Obsessing About Political News Is Not Good for Us or the Country (0:40)

Guest: Eitan Hersh, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tufts University, Author of “Politics is for Power”

The political news these days just won’t quit. So much drama between the upcoming presidential election, the pandemic, and the protests. All three are driving the majority of Americans to spend more time on social media. How can we not? Isn’t it kind of a patriotic duty to stay current? And to share and post and comment? (Originally Aired 2/4/20)

Sadness is Major Driver of Tobacco Use (20:11)

Guest: Charlie Dorison, PhD Candidate, Harvard University

Cigarette use has steadily declined in America since the smoke-filled days of the 1950s and 60s. But smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in this country. Why do people smoke? Harvard survey work suggests feeling sad is a major trigger of tobacco use.  (Originally Aired 1/27/20)

The Facts About Healthy Eating and How Not to Diet (33:46)

Guest: Michael Greger, MD, Author of “How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy Permanent Weight Loss,” nutritionfacts.org

Our schedules are all discombobulated with work and school happening differently and the threat of quarantine always hanging over us. That’s a recipe for weight gain. But looking to recalibrate things is tricky–there’s so much information out there about the best diet for health and weight loss.  (Originally Aired 1/19/20)

Real Life “Wonder” Boy and His Mother Redefine “Normal” in New Memoir (52:53)

Guests: Magda and Nathaniel Newman, Authors of “Normal: A Mother and Her Beautiful Son”

The book for young readers called “Wonder” by RJ Palacio–and the movie based on it–gave people a better understanding of Treacher Collins syndrome. It’s a genetic condition that causes severe facial deformities like Auggie has in Wonder. Nathaniel Newman is sometimes called “the real life Auggie,” because he has Treacher Collins, too, but that’s pretty much where the similarities stop. Nathaniel and his mother Magda are now telling their story in a memoir called “Normal.” It’s been published in two versions–one for young readers and one for adults.  (Originally Aired 1/30/20)

The Last US/Canada Border Dispute (1:32:23)

Guest: Stephen Kelly, Former Diplomat and Research Scholar, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

You know Puffins? They look like a cross between a penguin and a toucan? One of the very best places for puffin watching in America is a smallish mound of rock off the coast of Maine. It’s called Machias Seal Island and America has claimed it since the late 1700s. But Canada says the island has been its territory since the mid-1600s and believe it or not, this dispute has never been settled. For a long time, it seemed like it didn’t really matter, since neither the US nor Canada are willing to come to blows over a little island that’s really only valuable as a spot for tourists to birdwatch. But the dispute also extends to Atlantic Ocean waters around the island, which have become a source of more heated dispute recently because there are lobsters in that water.  (Originally Aired 10/17/19)