The MIT Press Podcast

The Art and Craft of Translation

Mark Polizzotti translates authors from Patrick Modiano to Gustave Flaubert. In this episode, Polizzotti demystifies the process of translation and demonstrates its capacity for art. Beginning with the first translators, some 2,000 years ago--"traitors" who brought the Bible to the common public via translation--and illuminating the implications of contemporary machine translation, Polizzotti offers a riveting take on language and its elasticity. This conversation about Sympathy for the Traitor: A Translation Manifesto is, in interviewer Chris Gondek's words, much like the book itself a "discussion, a reframing, and a corrective."

This is My Body: Communion and Cannibalism in Colonial New England and New France

Carla Cevasco, Assistant Professor of American Studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, discusses her recent article, "This is My Body: Communion and Cannibalism in Colonial New England and New France." Her article was published in the December 2016 issue of The New England Quarterly.
Abstract:
Analyzing the material culture of English, French, and Native communion ceremonies, and debates over communion and cannibalism, this article argues that peoples in the borderlands between colonial New England and New France refused to recognize their cultural similarities, a cross-cultural failure of communication with violent consequences.

Solar's Future

This episode features an interview with MIT Press author Varun Sivaram about his new book Taming the Sun. Varun Sivaram is the Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations. He teaches “Clean Energy Innovation” at Georgetown University, is a Fellow at Columbia University's Center for Global Energy Policy, and serves on Stanford University's energy and environment boards. He has advised both the mayor of Los Angeles and the governor of New York on energy and was formerly a consultant at McKinsey & Co. He holds a PhD in condensed matter physics from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. PV Magazine called him “The Hamilton of the Solar Industry,” Forbes named him one of its 30 under 30, and Grist selected him as one of the top 50 leaders in sustainability.

Exploring the Influence of Haptic and Olfactory Cues of a Virtual Donut on Satiation and Eating Behavior

“…Using VR scent, touch, and sight to alter the subjective experience of taste is going to be very large project; not just an academic project but also for those in the food industry.”
Does feeling and smelling donuts in a Virtual Reality setting contribute to eating less and feeling fuller? In this episode, Jeremy Bailenson, Founding Director of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University, discusses a study (recently published in Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments journal) that sought to explore the effects of haptic and olfactory cues through virtual food on human satiation and eating behavior. Bailenson also discusses the benefits and caveats to standalone consumer VR; the trend of high-end, location-based VR; reality-blurring (when a virtual memory gets mistaken for a physical one); and more.
Related Content:
Presence article: “Exploring the Influence of Haptic and Olfactory Cues of a Virtual Donut on Satiation and Eating Behavior” by Benjamin J. Li and Jeremy N. Bailenson
Book: Experience on Demand

Thresholds 46: SCATTER!

Anne Graziano and Eliyahu Keller, editors of Thresholds 46: SCATTER!, talk about the mission of the journal; the making of the SCATTER! issue; the role of student journals; and how to make architectural knowledge and education more accessible.
Established in 1992, Thresholds is the annual peer-reviewed journal produced by the MIT Department of Architecture. Each independently themed issue features content from leading scholars and practitioners in the fields of architecture, art, and culture.
About the Speakers:
Anne Graziano is a student of architecture, artist, and editor. She is currently a Master of Architecture candidate and graduate fellow at MIT. Her studies focus on representation and circulation of architecture and architectural knowledge as it pertains to digital and physical infrastructures.
Eliyahu Keller is an architect, researcher, and author. He is currently pursuing a PhD in history, theory, and criticism of architecture and art at MIT. He has served as a research assistant for the Harvard-Mellon Urban Initiative and was a member of the Berlin Portal Research Group.
Related Content:
Thresholds 45: MYTH
Thresholds 46: SCATTER! on Facebook
Thresholds 46: SCATTER! on Instragram

Olaf Sporns on Network Neuroscience

The intersection between cutting-edge neuroscience and the emerging field of network science has been growing tremendously over the past decade. Olaf Sporns, editor of Network Neuroscience, and Distinguished Professor, Provost Professor of Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Indiana University Bloomington, discusses the applications of network science technology to neuroscience. Dr. Sporns hopes the launch of Network Neuroscience will contribute to the creation of a common language used by scientists and researchers in the neuroscientific community to unify the field of neuroscience again.
Network Neuroscience is open for submissions. Check out the guidelines and submit your work!

The Structure of Success: How the Internal Distribution of Power Drives Armed Group Behavior and National Movement Effectiveness

Listen as Peter Krause and Sean Lynn-Jones discuss the key differences between united and hegemonic power and the internal structure of violent and nonviolent national movements, as outlined in Krause’s article “The Structure of Success: How the Internal Distribution of Power Drives Armed Group Behavior and National Movement Effectiveness” from International Security 38:3 (Winter 2013/14). This conversation was recorded on January 17, 2014.

Nationalism and Nature in Henry David Thoreau's "Walking”

Listen as Andrew Menard and Laura Dassow Walls discuss the notions of walking, wildness, nationalism, and the role of beauty in Thoreau's "Walking." This conversation was recorded on February 27, 2014.
Read Andrew Menard's article, "Nationalism and the Nature of Thoreau's 'Walking.'" 

Water Is in the Air: Physics, Politics, and Poetics of Water in the Arts

Our contributors discuss their work in the arts and sciences, which is showcased in the new article collection, Water Is in the Air: Physics, Politics, and Poetics of Water in the Arts. Water Is in the Air explores the ways that artists, from all over the world, working at the cutting edge of science and engineering, create work that addresses critical issues of water in culture and society. This conversation was recorded on March 19, 2014.
Contributors:
 Jean-Marc Chomaz, CNRS research director at the École Polytechnique Hydrodynamics Laboratory (Ladhyx) and professor at École Polytechnique. He is a member of the artist group Labofactory.
 Mikael Fernström and Sean Taylor, the art-science collaborators behind Softday. Fernström and Taylor teach at the University of Limerick. Listen to their sound art piece, "Hypoxia Hibernalis," a shortened version of "Marbh Chrios.”
 Annick Bureaud, independent art critic, curator and event organizer, researcher and teacher in art and technosciences. She is the director of Leonardo/OLATS, European sister organization to Leonardo/ISAST.
 Roger Malina, physicist, astronomer, editor-in-chief of Leonardo, and distinguished professor at the University of Texas, Dallas.

Sybil Ludington, Material Culture, and American Mythmaking

Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of a lovely feminine Paul Revere...
Marla R. Miller and Paula D. Hunt discuss Sybil Ludington, material culture, and American mythmaking. Although there is no primary evidence supporting Sybil’s historic ride, she has become an increasingly popular figure tied to the American Revolution. This conversation was recorded on March 30, 2015.  Correction: At (28:41), it was the Connecticut NOW (National Organization for Women) that sponsored the Sybil Ludington Young Feminist Award.
Check out Paula D. Hunt's article, “Sybil Ludington, the Female Paul Revere: The Making of a Revolutionary War Heroine,” from the June 2015 issue of The New England Quarterly.
Contributors:
Marla R. Miller, Member of NEQ's Editorial Board and Director of the Public History program at The University of Massachusetts, Ahmerst.
Paula D. Hunt, Doctoral Candidate at Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. 
 
Related content:
"Drunk History" 
"Hangry Moments in History"
Daughters of the American Revolution 
"Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Berton Braley's Take on Longfellow's poem
Sybil Ludington golf ball 
Sybil Ludington "Contributors to the Cause" stamp
Colonel Ludington silhouette