of the best coastal paddling trails in the state. Postcard From Texas Take a leisurely float down the San Antonio river on the Goliad Paddling Trail.
Dartmoor’s Baskerville Hall is one of the most famous country houses in English fiction. The arrival at its doors of Dr Watson, in the company of Sir Henry Baskerville, is a vivid piece of cinematic direction, artfully combining the Gothic horror tale with the more modern taste for detective thrillers.
Passing a ruined black-granite lodge, Watson and Baskerville go through the gates that are ‘a maze of fantastic tracery in wrought iron’ before reaching an avenue where ‘old trees shot their branches in a sombre tunnel’. The hall is a ‘heavy block’, with a projecting porch, its façade ‘draped in ivy’ within which the odd window or heraldic display can be seen.
Michelangelo, David, 1501–04, marble, 17 feet high (The Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence), a conversation with Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris.
This astonishing Renaissance sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence, it was meant to be one of a series of large statues to be positioned in the niches of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up at about 80mt from the ground. Michelangelo was asked by the consuls of the Board to complete an unfinished project begun in 1464 by Agostino di Duccio and later carried on by Antonio Rossellino in 1475. Both sculptors had in the end rejected an enormous block of marble due to the presence of too many “taroli”, or imperfections, which may have threatened the stability of such a huge statue. This block of marble of exceptional dimensions remained therefore neglected for 25 years, lying within the courtyard of the Opera del Duomo (Vestry Board).
The first thing visitors notice in the Faroe Islands is the breathtaking nature. But soon after, tourists notice something even more special: the way people welcome them into their homes.
The Faroe Islands is a self-governing archipelago, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It comprises 18 rocky, volcanic islands between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean, connected by road tunnels, ferries, causeways and bridges. Hikers and bird-watchers are drawn to the islands’ mountains, valleys and grassy heathland, and steep coastal cliffs that harbor thousands of seabirds.
The White Cliffs of Dover, part of the North Downs formation, is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of 350 feet, owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint.
Breaking away from the more well-known olive oil seasoned flatbread, focaccia in Bari, Italy is a feast of flavors made with tomatoes, olives, oregano, and olive oil. We visited Panificio Fiore, a local bakery that’s been churning fresh focaccia every day for over a century. The bakery is just a few steps away from the city’s Basilica di San Nicola, an important destination for pilgrims all over the world. For those foodies exploring the old town on another kind of pilgrimage, a slice of focaccia here will cost only 1 euro and will for sure open the doors of heaven.
Reindeer live in some of the coldest parts of the world. Sit back and enjoy this selection of wonderful reindeer moments selected from the BBC Earth library.
The reindeer, also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. This includes both sedentary and migratory populations.
When you visit a stately home like Holdenby, you expect the pomp, the glamor, the sense of history. Less expected, perhaps, is a museum for some of the rarest musical instruments around.
Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced, and sometimes spelt, Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp. It is a Grade II* listed building.
From An American Aristocrat’s Guide to Great Estates: https://bit.ly/2YK7Yn4
Filmed and Edited by: Catherine Gregory
Death Valley is a favorite National Park to visit during the late fall and winter months. During this trip I hike a trail I’ve never hiked before. The Darwin Falls trail which takes me through a canyon into a desert oasis with a waterfall that flows year round. I also visit Badwater Basin and head to Mesquite Dunes to catch the sunset. But first I show you my free camp within the park boundary in the middle of a Joshua Tree Forest where I had the place to myself.
Boomers Daily 