You're receiving this email because you subscribed to the American Folklife Center's "News and Events" updates.  But did you know there other ways of keeping in touch? In addition to this list, we have the Folklife Today blog, the Folklife Today podcast, and a facebook page, with more podcast series on the way. Now that our heavy event season is slowing down, we thought we'd use the list to alert you to some of these other ways to learn about folklife and the mission of the AFC. 

Let's begin with the Folklife Today Podcast, since a new episode was released today for Halloween! Folklife Today tells stories about the cultural traditions and folklore of diverse communities, combining brand-new interviews and narration with songs, stories, music, and oral history from the collections of the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center. The new episode features scary stories for Halloween, including Jackie Torrence's "The Golden Arm," Mary Celestia Parler's "The Witch who Kept a Hotel," and Connie Regan-Blake's "Mr. Fox." The very first episode, from a year ago, featured spooky songs. In between, there was a whole year filled with audio goodies!  Find it all at the link.

Click here for the Podcast homepage.

The American Folklife Center Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon on Women Fieldworkers

Primary Place: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Saturday, February 8, 2020
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM EST

Join the American Folklife Center (AFC) on Saturday, February 8 for an edit-a-thon to expand the online presence of women who documented the world. This event is part of the AFC’s multi-year initiative to highlight, explore, and celebrate the contributions of women as ethnographic fieldworkers, and to call attention to the role of women in establishing many of the foundational collections that now enrich the AFC archive and ethnographic archives throughout the world.

During the edit-a-thon, we plan to add and/or expand entries for 25-30 women, both historical and contemporary, who have documented traditional culture. We will focus on collections in the AFC archive. The list of featured fieldworkers whose entries are to be edited will be posted in the near future. Activities will be centered at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, but off-site participation is encouraged. The event starts with a “How to Edit” session presented by Wikipedia Foundation staff. They will be joined by AFC staff, who will assist on-site and off-site researchers and provide archival materials

Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at 202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov

Register for the event at the link!

African American Dollmaking and Puppetry: Renegotiating Identity, Restoring Community
Various speakers and artists, moderated by Camilla Bryce-Laporte

February 18, 2020, 11:30am-2:00pm
119 First Floor
Thomas Jefferson Building

African American artisans utilize ancient skills and innovative technologies to create dolls and puppets that are both whimsical and starkly serious. Their creations — incorporating clay, textiles, wood, glass, and found objects — embrace the somber reality of African American experiences and optimism for a boundless future. Working alone and in communities these artisans create dolls and puppets that articulate Black beauty, strength, style, spirituality, and truth. Their works, embodying older traditions and innovative vocabularies for storytelling, are designed to amuse, educate, and heal. Dolls of each of 8 makers will be displayed on tables from 11:30-12:00 pm and 1:30 pm-2:00 pm.

Folklorist Camila Bryce-Laporte will present six makers as they discuss their work and the stories behind that work. This will be followed with a question and answer session from 12 noon to 1:30 pm.

This program may deal with sensitive subjects and is aimed at adults rather than children.

Some of the dolls will be for sale through the auspices of the Library of Congress sales shop.

Click here for more information.

Please join us for an afternoon symposium:

James Hogg: Scotland's Shepherd Poet
February 21, 2020 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Whittall Pavilion, Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress

This symposium will explore the work of James Hogg, “The Ettrick Shepherd” (1770-1835), an influential Scottish song-maker, folklore collector, novelist, and poet. Inspired by Robert Burns, colleague of Walter Scott, and friend of Lord Byron, Hogg played a major role in creating and promoting Scottish culture, within Scotland and internationally.

This free event, which is open to the public, will compare his work with that of more recent American performers and collectors, who also served as intermediaries between the worlds of folk, popular, and literary culture for the first time. Speakers will explore issues around field collecting, song transmission and creation over the past three centuries. An afternoon of presentations and discussions will be capped by a performance featuring renowned singer Sheena Wellington, who has recorded and performed some of Hogg’s best known songs.

Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at 202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov

Find further information at the link!

This is a reminder that the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress invites applications for the Henry Reed Fund Award, which supports activities directly involving folk artists such as recording projects, apprenticeships, or performances. Find information about the Henry Reed Fund Award and other fellowships at the link--scroll down for the Henry Reed Fund. The past recipients link will also help provide a useful history of the award.

The deadline is 12:00 midnight, March 2, 2020.

Click here for more information.

