21 Hours of TWISmageddon

December 13th, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare
Play

TWIS is hosting 21 Hours of TWISmageddon in a knock-out, drag-down celebration of SCIENCE and the fact that world will not end on the 21st of December at 11:11 UTC.

Join us as we broadcast live for a stupid amount of time to talk science with people around the world!!! We will be joined by Tom Merritt, Joanne Manaster, Andy Ihnatko, Carin Bondar, and more!

We’ll be live on Google+ Hangouts and live on our YouTube channel.

The fun all starts at 00:00 UTC (that’s 4pm PST for me!)! Check your time zone here.

Our chatroom lives at webchat.freenode.net, #TWIS.

The Countdown to TWISmageddon is ON!

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

Need recording of TWIS from 8/16/2012

August 21st, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

Hello Minions!

Unfortunately, we are experiencing a few bumps during our transition from TWiT.tv to an independent production. My recording of TWIS from last week did not capture all the audio, leaving us with an extremely incomplete audio file for the podcast. Additionally, there was a hiccup somewhere within YouTube, and the video of the broadcast is lost as well.

What this means is that I do not have an episode to release for the audio rss feed. I’m pretty bummed because it was a really good show.

So, if you happened to record the live feed, please let me know. I would be very appreciative of any help.

Many thanks,
–kirsten

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

TWIS adopts Google+ Hangouts and YouTube Live!

July 26th, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

If you wonder what broadcasting solution TWIS decided upon since being ejected from the TWiT.TV studios, wonder no more. TWIS will broadcast live via Google+ On Air Hangout.

The upside to this is that it also streams though YouTube Live. So, if you are not a Google+ convert, you can remain gleefully unconverted.

How does it all work? Well, I will initiate a Hangout with the other hosts and guests at the usual time (7:30pm PT). The Hangout will be ON AIR, which means that if are a Google+er, and you follow me (+Kiki Sanford), you will be able to find the Hangout on the Google+ Hangouts page. If you are not a Google+er, you can find the stream either on the YouTube Live page OR on my personal YouTube page.

Now, you might also be wondering about the chatroom. TWiT.tv had a wonderful chatroom, and all these various viewing places don’t. So what are we going to do?

Make our own chatroom! You can join the conversation and the fun in the TWIS chatroom at webchat.freenode.net (if you are using a browser) OR at irc.freenode.net (if you are using an irc client). Just enter your nickname in the nickname field, and put TWIS in the channel field.

We’ve been through the whole process once so far, so hopefully most of the bugs are worked out of our system. But, please bear with us as we get used to this new platform.

Did I forget anything? What do you still need to know? Let me know!!!

Thank you so much for standing by us as we go through this transition!

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

Regarding the rumors of Cancellation

June 19th, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

This past Sunday, upon my return from a much needed vacation, I found that I had received several communications wondering if TWIS was cancelled. Not understanding where the rumor had started, and a bit confused from my recent sun, surf, and sand infusion, I investigated.

It turns out the rumors are both true and untrue, as rumors will tend to be.

The rumors were probably ignited when the TWIS.org website went down sometime within the past two weeks. I wasn’t aware of the problem until my return, and fixed it as soon as I was able. For those interested, something triggered Apache service on the server to shut off. Simple problem, but a pain since I wasn’t around to fix it.

Then, rumblings began about a week ago about Leo saying that TWIS was cancelled. I spoke with Lisa Kentzell, CEO of TWiT.tv, today about the topic, and was informed that TWiT is restructuring. Part of the restructuring involves no longer supporting 3rd party shows, of which TWIS is one. As many of you already know, TWIS is my program, and actually predates TWiT by several years. Technically, TWiT cannot cancel TWIS. They can, however, remove it from their schedule… which they have done.

So, what does this news mean for TWIS and all of you minions? The answer is that I don’t really know yet. I am considering options for continuing to broadcast TWIS on my own. Google+ offers a possible platform through which TWIS might easily and seamlessly continue. Alternatively, I might consider other platforms like Justin.tv and UStream.tv. I have Wirecast and can use it. We might think about moving to another network. Or, there is always the possibility that this signals the end for TWIS.

I have made no decisions yet, and would love your feedback and advice. TWIS is nothing without you! Whatever we do, I want it to be the best decision for the entire community.

For the time being, TWIS will continue to air on TWiT.tv on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm PT. We will probably do our last show on the TWiT network within the month of July. You will be kept in the loop, so expect to hear more from me here and on all the social networks where we have a presence.

TWiT has been an amazing home for TWIS over the past couple of years. The entire team at TWiT has been supportive and helpful in ways that can’t ever be quantified or, for that matter, paid back properly. I want to thank Leo for giving us a place in TWiT.tv’s lineup for so long, and everyone else for the hours of work that went in to making the show happen (especially our trainee engineers ;) . From the bottom of my heart, I wish the very best to TWiT.

