Top New Science Podcasts: Hiroshima Radiation Rules & Ocean Plastic Pollution
Contributing Correspondent Dennis Normile talks about a long-term study involving the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Seventy-five years after the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the two cities in Japan, survivors are still helping scientists learn about the effects of radiation exposure.
Also this week, Sarah talks with Winnie Lau, senior manager for preventing ocean plastics at Pew Charitable Trusts about her group’s paper about what it would take to seriously fight the flow of plastics into the environment. This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.
Morning News Podcast: Federal Agents, Herd Immunity & Public Lands
NPR News reports on Federal Agents being sent to states to stem violent crime, Covid-19 and the possibilities for ‘natural herd immunity, federal funding for public lands and more.
Timelapse Travel Videos: Denmark’s “Yellow Fields” By Casper Rolsted (2020)
Filmed and Edited by: Casper Rolsted
Every spring bright yellow fields occur for a few weeks all over the world. These beautiful carpets of yellow are the Rapeseed crop blooming. Many may be familiar with this crop under its other name of Canola.
The crop grows to 100 cm (39 in) in height and the flowers are about 17 mm (0.67 in) across.
Crops from the genus Brassica, including Rapeseed, were among the earliest plants to be widely cultivated by mankind as early as 10,000 years ago.
Today Rapeseed is used for production of animal feed, edible vegetable oils, and biodiesel.
Space: UAE, China And USA Launch Missions To Mars – How Long Will It Take?
Why are there so many attempts to get to Mars at the moment? The United Arab Emirate’s Hope satellite was despatched last week and now China has launched its first rover mission to the red planet. Nasa’s Perseverance Rover is scheduled to take off on 30th July. Well, summer 2020 is a popular time for missions to the red planet because of the way the planets align – but how long does it take to get there? Landing on Mars is known as the “seven minutes of terror”, and there are lots of reasons why. Here BBC Science Correspondent Laura Foster explains how long it takes to get there and why it’s so difficult. Video by Megan Fisher, Terry Saunders and Laura Foster
Artist Profile: Henri Matisse And His ‘Divine Dancer’ (Sotheby’s Video)
Unseen since 1949 and set to appear at auction for the first time, this beautiful work is a quintessential example of Henri Matisse’s sensuous odalisques. The elegant model is Italian countess Carla Avogadro, reclining on an extravagant Venetian Rococo armchair that Matisse bought on a whim and, in his own words, became “obsessed” with. ‘Danseuse dans un intérieur, carrelage vert et noir’
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse was a French artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter.
Design: “LivingHomes YB1” Accessory Dwelling Units
When governor Jerry Brown signed a law that made Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) legal in California, it started a revolution in the ways that homeowners, builders and city planners think of small living. Homeowners’ applications for these small backyard buildings have skyrocketed after this regulatory reform in 2018.
The structural system of YB1 allows for a wide range of internal layouts. It is based on a 4’ grid that is full height, allowing the homeowner to pick full height windows, clerestory or rigid walls all around the building. This allows for shaping light, privacy and cost needs very precisely. A unique feature of YB1 is that it allows for multiple roofline options: the home can be designed with a standard 8’ ceiling height and flat roof, a 10’ ceiling with a clerestory running the entire building, or a pitched roof that provides climate adaptability, neighborhood style integration, or adds a loft addition.
The design is cost-efficient and adheres to LivingHomes’ high environmental efficient standards, using materials like wood slats paneling, concrete and stucco panels. The model options are also responsive to climate. Flat roofs that allow for solar panels can be incorporated, which work well in southern regions; likewise, the design of pitch roofs assimilate well in colder areas and mountain regions. YB1 homes offer a wide range of creative building configurations — modules for full kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms (or offices) will be available, and because of the flexible features, they can accommodate different sites, design interests and lifestyle preferences.
Innovations: Spinneybeck “Silent-Silo” – Stand Alone Private “Office Booth”
Conceived by iconic designer and Knoll alum, Carl Gustav Magnusson, Silent-Silo is an office booth that thinks outside of the box.
This circular booth uses materials that lend themselves to the the design’s curved walls while providing maximum acoustic privacy in FilzFelt’s 100% Wool Design Felt and Spinneybeck’s Dukta Flexible Wood.
Plus, it can be completely customized in over seventy finish options of Flexible Wood and 100% Wool Design Felt!
Travels With A Curator: Osuna, Spain (Frick Video)
In this week’s episode of “Travels with a Curator,” journey to the Spanish town of Osuna, most famously known as one of the film locations for “Game of Thrones” but also the title lands of the 9th Duke of Osuna, whose portrait by Goya is in the collection at the Frick. Join Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, as he recounts his trip to rural Andalusia in search for the tomb of the Duke.
New Architecture Books: “Zaha Hadid – Complete Works” (Taschen)
Zaha Hadid was a revolutionary architect. For years, she was widely acclaimed and won numerous prizes despite building practically nothing. Some even said her work was simply impossible to build. Yet, during the latter years of her life, Hadid’s daring visions became a reality, bringing a new and unique architectural language to cities and structures such as the Port House in Antwerp, the Al Janoub Stadium near Doha, Qatar, and the spectacular new airport terminal in Beijing.
By her untimely death in 2016, Hadid was firmly established among architecture’s finest elite, working on projects in Europe, China, the Middle East, and the United States. She was the first female architect to win both the Pritzker Prize for architecture and the prestigious RIBA Royal Gold Medal, with her long-time Partner Patrik Schumacher now the leader of Zaha Hadid Architects and in charge of many new projects.
Based on the massive TASCHEN monograph, this book is now available in an extensively updated and accessible edition covering Hadid’s complete works, including ongoing projects. With abundant photographs, in-depth sketches, and Hadid’s own drawings, the volume traces the evolution of her career, spanning not only her most pioneering buildings but also the furniture and interior designs that were integrated into her unique, and distinctly 21st-century, universe.
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