The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is delighted to announce that four (4) new Occupational Folklife Project collections are now available on the Library of Congress website. They are “Working the Waterfront: New Bedford, Massachusetts;” “Funeral Service Workers in the Carolinas;” “Illuminating History: Union Electricians in New York City;” and “Homeless Shelter Workers in the Upper Midwest.” The collections consist mainly of audio recordings of oral history interviews, with supporting photos and documents. The four new collections join previously released collections documenting the experiences of home health care workers, beauty shop employees, circus workers, gold miners, ironworkers, racetrack employees, and workers in the Port of Houston.

Through the Occupational Folklife Project (OFP), the AFC has now amassed more than 1,000 interviews with hundreds of contemporary American workers representing scores of trades and occupations. These hour-long oral history interviews feature workers discussing their current jobs, formative work experiences, training, aspirations, occupational communities, hopes for the future, and on-the-job challenges and rewards. They tell stories of how workers learned their trades, their skills and work routines, legendary jobs (good and bad), respected mentors, and flamboyant co-workers. They document the knowledge, dedication and insights of American workers, and add workers’ voices to the permanent record of America’s history preserved at the Library of Congress, America’s national library. Adding the collections to the Library of Congress website enables researchers, educators, and members of the public to access them from their homes, schools, and local libraries. OFP interviews can also be accessed at the AFC’s Reading Room at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

AFC Director Betsy Peterson notes: “AFC’s innovative Occupational Folklife Project enables researchers and members of the public to have direct access to hundreds of hours of fieldwork with some of America’s most eloquent, engaging, and passionate spokespeople for the trades and occupations that shape our shared national culture. These oral histories not only enrich our current understanding of our fellow Americans, but will inform scholars and researchers for generations to come about the lives of workers at the beginning of the 21st century. Listeners will be able to access the oral histories, images and fieldwork that previously could be accessed only by visiting the Library of Congress in Washington. ”

The OFP was launched in 2010. It is funded in part by AFC’s Archie Green Fellowships, which support teams of researchers throughout the United States, who perform interviews documenting a particular occupation.

New OFP collections available online are:

Working the Waterfront: New Bedford, Massachusetts
The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC) received an Archie Green Fellowship to document workers on the New Bedford, Massachusetts, waterfront for the Occupational Folklife Project (OFP). Folklorist and NBFHC Executive Director Laura Orleans, working with anthropologists Madeleine Hall-Arber and Corinn Williams and oral historian Fred Calabretta, recorded oral histories with 58 workers involved in diverse fishing-related trades on the New Bedford waterfront. Documented tradespeople range from fish packers to net makers, navigational electronic technicians to marine divers, and maritime upholsterers to ice house workers. The individual interviews are supplemented by striking workplace portraits taken by gifted New Bedford photographer Phillip Mello, who was also interviewed about his job as general manager at Bergie’s Seafood. Mello has been taking photographs of his fellow waterfront workers since 1975, and his work is currently on exhibit at the American Folklife Center.

Funeral Services Workers in the Carolinas
Folklorist Sarah Bryan of Durham, North Carolina, received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document the work of funeral services workers in North and South Carolina. She explored how, through their work, funeral service workers engage with the funerary folklore and religious beliefs of diverse Carolina communities, including African American, Gullah, Jewish, Scottish and Scots-Irish, as well as more recently arrived immigrant groups. Interviewees included directors of multi-generational funeral homes and other funeral workers from diverse backgrounds and experiences. A total of 16 interviews are included in this collection; many are accompanied by photographs and historical images.

Homeless Shelter Workers in the Upper Midwest
Social services worker, writer, and documentarian Margaret Miles of Minneapolis, Minnesota, received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document workers in the emergency homeless services in three interrelated Midwestern urban centers: Bismarck, North Dakota; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; and Chicago, Illinois. She recorded interviews with overnight shelter advocates, meal and clothing center coordinators, street outreach workers, daytime drop-in supervisors, and housing case managers and others who work to resolve housing issues and assist individuals with financial crises, employment, addiction, illness, or mental health concerns. As she notes: their work makes them "master-navigators of complex systems such as healthcare, social security, corrections, veterans’ benefits, and tenant-landlord law." This collection consists of 18 interviews with shelter workers serving diverse communities of clients, including ex-offenders, abused women, LGBT and Native American youth, and individuals with HIV/AIDS. Many of the interviews are accompanied by images by Miles's co-documentarian, photographer Catherine ten Broeke. Troyd Geist, Folklorist for the North Dakota Arts Council, served as a consultant to the project.

