Story of Math 2008

Four-part series about the history of mathematics, presented by Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy.

The invention of the telescope has been by far the most revolutionary development in the history of astronomy. For thousands of years, astronomers had to rely on their eyes in unraveling the mysteries of the Universe. Then, 400 years ago, something entirely new happened: Galileo turned a homemade arrangement of magnifying glasses to the skies. The telescope revealed a wealth of astronomical riches, and led to a dramatic increase of knowledge about the wider world we live in.

Five CD set bringing a comprehensive, big-tent look at the early years of punk rock in the US and Canada. Over six hours of music. Includes benchmark tracks by the scene's most influential bands plus many rare singles making their first appearance on CD. This five CD includes influential NYC bands - Patti Smith Group, The Ramones, Television, Blondie, The Voidoids, etc. - as well as the scene's other pioneers such as Pere Ubu and The Dead Boys (both Cleveland, Ohio), Dead Kennedys and Crime (San Francisco), Devo (Akron, Ohio), The Germs and The Weirdos (Los Angeles) and Mission of Burma (Boston, Massachusetts). Blank Generation offers a deliberately broad definition of punk, encompassing contributions from such outré acts as Suicide, The Cramps and The Residents through to new wave/power pop combos (Sneakers, Chris Stamey & the dB's, etc.). While the US punk scene was arguably always more diverse musically than that of the UK, the music evolved quickly, as evinced by the choices heard on Discs 4 and 5. Many of the acts here such as X, The Replacements, The Feelies, Redd Kross, The Dream Syndicate, The Gun Club and Minor Threat would make an even greater impact as the 1980s wore on. It's hard to overestimate the seismic shocks caused by the music on 'Blank Generation', not only on everything in alternative music which followed in North American, from the 80s hardcore scene and the music heard on the whole alternative college radio network through to grunge and beyond. And yet this era has never before been treated to a comprehensive retrospective of this kind.

Following the progress of the Mars Lander mission to Mars with the University of Phoenix.