Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

Today’s Please Explain is about 3D technology—from the movies to the future of television. Lawrence Cormack, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, and

On today's Please Explain we’ll look into chiropractic, used to treat back pain with spinal manipulation and adjustment. We’ll also discuss why it’s controversial, and new research into how it works and how it could be used to treat TMJ, headaches, even high blood pressure. We’re joined by Christine Goertz, D.C., Ph.D, Vice Chancellor for Research and Health Policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and James N. Dillard, M.D., D.C., C.Ac., former assistant clinical professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and former Medical Director of Columbia's Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and author of The Chronic Pain Solution.

Growing global trade means more bugs and plants end up where they don’t belong, causing widespread environmental damage. On today’s Please Explain, we’ll learn how invasive species—from Asian purple loosestrife to the Colorado potato beetle—can wreak havoc when they’re accidentally imported to a new environment. We’re joined by Robert F. C. Naczi, Curator of North American Botany at the New York Botanical Garden; Jessica Arcate Schuler, Manager of the Forest, at the New York Botanical Garden; and Thomas M.Grothues, assistant research professor at Rutgers University.

Bisphenol-A, known as BPA, is an important building block of several plastics and plastic additives. Concern about the use of BPA in consumer products has been growing, and questions about its safety and its effect of human health have led some retailers to remove products made of it from their shelves; some states, cities, and even countries have even banned its use altogether. On today’s edition of Please Explain, we’ll look into what the studies of BPA show, why the scientific community continues to be divided over exactly what levels of BPA are harmful to human health, and how the Food and Drug Administration has handled consumer concern over BPA. We’ll speak with Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Director of Consumer Report's GreenerChoices.org and and Consumers Union's Director of Technical Policy. She'll be joined by Meg Kissinger, investigative reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has been writing the series Chemical Fallout."

Hindustani music, a classical musical tradition of northern and central India, can be traced back to Vedic times, around 1000 BC. On today’s edition of Please Explain we’ll take a look at India’s rich culture of music and its trademark instruments. Tabla player Dibyarka Chatterjee, and sitar player K. V. Mahabala join us to talk about the history and traditions of Indian classical music, and to perform.

On today’s edition of Please Explain, we’ll look at what’s in the earth beneath our feet. Chris Smith National Leader for Technical Soil Services, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Michael A. Wilson, Research Soil Scientist, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Survey Research and Laboratory, describe what soil is made of, how and why it differs from place to place, and why rich dirt is crucial to healthy growth.

Find out more about the twelve soil orders here.

On today's Please Explain, we'll look into the causes and symptoms of postpartum depression, and the field of perinatal psychiatry, the evaluation and treatment of psychiatric disorders associated with female reproductive function. We're joined by Dr. Catherine Monk, Irving Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University Medical Center, and Dr. Shari Lusskin, Director of Reproductive Psychiatry, at NYU Langone Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center.

On today’s Please Explain, Joel Kelsey, Associate Policy Analyst for Consumers Union, tells us about how cable television works, how fees are assessed, and explains the recent fights between cable networks and providers.

Our latest Please Explain looks into why and how animals hibernate. We’re joined by Dr. Matthew Andrews, Professor and Head of Biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and Dr. Hannah Carey, Professor, Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

After all this talk of food, we’ll learn how it’s processed by the body for this week’s edition of Please Explain. Dr. Ira Breite, Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at the NYU Langone Medical Center, joins us, along with Dr. David Seres, nutrition specialist in the Division of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition Columbia University Medical Center.