Word of Mouth Past Shows

Today on Word of Mouth, researchers use mathematical modeling to determine just how long the human race could survive during an attack of killer zombies. Plus, NHPR's Sheryl Rich-Kern visits one of the largest haunted houses in the country to find out why some people love being scared. And if you can’t make it to Hollywood for Screamfest L.A., we’ll help you roll out your own red carpet with a creepy film festival fit for your living room. And finally, our producer Avishay Artsy takes us inside the abandoned buildings of the New Hampshire Asylum for the Insane to prove that mental hospitals aren’t that scary after all.

(Photo courtesy Christopher Payne)

Today on Word of Mouth, scanning for criminals: the FBI is teaming up with the DMV to use biometrics to scan drivers licenses in North Carolina. The agency says this is an important tool to track down suspects, but privacy advocates aren’t so sure. We hear both sides of the story. Then the diva of ambient cello: cellist Rena Jones weaves a tangled web of classical music and electronic beats that gamers love. If you’ve ever played Dance, Dance Revolution, you’ve heard her pulsing, rhythmic tracks. We learn how she loops her beautifully complex music. Then girl drive: two young women take to America’s highways to redefine feminism for the next generation. From the gritty streets of Detroit to the testosterone-steeped South, they explore the changing definition of feminism. And finally, the marketing of desire: a filmmaker spends nine years alongside a pharmaceutical company as they search for a female equivalent of Viagra. She asks if female sexual dysfunction is a true disorder or just a boon for the pharmaceutical industry.

(Photo by Jay Morrison via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Today on Word of Mouth, the government of Saudi Arabia is using art therapy and religious education to reform militant extremists, even buying them cars and helping them find wives. They boast impressive recidivism rates, so should the U.S. consider following the Saudi’s lead? Plus, in this dizzying world of Twitter and Facebook posts, how is language changing? We’ll examine the next generation of Schoolhouse Rock with the star of the Grammar Girl podcast. And will 2009 be remembered as the year that hip-hop died? As electronic bleeps and bloops make their way into hip-hop, one critic says the golden years of the genre are fading before our bling-blinded eyes. Finally, in the age of Obama, what does it mean to sound black? The writer and performer Sarah Jones asks a linguist to pin down President Obama’s "blaccent."

(Photo by NRK P3 via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Today on Word of Mouth, fake H1N1 flu cures are flooding the Internet - everything from swine flu shampoo to counterfeit Tamiflu. The FDA and the FTC are teaming up to crack down on these fradulent products. Plus, artifical trees that actually pull carbon dioxide out of the air. And we’ll find out why some so-called Facebook "refuseniks" are swearing off social media. Plus, Americans are putting down roots and avoiding relocation at a growing rate. Is this simply a response to the lagging economy or a major new trend in demographics?

(Photo by Paul Walsh via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Today on Word of Mouth, break out the balloons, Windows 7 launches today. After the epic fail of Windows Vista, Microsoft is eager to release an operating system that actually works right off the bat. Also, combating prostitution by educating the customers, rock critic Greil Marcus takes on America’s literary history, and we’ll flip through Masterpiece Comics, where Dante’s Inferno meets Bazooka Joe.

(Illustration courtesy Masterpiece Comics)

Today on Word of Mouth, a group of biologists see our germ-o-phobia as a key to understanding cultural differences, skeptics take on conspiracy theorists in the name of reason, a filmmaker challenges us to think about the garbage we throw out, and versatile jazz drummer Brian Blade branches out in new directions.

(Photo of Brian Blade by bobtravis via Flickr/Creative Commons)