We talk about things here sometimes that are only peripherally related to travel. Environmental issues, health
issues, science. We do this because when it comes down to it, travelers are curious people. Curious people want to know
what makes the world around them tick.
And so I offer this link to a new show on PBS called Science
Now. If you have not seen this program put it on your calendar, or Tivo it, have it transcribed by workers in
Bangalore, whatever. The point is you should watch it because it is superb. Actually, tell you what, if you want to see
it rright now, you can watch certain segments online.
One of the problems with science journalism, and science TV specifically, is that subjects are often treated with such
vapidity that it is too easy for the human brain to tell the human hand to seize the remote and turn the channel to
something more viscerally pleasing. After a day of work, a fast cut episode of 24 or the contrived drama of Survivor
are much easier to digest than a science segment on stem-cell research. But just this once, I urge you NOT to change
the channel. Watch an episode of Science Now and tell me if Robert Krulwich, the quirky but brilliant host, does not
make topics like Fuel Cells or
Mirror Neurons wonderfully entertaining…and informative. This is
the way science TV should be done. I’ve now watched every episode of Science Now and think it is getting better and
better. Give it a try, and let us know what you think.