Mr. Glass vs. the Patent Troll

This American Life takes on Nathan Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures. What more do you need?

The short, sad life of Toxie the toxic asset

Another exceptional example of financial journalism from This American Life/Planet Money. It's a remarkably entertaining hour but it still manages to be as or more informative as anything you're likely to read on the subject.

As always, the download is free but the show could really use the money if you care to donate a couple of bucks.

This American Life on HCZ's Baby College

Joseph and I have spilled a lot of pixels recently trying to debunk some of the bad statistics coming out of the educational reform movement. We have, perhaps, gotten so caught up in that task that we have neglected some of the bright spots in the movement.

This is one of those bright spots and it's definitely worth paying for the download:

Act One. Harlem Renaissance.

Paul Tough reports on the Harlem Children’s Zone, and its CEO and president, Geoffrey Canada. Among the project’s many facets is Baby College, an 8-week program where young parents and parents-to-be learn how to help their children get the education they need to be successful. Tough’s just-published book about Geoffrey Canada and the Harlem's Children Zone is called Whatever It Takes. You can see a slideshow of more photographs from the project here. (30 and 1⁄2 minutes)

p.s.I'm still not entirely comfortable with some of the research around HCZ, but, as I said earlier, it's "an impressive, even inspiring initiative to improve the lives of poor inner-city children through charter schools and community programs."

Substituting metrics for judgement

This episode of This American Life concludes with a fascinating account of the manipulation of crime statistics. Drop by, take a listen, give them a buck.

More great reporting from This American Life

This is either the best piece of California political reporting I've come across recently or the best piece of education reporting. Either way it's worth the ninety-nine cents.

Another outstanding (and tragic) economics story from This American Life

"A car plant in Fremont California that might have saved the U.S. car industry. In 1984, General Motors and Toyota opened NUMMI as a joint venture. Toyota showed GM the secrets of its production system: how it made cars of much higher quality and much lower cost than GM achieved. Frank Langfitt explains why GM didn't learn the lessons – until it was too late."

Currently available for a free download.