Story Archives of 'You Tell Us'

Think back to the pre-cable days when three networks: ABC, CBS, and NBC ruled the air warves. NBC is the oldest – founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, back when television was a mere twinkle in Philo Farnsworth’s eye.

Since then NBC has been home to hits like The Cosby Show, Friends, The Olympics, and the first Academy Awards Show. The network invited viewers to “Come Home to NBC,” where everybody knows your name. The peacock’s feathers have faded in the ratings in recent years, and audience share plummeted when Jay Leno moved to the 10pm slot this Fall.

Now media giant Comcast plans to swoop in and buy NBC universal, a move that could signal the beginning of the end for network TV. Joining us with more is Mark Harris, who wrote about the beleaguered network for New York magazine.

New York Magazine: Is Broadcast TV Too Big to Fail?

The Associated Press: Broadcast Pioneer NBC Prepares for Cable Takeover

Backstage: Is Broadcast TV Too Big to Fail?

(Photo by Jezlyn26 via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Popular science loves to extol the differences between male and female brains. Remember the study that made headlines back in the '80s about women being better at holistic thinking? It was based on a single study suggesting that the fibers connecting womens' right and left brains are larger. More recent research suggests that boys’ brains are hard-wired for aggression and girls brains’ for communication.

Neuroscientist Lise Eliot took a long, hard look at these studies and hundreds of others. She found that there are, in fact, very few structural differences between the brains of boys and girls. Instead, she argues, it’s the way that parents and teachers respond to slight behavioral differences that encourage boys and girls to pursue different interests and develop different abilities.

Dr. Lise Eliot joins us now from Chicago where she’s a professor at Rosalind Franklin University. She’s also a mother of three and author of the new book Pink Brain, Blue Brain.

The Washington Post: The Tiny Differences in the Littlest Brains

Newsweek: Pink Brain, Blue Brain: Claims of sex differences fall apart.

Salon: Good luck raising that gender-neutral child

Scientific American: Girl Brain, Boy Brain?

(Photo by EraPhernalia Vintage via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Get ready for pink-ribbon season! October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Now in its 25th year, the event promotes awareness of a disease that strikes one in eight women in their lifetimes. And it’s expected to claim nearly 40,000 lives in the U.S. this year alone.

Efforts to bring attention to the disease and raise money for a cure are ongoing. But some women with breast cancer, as well as survivors are troubled by what they see as exploitation. A growing number charge that companies capitalize on suffering to boost profits. And many regard the proliferation of pink ribbons as a marketing ploy.

We’re joined by Kris Frieswick. Her mother passed away from breast cancer, and her article on the dark side of pink-ribbon marketing will appear in this Sunday’s Boston Globe Magazine. We also talk to Jeanne Sather, a blogger in Seattle who's currently battling metastatic breast cancer and blogs at The Assertive Cancer Patient. She's known in the breast cancer community for her fight against using pink ribbons as a marketing tool, and is leading a "Boycott October" campaign.

"Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy" by Samantha King

Jeanne Sather's blog post debunking the "one in eight" statistic

(Photo by Premier Packaging via Flickr/Creative Commons)