Illuminating History: Union Electricians in New York City
New York researcher and electrician Jaime Lopez, in affiliation with SUNY Empire State College's Harry Van Arsdale Jr. School of Labor Studies (HVASLS) and The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW, Local #3) in Queens, New York, received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to document the occupational culture of urban IBEW electricians, who “through manufacture, installation, and maintenance serve the greater New York City area.” Lopez worked with a research team that included labor faculty Barrie Cline and labor historian Anne D’Orazio from HVASLS, Queens-based artist/documentarian Setare S. Arashloo, and Local #3 electrician Paul Vance. Folklorist Naomi Sturm served as consultant to the project. The team recorded 22 oral histories with IBEW Local #3 electricians reflecting a wide range of ages, backgrounds, experiences, and occupational specialties. Many interviews are accompanied by worksite photographs and photographs of union-related activities.

Click here for more information.

Online Resource

Hayden Library - QH305.B617 2019

Dewey Library - QH323.5.W45 2020

Dewey Library - QH309.G676 2019

J & J Snack Foods Handhelds Corp., a Holly Ridge, N.C. establishment, is recalling approximately 56,578 pounds of stuffed sandwich products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically semi-transparent plastic.

Upper Saddle River, NJ : Addison-Wesley, [2011]

Fife : Stupor Mundi, 2017.

Tuesday, September 24, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS: EDWIDGE DANTICAT

Author Edwidge Danticat will discuss her new short story collection, Everything Inside. This event is free and open to the public. Free tickets required; signed copies are also available for pre-purchase. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Tickets are still available for these upcoming events in the National Book Festival Presents series:

Nov. 6 – Karen Armstrong discusses her new book, “The Lost Art of Scripture: Rescuing the Sacred Texts.” Armstrong is the author of numerous groundbreaking works on world religions and speaks often on how faith shapes civic conversation. Click here for ticket information.

Nov. 8 – Brad Meltzer & Chris Eliopoulos present their new PBS KIDS series, “Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum,” based on their books for children, “Ordinary People Change the World,” featuring the newest titles, “I Am Walt Disney” and “I Am Marie Curie.” The PBS KIDS series, premiering Nov. 11, will introduce kids to inspiring historical figures and the character virtues that helped them succeed. Click here for ticket information.

Nov. 13 – André Aciman discusses his new book, “Find Me,” the sequel to his bestselling “Call Me By Your Name,” which was made into an Academy Award-winning film. Click here for ticket information.

Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

Thursday, January 16, 10:30 AM
NATIONAL AMBASSADOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE INAUGURATION: JASON REYNOLDS

Award-winning author Jason Reynolds will be inaugurated as the 2020-2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, the seventh writer to hold this position. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden will lead a conversation with Reynolds during the ceremony, which will also include a special appearance by 2018-2019 National Ambassador Jacqueline Woodson.

Tickets are not required for this event, which is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed from both the Library's Facebook page and the Library's YouTube site (with captions).

Co-sponsored by Every Child a Reader and the Children’s Book Council, with additional support from Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: (202) 707-5394

To learn more about Jason Reynolds and his activities as National Ambassador, visit his Library of Congress resource guide. 

The Library of Congress' partner, Every Child a Reader, is currently accepting proposal submissions from libraries, schools, community centers, and organizations interested in hosting an event with Jason Reynolds, the 7^th National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

Reynolds will travel to rural/small underserved communities across the country during his two-year term to have meaningful discussions with young people. Through his platform, “GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story,” he will connect with, listen to, and empower students to share their stories and start their journey as storytellers.

Organizations are encouraged to put together proposals that support and align with Jason's platform and the mission of the program. 

To learn more about the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature program click here. To learn more about Reynolds’ tenure as Ambassador click here.

Submit your proposal here: https://everychildareader.net/ambassador/

On Thursday, March 12, the Library of Congress closed all Library buildings to the public until April 1. On Tuesday, March 17, the Library announced that all public events are canceled until May 11 to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19 coronavirus. Whenever possible, the Library will reschedule the public programs that have been canceled. Please read the Library's public statement, and see the Poetry and Literature Center's event updates below.

