Chairman: Rich Knowles
grichthek@gmail.com
(925) 370-6239
Been thinking about joining a book club but worried it is too much of a commitment? Looking for something to add to your environment while out walking the dog or just walking for exercise? How about the SIR podcast activity?
We meet twice a month at 4 pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month via Zoom. It is kind of like a book club for people with a short attention span. Podcasts are primarily something to listen to, and from there they can be anything (like books). We select spoken podcasts that are about 30 to 50 minutes long about a variety of subjects – history, popular science, business, and sometimes a little mystery or humor. The Branch 8 website has a list of all the past podcasts and the current ones we are listening to so we can discuss at the next meeting. If this sounds interesting to you join us. Let me know of your interest and I will send you the zoom link. Rich Knowles, email grichthek@gmail.com. Or call to get on the list to receive the Zoom links. (925) 681-9191.
If you are completely new to podcasts and need some training in how to find podcasts the activity chair will be happy to assist. Contact the chair to get the Zoom link.
Following is the history of podcasts listened to for this activity:
April 25: Two podcasts moderated by Jamshed Gandi
Istanbul on the History’s Greatest Cities podcast site, 3/24/2023.
The First Computer Program on the Patented: History of Inventions podcast site, 3/7/2023.
March 28th Two podcasts moderated by Steve Schramm
Summer Travel in California on the California Now podcast site, June 6, 2022
CBO – Congressional Budget Office – That’s What They Do on the Planet Money podcast site, 3/1/2023.
February 28 moderator Jamshed Gandi. This meeting we will discuss podcasts about Egypt and Astronomy, moderated by Jamshed Gandi.
Cleopatra’s Triumphant Daughter on the History Extra podcast site, 2/13/2023.
Is Earth Normal? on the Astronomy Cast podcast site, 5/30/2022.
February 13. This month we are going to discuss a couple of “scientific” podcasts, led by our moderator Nick Maufe.
Science Vs Hypnosis: Does it really work? on the Science Vs podcast site, 11/17/2022
Science Vs Vegans: Are They Right? on the Science Vs podcast site, 9/15/2022
January 10 Rich Knowles will start the year off with a single podcast
Not All Fun and War Games, 10/05/2022 on the SNAFU podcast site.
December 13 Three podcasts moderated by Steve Schramm
TED Radio Hour: Life Stages of the Brain, 11/102022. (originally 3/5/2021).
TED Talks Daily: How to Squeeze the Juice Out of Retirement. 10/13/2022.
A Cup of Cheer: A Seasonal Holiday Podcast. Episode 13 – The Ugly Christmas Sweater!, 12/15/2019.
October 25 Two podcasts moderated by Jamshed Gandi
9/17/2022 “Kermit Roosevelt II: The Nation That Never Was” on the Commonwealth Club podcast site.
9/8/2022 “Author, adventurer, archaeologist: Agatha Christie’s action-packed life” on the History Extra podcast site.
October 11 Two podcasts moderated by Tom Doll
8/16/2022 “Edward Snowden: Meet the Press (episode 1) on the American Scandal podcast site.
9/1/2022 “Data and the Drug War” on the Spy Talk podcast site
September 27 Three podcasts moderated by Steve Schramm
8/9/2022 “How the U.S. Gave Away Cutting Edge Technology to China” on the Consider This podcast site from NPR.
8/21/2022 “111. Would You Be Happier if You Lived Someplace Else?” on the No Stupid Questions podcast site
8/16/2022 “The Origin of Playing Cards” on the Everything Everywhere Daily podcast site.
September 13 Two podcasts, both starting a series, moderated by Rich Knowles
5/11/2022 “The Great Mississippi Flood – When the Levee Breaks” on the American History Tellers podcast site
7/19/2022 “The DuPont Chemical Cover-Up – Dry Run Creek” on the American Scandal podcast site
August 23 We will discuss two podcasts moderated by our moderator Jamshed Gandi
6/25/2022 “Who Killed Jane Stanford” on the Commonwealth Club site. This is a who done it on the suspected murder of Leland Stanford’s wife.
