Studio 360: Sci Fi Christmas & Regina Spektor

This is what Kurt Andersen considers a holiday tale... melting ice caps and extraterrestrial spies? Kurt's story, "Human Intelligence," was produced for radio by Jonathan Mitchell, and stars Melanie Hoopes, John Ottavino, and Ed Herbstman. The unabridged version was published this year in Stories: All New Tales, an anthology edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio.

Then, in 1928 the Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discovered the fungus from which penicillin is derived. Fleming made the discovery while trying an unusual experiment: painting with strains of bacteria. Lindsay Patterson talked with a team that’s taking bacterial painting to a new level.

And, Regina Spektor has emerged as one of the great songwriters in indie music. Her new album and concert film is called Live in London. Last year, when her studio album Far was released, Spektor visited Studio 360 and performed for us. [Broadcast Date: December 25, 2010]