Third Eye Weekly

Welcome to Third Eye Weekly. On this podcast we try and answer the big questions with intimate, personal narratives that give insight into the human experience that others might over-look.

Today’s podcast is about monitoring. In a society rife with data, with seemingly infinite ways to record our daily activities, in what ways are governing bodies and organizations keeping tabs on us?

Some argue that we need mass monitoring to protect our safety, others believe there shouldn’t be any, and that the very nature of observation changes the ways in which we behave.

The implications are not just societal–breakthroughs in technology allow for interesting applications of personal behavior monitoring, and larger infrastructures of monitoring can help us tune into nature. The question is: Where do we draw the line and simply let things be?

We’ll talk with Lee Rainie, director of internet, science, and technology research at the PEW Research Center. He’ll share some of his findings regarding government surveillance, and how our notions of privacy are being challenged.

We’ll also chat with Michael Herf, who has developed an unusual computer program called f.lux. It adjusts a computer display’s color temperature according to the time of day, and was designed to prevent disruption of normal sleep patterns.

Lastly, for our Third Eye perspective into the question this week we’ll wrap it up by talking with Wendy Stovall, who works at the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Science Center. She’ll be talking with us about the different ways the organization monitors volcanic activity to keep us safe.

Watch as we take it to the streets for this week’s segment on monitoring and where people draw the line in personal privacy in their lives.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_WTS4HR6hc[/youtube]

You can also check out a video of our interview with Wendy Stovall, a volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

Playlist!

Music & Poetry

The Very Best – Let Go

Toro Y Moi – What For?

Marvin Hodges – “Blue Genes”