–Kirsten
aka. Dr. Kiki

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

2010 TWIS Science Music Compilation Is Available!

January 25th, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

That’s right. After nearly two years of hemming and hawing, the 2010 TWIS Science Music Compilation CD is available.

Cover artwork thanks to Tony Steele!

2010 TWIS Science Music Compilation tracklist

Get them while they’re hot because supplies are limited!





The cost of shipping is included in the price of the cd.

Donate below!

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

TWIS Bookclub — January — Fool Me Twice

January 6th, 2012
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare
Cover of “Fool Me Twice”

Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America

Shawn Lawrence Otto

More than ever we need science to find solutions to the increasingly complex, daunting and urgent problems facing us all. At the same time, antiscience forces are ever stronger and science ever more sidelined in the thinking of citizens and politicians. In January’s book, Shawn Lawrence Otto investigates the estrangement of society from science.

buy from: amazon.com  amazon.ca  amazon.co.uk

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

TWIS Bookclub — September — Whole Earth Discipline

September 4th, 2011
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare
Cover of “Whole Earth Discipline”

Whole Earth Discipline: Why Dense Cities, Nuclear Power, Transgenic Crops, Restored Wildlands, and Geoengineering Are Necessary

Stewart Brand

In September’s book, Stewart Brand argues that our best hope is a radical environmentalism that embraces urbanisation, genetic engineering, nuclear power and climate engineering. Is he right? Read the book and discuss the issues!

buy from:amazon.com  amazon.ca  amazon.co.uk

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

TWIS Bookclub – Summer 2011

July 19th, 2011
RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare

Catch up with the bookclub this summer! Here’s a list of books we have read:

November, 2009
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann – Biology, Anthropology

December, 2009
The Canon by Natalie Angier – General Science

January, 2010
The Earth After Us – What Legacy Will Humans Leave in the Rocks? by Jan Zalasiewicz – Earth Science

February, 2010
Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes by Daniel L. Everett – Biology, Anthropology

March, 2010
Collider by Paul Halpern – Physics

April, 2010
Beyond Human: Living with Robots and Cyborgs by Gregory Benford & Elisabeth Malartre – Technology

May, 2010
From Eternity To Here: The Quest For the Ultimate Theory of Time by Sean Carroll – Physics

June, 2010
The Equation That Couldn’t Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry by Mario Livio – Physics

July, 2010
The Weather Makers: How Man is Changing The Climate and What It Means Fro Life On Earth by Tim Flannery – Earth Science

August, 2010
Good Natured: The Origins of Right and Wrong in Humans and Other Animals by Franz B. M. de Waal – Biology

September, 2010
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzgold – Technology

October, 2010
Dark Banquet by Bill Schutt – Biology

November, 2010
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre – General Science

December, 2010
Apocalypse – Earthquakes, Archaeology, and the Wrath of god by Amos Nur – General Science

January, 2011
The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth’s History by David Beerling – Ecology

February, 2011
Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá – Human Sexuality

March, 2011
Titan Unveiled: Saturn’s Mysterious Moon Explored by Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton – Planetary Science

April, 2011
The Chemistry of Life by Steven Rose – Biology, Chemistry

May, 2011
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker – Psychology

June, 2011
Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear by Dan Gardner – Psychology

And, here are some additional books we think are worth your precious summer time…

Biology
Endless Forms Most Beautiful (Sean Carroll)
The Extended Phenotype (Richard Dawkins)
Life: An Unauthorised Biography (Richard Fortey)
Microcosmos (Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan)

Physics
The Fabric of Reality (David Deutsch)
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (Richard Feynman)
Black Holes and Time Warps (Kip Thorne)

Deep History
Genes, Peoples and Languages (Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza)
Origins Reconsidered (Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin)

Space
A Man on the Moon (Andrew Chaikin)
Mapping Mars (Oliver Morton)

Science Fiction
Stories of Your Life and Others (Ted Chiang)
Permutation City (Greg Egan)
Mars Trilogy (Kim Stanley Robinson)
Star Maker (Olaf Stapledon)
Schismatrix (Bruce Sterling)
Time (Stephen Baxter)
Old Man’s War (John Scalzi)
The Uplift Series (David Brin)

Thinking
The Demon-Haunted World (Carl Sagan)
Consilience (Edward Wilson)

Other
Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Douglas Hofstadter)
Mapping the Deep (Robert Kunzig)

Feel free to add to our list!

RedditGoogle+FacebookDeliciousDiggIdenti.caWordPressEmailShare