Science Fiction Technology

Scrub all you want, but you'll never get your body entirely clean. From rash causing itch mites to bacteria swimming in your stomach, meet the tiny creatures hitching a ride on your body.

World-famous zoologist Dian Fossey is remembered for her inspiring work studying the mountain gorillas of central Africa’s isolated Virunga Mountains. Her tireless devotion to understanding - and actively protecting - these shy and gentle primates introduced them to an admiring public and promoted values of conservation in the African nations they inhabit. In 1966, Dian Fossey left home for Africa to conduct field research on mountain gorillas. It was her second trip to Africa, but it wouldn’t be her last.

An eccentric schoolteacher and a widow-lady babysitter are the heroines in these new digital studio recordings of Donald Davis' two all-time most-requested stories. "It was the 42nd year she had taught fourth grade", yet there was nothing routine about Miss Daisy or her methods. Rather than settle for textbook work (Miss Daisy left textbooks in the big closet) she took her class on a year-long imaginary world tour.

A successful journalist, Victoria Griffith, makes her first foray into children's fiction with the story of Alberto Santos-Dumont, the larger-than- life Brazilian who many argue flew before the Wright brothers. It was 1906 in Paris when Alberto, challenged by a fellow inventor, turned his dirigible into a flying machine and cemented his place in the history of flight.

This is the story of a unique American hero who came of age as an astronaut during the few dramatic years when man reached the moon. Cernan's career spanned the entire Apollo program, from the tragic fire that killed three of his comrades on Apollo 1, through the moment when he left man's last footprint on the moon as commander of Apollo 17.

Madam C.J. Walker wasn't just an inventor. She was also a political activist and businesswoman. Young listeners will discover that she was not only fought for civil rights, but became one of the most successful African-American business owners ever.

All most people talk only about the Fibonacci Sequence, the simplest one to calculate...but people rarely go deeper than that, so Gene Grossman decided to - and has done with this Fibonacci book the same thing he did with the popular books he wrote entitled Celestial Navigation for the Complete Idiot and Trigonometry for the Complete Idiot: He wrote plain-English explanations that even kids above the age of eight should be able to easily follow - and explain to their parents.... And it goes the other way, too.

Socrates questions Ion, an actor who just won a major prize, about his ability to interpret the epic poetry of Homer. How does an actor, a poet, or any other artist create? Is it by knowing? Is it by inspiration? As the dialogue proceeds, the nature of human creativity emerges as a mysterious process and an unsolved puzzle.

"La nostra lingua manca di parole per esprimere questa offesa, la demolizione di un uomo". Con ostinazione e pacatezza, Primo Levi non ha mai smesso di cercare le parole per raccontare l'atrocità della deportazione e del campo di sterminio di Auschwitz, in cui venne internato dal febbraio 1944 al 27 gennaio 1945. Parole di testimonianza sconvolgente e di grande potenza narrativa che vengono qui accolte e restituite ad alta voce da Roberto Saviano.

The life of astronaut John "Danny" Olivas.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, long-suppressed information has emerged on Heisenberg’s role in the Nazi atomic bomb project. In Beyond Uncertainty, Cassidy interprets this and other previously unknown material within the context of his vast research and tackles the vexing questions of a scientist’s personal responsibility and guilt when serving an abhorrent military regime.

Could aliens from outer space really exist? And have they visited Earth? Listeners will be captivated by exciting tales of alien encounters while also learning the facts about each claim. Which stories could be true, and which fakes will be exposed?

What’s that strange object in the sky? Could it be an alien spaceship? Listeners will be riveted by curious tales of UFO sightings while also learning the facts about each claim. Which mysteries still baffle experts, and which ones have been solved?

Is mind reading a real skill? What about being able to move things with just your mind? Listeners will be captivated by claims of psychic powers while also learning the facts about each story. Which tales could be true, and which myths are busted?

At 23, Jane Goodall made her first voyage to Africa and began her determined steps to achieve her goal of studying animals by living among them. In My Life with the Chimpanzees, she shares the remarkable journey which took her from her childhood in London to the realization of her dream in the wilds of Gombe, Tanzania.

A lively exploration into the life of Charles Darwin, One Beetle Too Many recounts both Darwin’s childhood and his time on the Beagle as a naturalist. This adventurous tale explores Darwin’s discoveries in geology, paleontology, and animal anatomy that led to his famous theory of evolution.

When disaster strikes a cargo flight over the arctic, pilot Andre decides it's time to upload. He pays to have his brain sliced and scanned so his mind can live in the computerized, virtual world of Talespace. Since Talespace runs on the logic of a game, Andre takes full advantage. He becomes a high-flying pegasus learning the magic of the sky and battling monsters for the Night Queen. He's even in time for a fun little war.

Simple science text gives a close-up account of the fascinating world of the dung beetle. When an animal lightens its load, dung beetles race to the scene. They battle over, devour, hoard, and lay their eggs in the precious poop. Dung is food, drink, and fuel for new life - as crucial to these beetles as the beetles are to many habitats, including our own.

For thousands of years, the notion of dragons has struck fear in the hearts of men and women all over the world. The ancient Egyptians believed there was a dragon of darkness that attacked the sun god each day, and in Norway people thought that a dragon gnawed at the roots of the tree that sustained all life on Earth. Around the globe, dragons have been depicted as everything from massive, winged, fire-breathing creatures to beasts sporting a camel’s head, deer’s horns, rabbit’s eyes, and eagle’s claws! Dragons might hoard treasure in caves, or they might be responsible for floods and the death of livestock.

These are the adventures and discoveries of the scientists who revealed the secrets of the Komodo dragon. This strange creature inspired myth and legend, luring brave souls into the forests of Indonesia to see if the tales were true. In the end, it attracted scientists, who unraveled the mysteries of how such a remarkable creature could exist, how it uses the deadly germs in its saliva to its advantage, and how those microbes may lead to cures for stubborn diseases.