Topic: Editors' Choice Programs

The issue of copyright continues to be a major problem over the life of the personal computer. Companies have consistently tried to limit the ability of users to make the most of their machines, using a variety of protection schemes. In his talk at the 28th annual Chaos Communication Congress (28c3), Cory Doctorow reviews the history of the copyright fight and discusses how developers and political organizations will continue to limit the use of the general purpose computer.

Nearly every day the news media carries stories about how much information the government compiles about the average citizen. As Daniel J. Solove writes in his new book Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff Between Privacy and Security, many people say, "If you've got nothing to hide, you shouldn't worry about government surveillance." However, Solove argues that it should not be necessary to choose security over privacy. He discusses the history of privacy law and reviews the problems of technology and privacy.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks about cybercrime with Wired editor and author, Kevin Poulsen, about his new book Kingpin, How One Hacker Took Over the Billion-Dollar Cybercrime Underground.

In a departure from the typical technology interviews and presentations, Doug Kaye reviews the recent trip to Egypt that started just before the country's demonstrations commenced. He tells the story of how he and his wife dealt with the events and what he learned from talking to Egyptian citizens. He also discusses the importance of technology to the population, as well as what he thinks might happen as events continue to unfold.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks up with Management Science and Engineering professor, Bob Sutton about his new book, Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best... and Learn from the Worst. In it, he reveals how the best bosses take diverse and intertwined steps to create effective and humane workplaces, and offers tips on taking control, getting and giving credit appropriately, taking responsibility, staying in tune with employees, and squelching your potential inner jerk.

Dr. Moira Gunn explores the quirky science behind preparing a space crew for a mission with Mary Roach, author of 'Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void' and meets two space entrepreneurs, who have experiments flying on the International Space Station.

Dr. Moira Gunn talks about the future with inventor, author, filmmaker and futurist, Ray Kurzweil. He tells us what science and technology have in store over the next 10, 20, 30 years.

Dr. Moria Gunn talks with author, Graeme Gibson about his new book, The Bedside Book of Beasts, in a fascinating discussion on survival, mortality and natures chain of life through the lives of beasts, both real and mythical.

Dan Bricklin discusses his new book, Bricklin on Technology, in which he talks about the human aspect of technology: how it is created, how it is used, and how it evolves. He talks about how the book came about and how he decided what content to include. He also reviews the particular issues in trying to adapt a book for the Amazon Kindle.

How has the "fundamental right" to vote evolved since the colonial period? In this excerpt from the historical public radio show, BackStory, the hosts review how elections were handled as the country was formed and how voting fraud has always been a major problem. They interview Mark Summers, Professor of History at the University of Kentucky about how things have changed in the last two hundred years.