Something Offbeat

A group of margarita-drinking kindergarteners got us thinking: How does advertising impact kids and how can advertisers improve on it?

From the Joe Camel cigarette ads of the late 1980s and 1990s to the fruit-flavored vape juice pods of recent years, the BBB National Programs' Mary Engle helps break it down on “Something Offbeat."

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.

It’s not hard to find gruesome, macabre images or videos – they’re on TV, in horror movies and online. But what if you wanted to see them in person? Through a series of donations and transactions, the body of a 98-year-old World War II veteran from Louisiana ended up on a table in an Oregon hotel ballroom where attendees paid as much as $500 to view a public dissection.

Dr. Gail Saltz, associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine and host of the “How Can I Help?" podcast, explains what drives people to seek out such spectacles and what that fascination with death can tell us about ourselves and our society.

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.

We all know office parties can be a drag, but for some, they can be more than uncomfortable. Recently, a court awarded a man who suffers from an anxiety disorder $450,000 for being subjected to an unwanted office party. Why do some people dismiss mental health issues such as anxiety, and why are some boundaries not respected?

To find out, host Mike Rogers spoke with Dr. Kevin Chapman, founder and director of the Kentucky Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

Hosted by Mike Rogers, produced by Lauren Barry and Chris Blake, audio editing by Chris Blake, original music by Myron Kaplan, editorial support from Cooper Moll.