November 2014
Hypochondria and Anxiety
4 November 2014 We've all had it in small doses: you're certain something is wrong with your body, but your doctors beg to differ. Hypochondria is an anxiety disorder and, even though it can have physical symptoms, doctors have stopped diagnosing it. Darby Cook talks with Dr. Danielle Kaplan, a psychologist at NYU Langone, to talk about what hypochondria is and what can be done about it. Listen here. |
The Pests That Make Us Human
11 November 2014 In our daily lives, when we see a rodent or a bug, we think about how to get rid of it. Pests are associated with filth and disease, so we usually want them as far away from us as possible. In this week's episode we explore two pests--the rat and the fig wasp--to get a more complex picture of the life of a pest. Producer Sophie Rosenmoss guides us through segments by producer Lydia Chain who spoke to Robert Sullivan, author of the book Rats! and Steph Yin's conversation with Eric Gruebel, an anthropology student at the University of Pennsylvania, and Manvir Singh, an evolutionary biology student at Harvard University. Listen here. |
Concussions and Autism
25 November 2014 Forget cars and property: our brains are one of our most valuable assets. It's only logical that we would want to find the best ways to protect them and cultivate their utility. This week, producer Kevin Dell'Aquila learns about a new mouthguard that could help football coaches and players better detect concussions when they're happening. Then, Katie Hiler delves into how autistic students fare in the New York public school system. Listen here. |