The Pediatrician Who Promotes Public Health Awareness Through Writing for TV Shows (0:34)

Guest: Neal Baer, Pediatrician and Writer for TV Shows, ER, Law & Order: SUV, and Designated Survivor. 

Both Law & Order : SVU and ER were shows written and produced for a long time by Neal Baer who also ran Designated Survivor on Netflix. But here’s what’s especially interesting about Dr. Baer – yes, doctor. He’s a pediatrician who makes a point of weaving important public health messages into the shows he works on whenever he can. (Originally aired 7/18/2019)

Seniors Are at Higher Risk for Suicide. Watch for the Five Ds (18:25)

Guest: Yeates Conwell, MD, Director of Geriatric Psychiatry, Co-Director, Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester

As Baby Boomers reach their golden years, the risk of suicide among seniors is a growing concern. Americans 85 years and older have one of the highest suicides rates of any age group. (Originally aired 9/3/19)

About Fresh Puts Grocery Stores on Wheels to Fight Food Deserts (35:14)

Guest: Annika Morgan Is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of About Fresh 

There’s a nonprofit in Boston that loads up school buses with fresh produce and sells it at a discount in neighborhoods that lack grocery stores. Doctors in the community even hand out gift cards for the fruits-and-veggies-school-bus to patients who need a healthier diet. They’re literally prescribing food as medicine. (Originally aired 10/1/2019)

True Color – Where Do Colors Come From Naturally? (50:43)

Guest: Keith Recker, Editor and Founder of HAND/EYE Magazine, Author of “True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigment”

If a piece of clothing is made with natural colors and fibers, it’s probably brown right? Or maybe rust-colored? Natural colors just aren’t anywhere near as vibrant as the yellow and pinks and reds and blue dyes made by scientists in laboratories. That’s certainly what Keith Recker thought as an executive at Saks Fifth Avenue. When a natural dye expert told him she could make any color he could want for the store’s luxurious racks from completely natural sources, Recker says he nodded politely and changed the subject. Then the natural dyer proved him wrong. (Originally aired 8/14/2019)

The Science Behind Artificial and Natural Flavoring (1:08:59)

Guest: Gene Ahlborn, Professor of Food Science, Toxicology, and Flavor Chemistry, Brigham Young University

When I see “all natural flavors” on a food label, I imagine that means the thing is flavored only by its main ingredients. So if it's apple juice, then it’s flavored by actual apples. But that’s not how flavoring works in the processed food industry. In fact, the difference between “natural” and “artificial” is not nearly as big as you’d think. (Originally aired 9/4/2019)

Ads Can Make Us Mad—Which Is Sometimes the Point (1:22:30)

Guest: Mark Bartholomew, Professor of Law, University of Buffalo

IHOP or the International House of Pancakes caused a big stir about two years ago when it changed its name to IHOB - the International House of Burgers. Pancake fans went a little nuts at the betrayal. But it was just a marketing stunt. IHOP wanted to make people mad. This is a growing trend in advertising. (Originally Aired 8/6/2019)