Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

Barbecue guru Steve Raichlen, whose The Barbecue! Bible has been revised and re-released on its 10th anniversary, and world-class pitmaster Chris Lilly of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Alabama tell us how the best BBQ is made, and whether you can find the authentic stuff here in New York.

Where is your favorite place to get BBQ? It doesn’t have to be in NYC; you can tell us about your favorite BBQ joint anywhere in the country.

Please Explain is all about America's favorite sandwich - the hamburger! Find out how German hamburg steak became a classic meal all over the world. We'll also hear about the best burgers available, from fast food versions to grass-fed beef on brioche buns. George Motz has been called America's foremost hamburger expert; his 2005 documentary film is "Hamburger America"; he's also written a book called Hamburger America: One Man's Cross-Country Odyssey to Find the Best Burgers in the Nation. Josh Ozersky is the author of The Hamburger: A History.

Weigh in: Tell us about your ideal hamburger. What kind of bun, meat, and toppings do you love?

With the price of oil going higher and higher, alternative sources of energy like solar power are becoming much more attractive! Find out how solar power works, and whether it could help solve our energy problems.

Stephen A. Hammer is Director of the Urban Energy Project at Columbia University's Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy (CEMTPP). Richard Perez is Senior Research Associate of University at Albany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center.

We’d like to hear from business or homeowners who have installed solar panels. Are you glad you did it? How has it affected your energy bills? Have you recouped your original investment yet?

Brainwashing has been used throughout history to manipulate, coerce, and torture. Dominic Streatfeild is the author of Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control. Oxford research scientist Dr. Kathleen Taylor is the author of Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control.

Have you ever been brainwashed? When did you realize what was happening?

What can you find out about a friend, a colleague, a lover, or yourself by inspecting everyday objects? Snoopology is the study of what the stuff we own reveals about our psychological truths. Sam Gosling is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. Daniel R. Ames is Associate Professor of Leadership and Ethics at Columbia Business School.

Event: Sam Gosling will be speaking and signing books

Weigh in: If you’re at your desk or at home, look around you. What do you see, and what do you think it reveals about who you are?

Have no idea what a futures market is, and how it affects your life? Tune in to Please Explain to find out! Charles M. Jones is Associate Professor of Finance and Economics at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.

During Hot Dog Season – from Memorial Day to Labor Day – Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs. That’s 818 hot dogs consumed every second during that period! And New Yorkers consume more hot dogs than people in any other city. Find out about the history of hot dogs, how they’re made, and the many different varieties.

Bob Bly is the author of All-American Frank: A History of the Hot Dog. Bruce Kraig is founding President of Culinary Historians of Chicago and Professor Emeritus at Roosevelt University, Chicago.

Weigh in: What’s your favorite place in New York to get a hot dog? What's the most interesting hot dog variation you've eaten?

As gas prices rise, more consumers are turning to hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius. Find out how hybrid cars work, which ones are the most efficient, the potential risks to the owner and to pedestrians, and the future of hybrid cars -- especially the 100mpg hybrid plug-in vehicles. John Voelcker is an auto journalist, and Brad Berman is the editor of hybridcars.com.

Weigh in: We’d like to hear from recent converts to hybrids. How has your experience been? Have you noticed significant savings in fuel costs?

Find out how farm subsidies work, who gets them, and how they affect the prices of the food that reaches our tables. Dan Morgan is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post and co-author of Harvesting Cash, a year-long series on waste and abuse in the farm-subsidy program which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2007. Catherine Richert is the Agricultural reporter at The Congressional Quarterly.

Malaria kills more than 1 million people each year, many of them children. Yet the disease is preventable. Find out how malaria spreads, why it’s so devastating in Africa, and how it can be stopped. Nobel laureate Dr. Peter Agre is director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute. John McArthur is CEO and Executive Director of Millennium Promise.