Word of Mouth Past Shows

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.

Today on Word of Mouth, pink brain, blue brain. A neuroscientist and mother of three digs through decades of research to decode the differences between boys’ and girls’ brains. Then, a couple tries to save a remote Chinese village from high-rise hotels and big-bus tourism. Plus, a sculptor goes to Vietnam to reveal the legacy of Agent Orange. And human rights activists dare to speak truth to power.

(Photo by Kirk Torregrossa)

Today on Word of Mouth, synthetic biology could hold the key to curing disease and ending hunger, but does the ability to re-create life from its very building blocks come too close to playing God? We’ll speak to an enthusiastic leader in the field. Then, Tokyo’s seedy underworld, where the mafia operates openly, crime bosses manipulate the stock market and underlings chop off their own fingers to prove their loyalty. Plus, a new breed of children’s books indulges unruly kids and the parents who can’t keep them in line.

Today on Word of Mouth, while President Obama weighs opinions on sending more troops to Afghanistan, we’ll travel to the frontlines of a sustained and difficult war. There, Gen. Stanley McChrystal sees only the new counterinsurgency plan as the only way to defeat the Taliban. Plus, Iraq is a dangerous place to be a gay man, as death squads torture and kill homosexuals in the name of Allah. We’ll talk to a member of the underground network now shuttling the targets to safety.

It’s a standing political joke that heads of state and defense do not speak to each other. But today on Word of Mouth, we bring you highlights from a conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Clinton and Gates step out of the situation room and into the public to discuss a wide range of issues, including engagement with Pakistan, nuclear negotiations with Iran, and the war in Afghanistan. Frank Sesno of George Washington University and CNN’s Christiane Amanpour are your hosts for a special Columbus Day program.