Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

SAT, PSAT, LSAT, MCAT, GMAT, GRE, NAEP, PISA...when did the nation become obsessed with standardized testing and what do these exams tell us? On this week's Please Explain, testing experts Howard Everson and David Rindskopf explain how these tests are put together and what they are supposed to evaluate. Dr. Everson is co-chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for the National Center for Education and the Economy, as well as the chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for Testing and Assessment for the New York State Education Department. Dr. Rindskopf is Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and Psychology at the City University of New York Graduate School.

This cold weather has caused many of us to pull out our wool sweaters for extra warmth, and for this week’s Please Explain we’re talking about wool—and the process of gathering and using wool, from the sheep to the sweater! Clara Parkes, author of The Knitters Book of Wool: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding, Using, and Loving this Most Fabulous Fiber and The Knitter's Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn, and Dr. Christopher Lupton, Professor, The Bill Sims Wool and Mohair Research Laboratory, Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, join us to discuss the subject.

Our latest Please Explain is all about seafood—how it’s harvested, what sustainable fishing entails, and how fish gets from the sea to your plate. We're joined by Sheila Bowman,  senior manager of outreach and education, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, and Dr. Gina Solomon, who is both a medical doctor and a senior scientist with Natural Resources Defense Council.

Today's Please Explain looks at spying, the organizations that do it, and how it's carried out and why. We're joined by Thomas S. Blanton, from George Washington University National Security Archives, and Joseph Weisberg, former CIA operative and author of An Ordinary Spy.

President Obama's health care reform has been seen as too much intervention by some and not enough of an overhaul by others, but few people know exactly what the new law includes and how it changes health care and health insurance in this country. On this week's Please Explain, Washington Post correspondent T. R. Reid explains the ins and outs, the costs and the savings, of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He's the author of The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care.

Harold McGee discusses and debunks myths about food and cooking for today's Please Explain. He’s the author of Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes.

The New York City Marathon is this Sunday, and thousands of runners will be racing through all five boroughs. On today's Please Explain, we'll find out what’s involved with completing the marathon’s 26.2 miles. David Willey, Editor-in-Chief of Runner's World magazine and Charlie Butler, executive editor of Runner's World and co-author of The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete, join us now to talk about how runners race, train, deal with injuries, and how regular people can start running for exercise.

Putting thing off until the last minute is a compulsion many people share. On this week’s Please Explain, Dr. George Ainslie, Professor of Psychiatry at University of Cape Town, in South Africa, and Dr. Joseph Ferrari, professor of psychology at DePaul University, tell us what causes us to procrastinate, how it affects productivity, and methods for ending procrastination. Dr. Ferrari is the author of Still Procrastinating? The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done. Dr. Ainslie is the author of Breakdown of Will and Picoeconomics.

If you've ever wondered how long you should wait before asking for a second date, or if it's acceptable to split the check, or whether or not you should declare that you are in a relationship on Facebook, today's Please Explain will provide some answers. Thomas P. Farley and Diane Gottsman discuss the etiquette of dating.

Please Explain takes a look at LSD and psychedelic drugs. Dr. Nicolas Langlitz, assistant professor of Medical Anthropology at the New School, and Dr. Stephen Ross, Assistant Professor at NYU Medical Center, Departments of Psychiatry and In-Patient Service, explain how psychedelic drugs affect the brain, how hallucinogens work, and new research into therapeutic uses for psychedelic drugs.