Word of Mouth Past Shows

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?

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)

Tracy Kidder tells true stories. He is one of the masters of the narrative non-fiction genre. He’s won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for works which combine fine writing with solid reporting, often from places we would never choose to go. Tracy Kidder’s new book, Strength In What Remains, tells the story of a young African medical student who narrowly escapes civil war and the Rwandan genocide and lands in New York as a penniless refugee. It’s a terrifying journey, sometimes mere paces away from the muffled cries and charred remains of terror.

Today on Word of Mouth, your mind on trickery. We peek up the magician's sleeve to explore why we fall so easily for illusions, and what neuroscientists are learning that could advance treatment for Alzheimer's and attention disorders. Plus, serial callers dominate the airwaves in Ghana, hijacking conversations on radio call-in shows. And, we’ve come a long way since the carnival sideshows, where the curious paid to gape at humans with developmental anomalies. Our guest says we have a lot to learn about evolution and the natural world by studying deformities in humans and animals.