Episode 31 of Books and Ideas was recorded live at Dragon*Con 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. It is an interview with NASA's Les Johnson and focuses on his book, "Paradise Regained: The Regreening of Earth."You will find show notes, links, and episode transcripts at http://booksandideas.com/.Send Dr. Campbell email at gincampbell at mac dot com.You can also post comments on our new FaceBook Fan Page.

This is a brief public service announcement from SCIENCEPODCASTERS.ORG. Vincent Rancaniello, PhD from This Week in Virology and Marc Pelletier, PhD from This Week in Biotech talk about the new H1N1 Infuenza vaccine.It is safe and effective. I will get it myself and recommend it to all my patients.Please share this announcement with others.To learn more go to http://flu.gov or http://cdc.gov/h1n1.

Episode 30 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Tom Clark, author of Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. We discuss the implications of naturalism as a world view, especially as it relates to questions like morality and free will. Our discussion includes a look at the recent book Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? by Warren Brown and Nancey Murphy.For show notes, links to related episodes, and a full episode transcript go to http://booksandideas.com.Send Dr. Campbell feedback at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Books and Ideas will return in September 2009. Previous episodes are available at http://booksandideas.com/.Send email to gincampbell at mac.com.Theme music for Books and Ideas is "The Open Door" by Beatnik Turtle.

Episode 29 of Books and Ideas is a follow-up interview with Dr. Robert Martensen. In Episode 28 we talked about Dr. Martensen's career. This month we talk about his book "A Life Worth Living: A Doctor's Reflections on Illness in a High-Tech Era."Show notes and a complete transcript of the interview are available at http://booksandideas.com/.Send feedback to Dr. Campbell at docartemis at gmail.com.This episode includes a promo for "Nina Kimberly the Merciless." Learn more at http://christianaellis.com/.

Books and Ideas #28 is an interview with Robert Martensen, MD, author of A Life Worth Living: A Doctor's Reflections on Illness in a High-Tech Era. This is the first of a two-part interview. In this episode we talked about Dr. Martensen's career as a physician and about his new job at the NIH Office of History. We will talk about his book in a follow-up interview.For show notes and links go to http://booksandideas.com.Send Dr. Campbell email at docartemis at gmail.com.

Episode 27 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of "Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson" and "The Happiness Myth." As a poet and historian Hecht brings a unique perspective to her examination of the role of science in modern society. She also shares how writing "Doubt" changed her attitude toward religion. You won't want to miss this thought-provoking conversation.For show notes and transcripts go to http://booksandideas.com/.Send Dr. Campbell email at gincampbell at mac dot com.

Episode 26 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Sue Bailey and Carmen Flowers, the authors of "Grave Expectations: Planning the End Like There's No Tomorrow." This book helps readers to plan for their funeral or memorial service. While this might seem like a strange idea Flowers and and Bailey explain that this can actually be a wonderful gift to leave for one's family and loved ones.In this interview Bailey and Flowers share the personal experiences that led them to write this unusual book and they explain why they wrote it in an overtly humorous style. This interview will help listeners see death and funeral planning in a new way.Go to http://booksandideas.com for show notes (including episode transcript) and links.Send email to Dr. Campbell at gincampbell at mac.com.

Episode 25 of Books and Ideas is an interview with Dr. Paul A. Offit, author of "Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure." The scientific evidence shows no connection between vaccines and autism yet opponents of vaccination continue to encourage parents to refuse to vaccinate their children against potentially life threatening diseases.In this episode we consider the evidence for vaccine safety and examine the factors that fuel the on-going controversy. Children are already dying from preventable diseases like measles and hemophilis infuenza (Hib) meningitis, so it is vital that parents be informed about the unnecessary risks faced by unvaccinated children.For detailed show notes and episode transcripts go to http://booksandideas.com. Send email to gincampbell at mac dot com.

Episode 24 of Books and Ideas is a follow-up interview with Nobel Prize winning physicist. Dr. Frank Wilczek. We discuss the questions that we didn't get around to in Episode 23, including the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics, String Theory, and dark matter and dark energy. Dr. Wilczek also answers some questions from listeners and tells us a little about his current work.For detailed show notes and episode transcripts go to http://booksandideas.com/.Send feedback to Dr. Campbell at docartemis @gmail.com or share your thoughts with other listeners in our Discussion Forum at http://brainscienceforum.com/.This episode was sponsored by Audible.com and listeners like you.