Thursday, March 19, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JEFFREY ROSEN AND DAHLIA LITHWICK

This event has been CANCELED.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Author Jeffrey Rosen will discuss his new book, Conversations with RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty and Law, with Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor at Slate. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Law Library of Congress and presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, April 2, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS RICHARD FORD

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, the Library of Congress will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

In an event titled “A Good Story Knows No Borders,” Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction winner Richard Ford will give a talk about the universality of fiction as well as participate in a discussion with his German translator, Frank Heibert. The discussion will be moderated by Library of Congress Literary Director Marie Arana. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Tuesday, April 21, 7:00 PM
LIFE OF A POET: KIMIKO HAHN

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, Hill Center will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

Poet Kimiko Hahn will discuss her work with Ron Charles, book critic at The Washington Post. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by Hill Center and The Washington Post.

Location: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)
Contact: poetry@loc.gov 

Thursday, April 30, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JOY HARJO

This event has been CANCELED.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Joy Harjo will participate in her closing event as the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate, which will include a moderated discussion and special musical performance. This event is free and open to the public. Co-sponsored by the Library’s American Folklife Center and Music Division, and presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Coolidge Auditorium, ground floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 7, 7:00 PM
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL PRESENTS JOHN HESSLER

This event has been POSTPONED to a later date.
Note: Once a date has been confirmed, the Library of Congress will alert all those who registered for the original event date via their email addresses. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and look forward to seeing you, your family and friends very soon.

John Hessler, specialist in the Library of Congress’ Geography and Map division and author of the best-seller MAP: Exploring the World, will discuss his new book on pre-Columbian cultures, Collecting for the New World. This event is free and open to the public. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: LJ-119, first floor, Thomas Jefferson Building <view map>
Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website. 

Thursday, April 30, 7:00 PM
SPILLOVER: ANIMAL INFECTIONS AND THE NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC

Prize-winning science writer David Quammen will discuss “Spillover,” in which he tracks the animal origins of human diseases through the centuries, with David Rubenstein. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 7, 7:00 PM
HOW ONE 21ST CENTURY PANDEMIC, SARS, PREDICTED ANOTHER, COVID-19

Author and journalist Karl Taro Greenfeld will discuss his prescient book on the SARS epidemic, which foreshadowed the more devastating COVID-19 pandemic, with the Library of Congress’s Roswell Encina, chief of communications. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Friday, May 8, 5:00 PM
BEYOND SUNRISE, THERE IS A SONG WE FOLLOW: U.S. POET LAUREATE JOY HARJO IN CONVERSATION

U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo will discuss her poetry and her work in the laureate position with Rob Casper, head of the Poetry and Literature Center. Co-sponsored by The Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP).

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from AWP’s website, where it will also be archived.
Contact: juanita@awpwriter.org

Thursday, May 14, 7:00 PM
ONCE UPON A TIME I LIVED ON MARS: SPACE, EXPLORATION AND LIFE ON EARTH

NASA astronaut and scientist Kate Greene lived in a simulated Martian environment located on the slopes of Mauna Loa in Hawai’i, where she spent several months in isolation, doing research. She will discuss the stress, loneliness and other challenges of sequestration with Library of Congress Literary Director Marie Arana. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

Thursday, May 21, 7:00 PM
WHY IT’S HARD TO KNOW THINGS, LATELY. AND HOW COVID-19 WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY

Bestselling historian and Harvard professor Jill Lepore will discuss how the current pandemic, its effects and our reaction to them say something very real about America in this moment and in the historical record that will emerge from it with John Haskell, director of the John M. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress. Presented in partnership with National Book Festival Presents.

Location: Online only—this event will be streamed from both the Library's Facebook page and its YouTube site (with captions), and will be archived as a webcast on the Library’s website. Contact: specialevents@loc.gov

For more information about upcoming events, please visit the Poetry and Literature Center's website.

The Bellicon mini trampoline isn't an ordinary trampoline -- it uses individual bungee cords to attach the jumpnig surface to the metal frame, creating an impact-absorbing surface thats great for exercise.

These stainless steel cleats will will grip rock, ice, particleboard—whatever cubicle wall that blocks your path.

Wired visits Industrial Light & Magic to see how they made the special effects magic behind 'The Avengers.'

"Hey you guys ride bikes?!"  Welcome to Wired Bike Camp: Day 1Wired's Bike Team tackles Nothern California's tough terrain.

Through Cows, Wind and Drive-Bys, Wired Bike Team Plows Through All Obstacles.

Worng Turns, False Flats, Give Wired Bike Team Some Fresh Challenges

A look back at the final day of Wired Bike Camp and some footage that was left on the cutting room floor.

Filming the 'Hunger Games' wasn't as depressing as you might think. The cast tell us what it was like to be on set and a few embarrsing moments between takes.

Ben Cohen wanted to take on the man. He enlisted the San Francisco maker community, and built a noisy, carnivalesque, vaudeville-style device, full of bright-colored wood and plastic and metal, to drive around the country and stamp slogans on money.

WIRED reviews the White Digital LED Clock

For the snow enthusiast, the first day of the season is more exciting than Christmas morning. And we're about to experience it. Welcome to Wired's 2012 Winter Camp test excursion.

On the second day of our Lake Tahoe trip, we tested skis, boards, clothing, helmets -- and each other's patience.

After shaking off the soreness of our first day on the slopes, we hit the terrain park to practice our moves.

We spend one last day on the mountain testing skis, snowboards and other winter gear -- and an insane, snow-ready mountain bike.

i-Wei Huang hacks together bit and peices to make beautiful steam powered robots and techno bugs. You may have seen his work before, at his day job Huang develops toys and characters for Skylanders.

Advanced prosthetics designed for animals from horses to dolphins could one day be put to use for humans.

In the upcoming film, Man of Steel, General Zod will be played by Michael Shannon. Can Shannon trump Terrence Stamp's portrayal of Zod in the 1981 film, Superman II? Angry Nerd is skeptical, obviously. Photo Credit: General Zod artwork courtesy of Steve Oatney

In this exclusive video from WIRED and Conde Nast Entertainment, find out how director Justin Lin filmed Dominic Toretto's (Vin Diesel's) blazing last minute escape from a massive, crashing and exploding Antonov aircraft for his new #1 blockbuster film "Fast & Furious 6." Don't miss this unbelievable behind the scenes look at the genius work of renowned visual effects house "Double Negative." Huge thanks to our good friends at fxguide.com.

Follow a robot as it works its day job—transforming the world of e-commerce by hustling packages around the giant warehouses that propel the modern economy. New robot minions: Welcome to the team.

Genius sketch comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele talk to Peter Rubin about their favorite sketches, the new season of their Comedy Central show Key & Peele, and Game of Thrones. Because Game of Thrones.

From medical vaccines to financial services to educational resources, connectivity is key. Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton explain the positive impact of being plugged in on a global scale. For more from Bill Gates and President Clinton, check out the December 2013 issue of WIRED.

With American exceptionalism waning, is the U.S. destined to be left in the dust? Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton talk about the significance of building a future of shared success and responsibility in order to create a thriving global economy. For more from Bill Gates and President Clinton, check out the December 2013 issue of WIRED.

Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton have managed to transition from Microsoft co-founder and former U.S. commander-in-chief to hands-on philanthropists. With a passion for charity and aid work, the two describe their health- and education-focused initiatives, and explain why their statuses don’t mean squat when they’re helping out in developing nations. For more from Bill Gates and President Clinton, check out the December 2013 issue of WIRED.

Passion and optimism often go hand-in-hand, which couldn’t be truer for Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton when it comes to their outlook on the future. The two share their thoughts on the rapid pace and excitement of today’s innovations, and how humanity’s balance between conflict and cooperation will continue to fuel economic opportunity for years to come. For more from Bill Gates and President Clinton, check out the December 2013 issue of WIRED.

In this World Economic Forum discussion, Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, proposes a new scientific framework called Planetary Boundaries—a way of thinking about consumption and sustainability that could help keep Earth habitable.

Check out WIRED's music issue featuring Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson at: http://www.wired.com/listen Music: "Unfound" Performed by Kooley High Written Napoleon Wright II, Charlie Smarts, Tab-One, Homeboy Sandman

Check out WIRED's music issue featuring Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson at: http://www.wired.com/listen Music: "Ya Times Up" Performed by Kooley High Written Foolery, Charlie Smarts, Tab-One, Rapsody, DJ Ill Digitz

Check out WIRED's music issue featuring Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson at: http://www.wired.com/listen Music: "Big Headed" Performed by Kooley High Written DJ Prince, Charlie Smarts, Tab-One

Check out WIRED's music issue featuring Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson at: http://www.wired.com/listen Music: THEESatisfaction "Existinct"

Can you reduce an earthquake’s impact before it strikes? In this World Economic Forum discussion, Japan’s director of land and real property market, Satoru Nishikawa, explains how better planning for natural disasters can help us manage catastrophic risk, enabling quicker recovery times.