wbur.org
support wbur today!
Listen to this show
Sharpening the Cutting Edge
photo

By host Tom Ashbrook:

On October 4, 1957, America’s cold war arch-rival, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik — the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth. The United States went ballistic with envy and fear. President John F. Kennedy announced America would go to the moon, and marshaled American science to that, and much more. The US economy flourished.

On January 31, 2006, George W. Bush sounded a new alarm in his State of the Union address. This time it is global competition challenging the United States, he said, and he outlined a new initiative to respond. But is it enough?

Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel, and others talk about the challenge to American competitiveness, now.

Guests:

Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel

Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Michael Lemonick, Senior writer, Time magazine

 
 

Comments are closed.

Recent Shows
The Future of Aging
Thursday, November 5, 2009 image

A surge of new strategies to “manage” aging — from diets to testosterone. We’ll get the story.

Comments [31]
 
Climate, Congress & Copenhagen
Thursday, November 5, 2009 image

The Copenhagen climate conference is one month away. US climate action is going nowhere in Congress. We’ll look at the global implications of America’s domestic climate politics.

Comments [73]
On Point Blog
California, here we come! And we need your questions!

On Point is headed west!
No, no. Not for good. Only for one show. But it’s a very special show!  The NPR station in Thousand Oaks, California – KCLU – is celebrating their 15th anniversary. We’re lucky to have been on their airwaves for nearly seven years, and they invited us out west to host a live [...]

More » | Comments [7]
 
For Love of Science – or Money?

A new study supports the idea that U.S. dominance in engineering and science is threatened — but not for lack of training and education. It has more to do with a lack of social and economic incentives.

More » | Comments [5]
 
Matthew Hoh’s Resignation Letter

Matthew Hoh, a former Marine captain, became the first foreign service official to publicly resign in protest over the war in Afghanistan. The move has generated a lot of reaction. You can read Hoh’s resignation letter, posted by The Washington Post, which reported on it here.
It’s a topic for our news roundtable today. What [...]

More » | Comments [4]