Tech Podcast #85. Today on Capitol Hill, a House subcommittee held hearings on internet censorship in China. Lawmakers blasted officials from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Cisco. The companies sought to defend their work in China. We'll get the full story. Plus, heard any good books lately? One group of international volunteers is trying to make audio versions of great works of literature available online, for free! And we end with an interview about how Lego open-sourced their latest line of robotic toys. If you've ever wanted to edit an interview, we give you your chance.

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For Technology Podcast #84, we're going to give you on update on the National Security Agency's domestic spying program. This week, behind mostly closed doors, NSA and other Bush Administration officials provided detailed technical and operational information about the surveillance program to intelligence committees in both the House and Senate. We look into the history of domestic surveillance in the United States, and what technologies were used. Also, an extended discussion with The World's Quil Lawrence, who is freshly back from Iraq. We talk war tech of all stripes, and give you a taste of what it's like for a foreign correspondent to file on deadline.

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Tech Podcast #83 takes you to Brazil in search of what some say is the answer to America's oil addiction: ethanol. Also, we'll hear about another wiretapping scandal, this one in Greece. Then, we look to the heavens and ask if we've become too dependent on satellites and satellite technologies. We finish off our podcast with a story from Nigeria, where email scammers have been immortalized in song. All that, plus some more podsafe music from Spunkshine and Dylan in the Movies.

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For Tech Podcast #82, we explore a couple of the technology themes raised in President Bush's State of the Union address. First, what is switch grass? Second, what's the latest on human cloning, stem cell science, and scientific fraud? We'll try to answer both questions. Also, Google Maps meets audiophilia, and good times ensue. And finally, we hear about a project designed to keep the world's seeds, that's right -- seeds, safe for all eternity. All that, plus some new podsafe music from Massachusetts' own Dylan in the Movies.

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Hi folks. We've had serious bandwidth issues this week, and because of that, we're temporarily -- that's TEMPORARILY -- not providing our archived shows. They will be available again as soon as we get our bandwidth sorted out. In the meantime, a cracker of a podcast #81. We have a report on Google's foray into China. We also hear from a Nepali blogger about the state of things in his country. We'll also speak with Noah Shacthman of www.defensetech.org about the Quadrennial Defense Review. And we'll round things out with this gem: Back-Masking in the Digital Age.

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In Technology Podcast #80, we revisit the NSA eavesdropping story. First, we'll have an update on the latest legal and political wranglings over the National Security Agency's warrantees domestic wiretapping program. Then, a podcast special as we run extended excerpts from General Michael Hayden's press conference yesterday. General Hayden was Director of the NSA when the wiretapping program was first authorized. Check out some testy exchanges between Hayden and reporters covering the story. Finally, the Russians say the British are spying in Moscow. No! And that they're using a wireless transmitter in a fake rock to do it. You don't say!

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For Tech Podcast #79, we go as deep as we can into the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program. We look not only at what technologies and techniques the NSA might be using, but also put those technologies and techniques in both historical and legal context. So listen in, and find out how the NSA might be listening in.

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It may be Friday the 13th, but you're in luck. We have a great 'cast #78 today folks. We start with some follow-up news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A US Senator is in the Netherlands to check out how the Dutch do water defense. Also, a Russian podcaster who had to close up shop because of the storm. Then, we shift gears and hear from some Swarthmore College students who are using some high-tech to get their own news out of Iraq. And we end with a story about growing concern over the Chinese practice of farming bile from bears. All that, plus the whackadelic grooves of Spunkshine!

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Today's cast features news of US researchers who have discovered the world's largest prime number, and why we should care. Also, an incredible report from Equatorial Guinea's Bioko Island on some very special primates that are in danger. And we'll send you into your weekend with a Polish accordion group that likes to play, wait for it, video game theme music. All that, plus a sad farewell to Norway's Don Juan Dracula.

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Podcast #77 focuses exclusively on the stem cell scandal in South Korea. South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk has been stripped of honors after it was revealed he committed scientific fraud. His work in cloning human embryonic stem cells has been discredited. Today, he accepted responsibility, but also placed some of the blame on his lab assistants. We'll explore what the stem cell scandal means for South Korea, and what it means for the stem cell debate in the United States.

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