3/10/2022 “What is happening with Oil? w/ Josh Young” on the We Study Billionaires site
August 9 We will discuss two podcasts selected by our moderator Nick Maufe
9/7/2020 “Slaying The ‘Fee-for-Service Monster’ Of American Healthcare” on the Hidden Brain site
7/5/2022 “Liberals Need a Clearer Vision of the Constitution. Here’s What It Could Look Like” on The Ezra Klein Show site
June 28 We will discuss 2 or 3 podcasts selected by our moderator Steve Schramm
May 11, 2022 “Free Speech: A Brief Contentious History” an interview with Jacob Mchangama, author of a book on Free Speech on the History Extra Podcast site
March 13, 2022 “If America is a Train Wreck, why am I doing fine?” on the No Stupid Questions Podcast site
And last “Extra 6: A Better Way to End Basketball Games” by Steven Dubner and Nick Elam on the Tell Me Something I Don’t Know Podcast site
June 14 We will be discussing two podcasts selected by moderator Rich Knowles
11/10/2021 “Traitors: The Widow and the Assassin” on the American History Tellers site
11/17/2021 “Traitors: The Atomic Spies” also on the American History Tellers site
May 24 We will be discussing a podcast selected by moderator Tom Doll
4/3/2022 ‘They Came to Help Migrants. Now, Europe Has Turned on Them.” On The Daily podcast site and is specifically a Sunday Read.
May 10 We will be discussing a podcast selected by moderator Rich Knowles
12/15/2020 “Jon Jarvis: Absolutely American.” on The Oath with Chuck Rosenberg podcast site
April 26 We will be discussing two podcasts selected by our moderator Jamshed Gandi.
3/9/2022 “California’s Inconvenient Truths” on the Commonwealth Club podcast site
3/31/2022 “What Makes a Street Private and Why does SF have so many” on the Bay Curious podcasts site
April 12 We will be discussing two podcasts selected by our moderator Kenneth Main.
3/22/2022 “How energy markets are shaping Putin’s invasion – and the world” on The Ezra Klein Show podcast site.
2/21/2022 “What you can do to prevent Alzheimer’s” by Lisa Genova of Still Alice on the Ted Talks Daily podcast site
3/16/2022 “Escape from Russia” on the Planet Money podcast site that is part of NPR
March 22 Three podcasts led by moderator Steve Schramm.
1/20/2022 “How Classified Info Works” on the Stuff You Should Know podcasts site
2/20/2022 “What’s so great about Retirement?” on the No Stupid Questions podcasts site
9/29/2021 “Revisionist History Presents: Climate Change Despondency is Solvable” on the Revisionist History podcasts site
March 8 Two podcasts led by moderator Ron Cassano
12/1/2021 “Coffee: Brewing Innovation” from the Trailblazers by Walter Isaacson podcast site.
8/25/2021 “The Electrical Grid: Keeping the Lights On” from the Trailblazers by Walter Isaacson podcast site.
February 22 Two podcasts led by Moderator Jamshed Gandi.
12/13/2021 “Predicting the Future is Possible” from the site The Ezra Klein Show
11/01/2021 “How to Feel More Empathy” from the site The Happiness Lab
February 8 Two podcasts from the Now & Then podcast site, moderator Rich Knowles
10/26/2021 “Voting Rights: The Big Picture (ft. Carol Anderson)”
10/12/2021 “Speakers of the House: Velvet Gloves and Iron Fists”.
January 25 Two podcasts led by moderator Nick Maufe from the Radiolab podcast site.
10/15/21 Of bombs and butterflies
10/01/21 Oliver Sipple
January 11 Two podcasts led by moderator Rich Knowles from “The History Hour” produced by BBC.
6/5/2021 “The war on drugs”
4/21/2021 “How the NRA became a US political lobbying giant”
A person is assigned to decide what podcast(s) we will listen to and discuss at each meeting, and that person will be the leader for that session. Assignments are:
4/26/2022 Jamshed Gandi
