Rundown:

Billboard/Show Open (1:00) Anchor: Susan Hassler

Maglev train [3:10] The fastest way to travel without becoming airborne is to climb aboard the Shanghai Transrapid Maglev train. In seven minutes it streaks 18 and a half miles from the city to the outlying Pudong [Pu dong (equal emphasis)] International Airport. For those of us who have never traveled so fast on the ground,
Spectrum’s Al Rosenblatt tells us that the anticipation is like settling into a roller coaster car and waiting for the lurch that starts the cars climbing upward. But that lurch never comes.

Panda Research Center [4:10] If there’s a universal symbol for cuteness, it could well be the giant panda. The roly poly, black-and-white bears are nearly extinct: there are only fifteen hundred pandas left in the world. Spectrum’s Harry Goldstein reports on how wireless technology is giving panda researcher...
Read the full transcript

SPECTRUM RADIO
The broadcast edition of IEEE Spectrum Magazine

PROGRAM RUNDOWN FOR MAY, 2005: “China’s Tech Revolution”

1) Billboard/Show open [1:00] Anchor: Susan Hassler
2) Maglev train [3:10] Alfred Rosenblatt
3) Panda Research Center [4:10] Harry Goldstein
4) Graduation Ceremony [4:42] Samuel Moore
5) Chengdu Reporter’s Notebook [7:10] Jean Kumagai
6) China’s Air Pollution [4:46] Prachi Patel Predd
7) Anchor Interview [6:05] Susan Hassler interviews Ted Fishman
8) China’s Internet [6:40] Steven Cherry
9) Author interview [2:10] Bill Sweet interviews Thomas Friedman
10) Semiconductors [5:15] Linda Geppert
11) Show Close/Wrap [1:00] Anchor: Susan Hassler

Rundown:

Billboard/Show Open (1:00) Anchor: Susan Hassler

Maglev train [3:10] The fastest way to travel without becoming airborne is to climb aboard the Shanghai Transrapid Maglev train. In seven minutes it streaks 18 and a half miles from the city to the outlying Pudong [Pu dong (equal emphasis)] International Airport. For those of us who have never traveled so fast on the ground,
Spectrum’s Al Rosenblatt tells us that the anticipation is like settling into a roller coaster car and waiting for the lurch that starts the cars climbing upward. But that lurch never comes.

Panda Research Center [4:10] If there’s a universal symbol for cuteness, it could well be the giant panda. The roly poly, black-and-white bears are nearly extinct: there are only fifteen hundred pandas left in the world. Spectrum’s Harry Goldstein reports on how wireless technology is giving panda researchers in China new tools for studying these delightful creatures.

Graduation Ceremony [4:42] The Chinese have always had a reverence for learning, and as they’ve become more involved in world affairs and world markets, they’re also welcoming a more Western approach to education. Spectrum’s Sam Moore reports on a recently established program between an American engineering school and a university in Beijing.

Chengdu Reporter’s Notebook [7:10] Nearly all of China’s industrial development has occurred along its eastern coast. Recently, though, the central government has been pushing investors westward, into the interior, underdeveloped, provinces. This “Go West” policy has, in a few short years, made the unlikely city of Chengdu a high-tech boomtown. Spectrum’s Jean Kumagai visited Chengdu for this report.

China’s Air Pollution [4:46] With one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, China can barely keep up with its booming energy demand. And, like other developing countries, it has to deal with the dark side of its industrial and technological advances – including pollution. But its new market economy may offer some answers. Prachi Patel Predd reports on how China is using market tools to address its air pollution problems.

Anchor interview [6:05] China’s transformation from impoverished agrarian state to high-tech economic superpower has dazzled and alarmed the corporate America. Susan Hassler interviews Ted Fishman, author of the widely discussed book “China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World” about how China got to the top in 20 short years and what it means for high-tech workers and high-tech industries around the globe.

China’s Internet [6:40] China is one of the most ancient -- and modern --countries in the world. In the center of Beijing, its dynamic capital, stands the Forbidden City, its 9,999 rooms a symbol of the old China. Step outside, and walk across the large, open plaza known as Tiennaman Square, and you'll hear the new China. As Spectrum's Steven Cherry reports, amidst jackhammers and backhoes, China is being rebuilt, seemingly overnight.

Author interview [2:10] China’s place in the world economy is the subject of Thomas Friedman’s new book, “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century.” Spectrum’s Bill Sweet recently caught up with Friedman to talk about the book.

Semiconductors [5:15] The city streets in Pudong, an outlying industrial section of Shanghai, are lined with modern high-rise apartment buildings and factories. This is where you’ll find international industry giants like Sharp, Siemens, and Toshiba, as well as the main offices of the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or S-M-I-C. Spectrum’s Linda Geppert reports.

Show Close/Wrap (1:00) Anchor: Susan Hassler
Credits and contact information.