Q&A

With Q&A on a short break, we're sampling a few of C-SPAN's other podcasts...this week, Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) talks about his life, faith and journey in politics. He was interviewed by Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC), Democratic Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kathy Kleiman, an expert on internet governance at American University College of Law and the author of "Proving Ground," talks about the six American women who programmed the ENIAC, the world's first general-purpose electronic computer. The ENIAC (Electric Numerical Integrator and Computer), which weighed over 30 tons and took up 1,800 square feet, was a top-secret project designed by the U.S. Army during World War II to calculate artillery trajectories. The six women who programmed the ENIAC to carry out these calculations did so without a manual, relying solely on their study of the blueprints and wiring diagrams of the computer.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journalists Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin talk about the COVID-19 outbreak on Holland America's cruise ship Zaandam in March 2020 while sailing around South America. Prevented from docking anywhere, the 1,200 mostly elderly passengers from the U.S., Europe and South America, along with 600 crew members, were stranded at sea as the virus spread on the ship. Michael Smith and Jonathan Franklin discuss what happened aboard the Zaandam during those days, the actions taken by Holland America after learning about the outbreak, and the eventual safe harbor given to the Zaandam in South Florida.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Data journalist Elliott Morris, a U.S. correspondent for The Economist, discusses the history of public opinion polling in the United States going back to the 19th century and the development and use of polling since then. He also talks about the accuracy of polls today and the often criticized predictions made by forecasters during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Medical historian Lindsey Fitzharris, author of "The Facemaker," talks about the life and career of Dr. Harold Gillies, a New Zealand plastic surgeon who reconstructed the faces of thousands of injured soldiers during and after World War One. The techniques developed by Dr. Gillies, many of which are still used today, revolutionized the field of reconstructive surgery.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Season Two begins with a sampling of calls about Watergate between President Richard Nixon and his administration from April 1973 while the investigation intensified. Conversations include John Ehrlichman, Assistant Attorney General Henry Peterson, FBI Director L. Patrick Gray, Henry Kissinger, and White House Counsel John Dean.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At least 6 U.S. Presidents recorded conversations while in office. Hear those conversations on this C-SPAN podcast. Season 2 focuses on President Richard Nixon's secretly-recorded private telephone conversations. Through eight episodes, hear Richard Nixon talk with key aides about Watergate strategy, potential Supreme Court Nominees, and hear his reaction to the leaked publication of the Pentagon Papers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Michigan musicology and American culture professor Mark Clague discusses his book, "O Say Can You Hear?," about the history and cultural impact of the Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814. He talks about how it became the U.S. national anthem, its widespread use today at sporting events, and renditions of the song performed by Jimi Hendrix, Whitney Houston, Roseanne Barr, and others.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Baltimore Sun reporter John Bainbridge, Jr., author of “Gun Barons,” talks about the inventors who started Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington, and the role their firearms played in U.S. westward expansion and the Civil War. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we look at two space-related stories in the news recently: the release of an image of Sagittarius A star, a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and the progress made by NASA's Perseverance Rover in its search for life on Mars. We are joined by two guests, Barnard College astrophysicist and author Janna Levin and University of Southampton geochemistry professor Jessica Whiteside. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices