A link to this video showed up on BoingBoing today. In the 18 years I've lived here, the only establishment I've seen that refused foreigners and wasn't a shady pub or run-down love hotel in a neighborhood full of foreign prostitutes or massage parlor-type place was a pachinko parlor on the outskirts of my hometown. Anyone who thinks that normal places in Japan–restaurants, hotels, public baths, shops, whatever–are in the habit of prohibiting foreigners from entering is mistaken. Since I don't try to go into sleazy bars and such I've never, not even once, been refused service anywhere. The fact that there are a few businesses out there run by organized crime syndicates that don't want my money doesn't bother me in the least. Sponsored By : Jobs In Japan Less

An interview with humorist and journalist John Hodgman, a frequent contributor to The Daily Show, author of Areas of My Expertise, and Apple TV commercial star. Less

Author Steven Johnson talks about his new book “The Ghost Map” with BoingBoing editors Cory Doctorow, Xeni Jardin, and David Pescovitz. Other topics: Boy Scout MPAA badges, Borat buzz, Paul Allen’s Brain Atlas, and Kevin Poulsen’s MySpace hack. Less

Cory Doctorow is an award winning science fiction writer, BoingBoing blogger, online policy geek and even a Canadian. Irina checks in with Cory on his new life in LA, his clothing, the singularity, post-humanism, weird crap, risk taking, the future of video and his latest published short story. Episode links: Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing, I, Row-Boat, The Singularity, kilted Cory, video game Cory,? blogs famous for 5 people Less