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Tirole's Nobel Lecture

Jean Tirole's 2014 Nobel Economics Prize lecture is masterful: clear; concise; simple, but not simplistic. He starts at 3:45:

Ikejemba, we salute you

Chinua Achebe, Michael Thelwell, students and several guests discuss Things Fall Apart in this session of a Brown University undergraduate seminar course:

AFRI1060, "African Literature: Chinua Achebe"

Thelwell is a gifted teacher, who is evidently deeply knowledgeable and passionate about Achebe's work. He leavens the proceedings with mischievous wit. Achebe makes his appearance at 85:45 and the two men greet each other by the honorific Igbo names they bestowed on each other: Achebe is Ikejemba ("The power that protects the people") and Thelwell is Ekwueme ("He who does what he says he will do"). There are some gems here. For instance, in response to Charlie Cobb's question (at 121:39) about his ruptured relationship with Aya Kwei Armah, Achebe notes: "We are not enemies, but we don't find time to get together." Vintage Achebe.

Something Ventured

Something Ventured (2011) tells the story of the rise of the venture capital industry in the United States. It's a very human story, and an utterly compelling and fascinating one. You can watch it for free on Hulu:

Komla Dumor (1972-2014): Telling the African Story

Notes and Neurons

Bobby McFerrin demonstrating the intuitive power of the pentatonic scale at the World Science Festival 2009:

J. Robert Oppenheimer: His life and his physics

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