Please Explain
A weekly feature on The Leonard Lopate Show; airs every Friday at noon
In Please Explain, we set aside time every Friday afternoon to get to the bottom of one complex issue. Ever wonder how New York City's water system works? Or how the US became so polarized politically? We'll back up and review the basic facts and principles of complicated issues across a broad range of topics — history, politics, science, you name it.
Recently in Please Explain
Please Explain: Anger and Aggression
Friday, January 04, 2008
What actually is anger? And what does it do to you and to others? On this week’s Please Explain, Dr. William Gerin, of the Behavorial Cardiovascular Health and Hypertension Program at Columbia Universtiy School of Medicine, and Dr. Emil F. Coccaro, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University ...
Please Explain: Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines
Friday, December 28, 2007
What makes champagne different from other sparkling wines? Find out how the good stuff is made, and how to get the best sparkling wine at the price you can afford. Michael Aaron is the chairman of Sherry-Lehmann, the 73 year-old Park Avenue wine and spirits shop. Karen Page is co-author ...
Please Explain: Snow
Friday, December 21, 2007
The largest known snowflake in history measured 15 inches across! We find out about the physics and chemistry of snow and what conditions we’ll need to have a White Christmas this year. Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht is Professor of Physics at Caltech; David A. Robinson is The New Jersey State Climatologist ...
Please Explain: The Science of Consciousness
Friday, December 14, 2007
When you see a blue flower, do you see the same blue flower that I do? When you feel cold is it the same sensation I feel? On Please Explain we look at the biology of consciousness...and what brain science reveals about who we are and how we experience the ...
Please Explain: Oil Spills
Friday, November 30, 2007
58,000 gallons of oil were recently spilled in the San Francisco Bay…and much of it will never be cleaned up. On today’s Please Explain: how oil spills harm the environment, and why they’re so hard to clean up.
Christopher M. Reddy is a scientist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. ...
Please Explain: Laughter
Friday, November 16, 2007
Research shows that the average adult laughs six to eight times a day... whereas the average child laughs around four hundred times each day. Today’s Please Explain is all about laughter. Dr. Robert Provine of the Neuroscience Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore County is author of the book ...
Please Explain: Insomnia
Friday, November 09, 2007
Can’t sleep? Find out why on today’s Please Explain…and whether there’s anything you can do about it, from drinking warm milk to popping sleeping pills. Dr. Ana Krieger is the Director of the NYU Sleep Disorders Center. Dr. Carl Bazil is Director of Neurological Division at the Columbia University Comprehensive ...
Please Explain: The Human Heart
Friday, October 19, 2007
Our hearts beat about 100,000 times every day, pumping our blood nearly 12,000 miles: the equivalent of crossing the U.S. from coast to coast four times. Today we'll find out how our most vital organ works, why it sometimes fails, and what we can do to keep it healthy. Send ...
Please Explain: Acupuncture
Friday, October 12, 2007
Most experts agree that acupuncture is safe, but does it work? And what is the circulation of Qi, the meridian system, and the five phases theory? Find out all about acupuncture on today's Please Explain. Leonard is joined by Dr. Richard Hammerschlag, Neurobiologist and Dean of Research at the Oregon ...
Please Explain: Apples
Friday, October 05, 2007
We'll get straight to the core of autumn's favorite fruit on today's Please Explain. Send your questions on all things apple-related to Steve Clarke of Prospect Hill Orchards and Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, author of A is for Apple, Apple Trees, and An Apple a Day.
Call us at ...
Please Explain: Over-the-Counter Painkillers
Friday, September 07, 2007
Americans spend more than $2 billion annually on non-prescription pain relievers. Today we'll find out what they are, how they work, how they differ from one another and from prescription drugs, what side effects they cause, and more. Rear Admiral Sandra Kweder, MD, deputy director of the Food and Drug ...
Please Explain: Hair
Friday, August 10, 2007
Find out why we have hair, if blondes have more fun, how shampoo and conditioner actually work, and more when Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology Dr. Michele Hanjani and anthropologist Dr. Peter Frost give us the long and short of hair, from head to toe.
Call us live on the ...
Please Explain: Birth Control
Friday, July 13, 2007
The earliest known female contraceptive device dates back to 1850 BC, when pessaries made of crocodile dung, honey, and sodium carbonate may have been the best option available to women. Chemical contraception has changed a lot since then. Today's Please Explain is about the chemistry of birth control. Dr. Rini ...
Please Explain: Smell
Friday, July 06, 2007
On today's Please Explain, we get nosey with smell. Biophysicist Dr. Luca Turin and psychobiologist Dr. Charles Wysocki explain what odors are, how our noses work, and what kind of information humans can gather by smell.
Please Explain: Fireworks
Friday, June 29, 2007
Today's Please Explain is all about fireworks, just in time for the Fourth of July. Phil Grucci of Fireworks by Grucci. Mr. Grucci is an innovator in the field of pyrotechnics, and he's been responsible for many of the most challenging and progressive pyrotechnic performances around the world, from ...
Please Explain: Making Green Building Affordable
Friday, March 30, 2007
On Please Explain, we’ll find out how to make environmentally friendly buildings more affordable. William D. Browning is an expert in energy-efficient design. Jamy Bacchus is a consultant focusing on energy modeling and sustainability for the built environment. We’re also taking your calls at 212-433-9692 (that’s 212-433-WNYC).
Please Explain: Chocolate
Friday, February 09, 2007
The Aztec king Montezuma drank liquid chocolate all day to enhance his libido. On today's Please Explain: which brands are tastiest, whether it has any real health benefits -- and why so many of us are addicted to it. Leonard talks to Clay Gordon, a chocolate critic who runs the ...
Please Explain: Radiology
Friday, February 02, 2007
On today's Please Explain, we'll answer your questions about radiology. Ever wondered how doctors read X-rays? or how MRIs render images of your brain? Leonard talks to Dr. Robert Zimmerman of the Department of Radiology at Weill Medical College, and director of Diagnostic Radiology at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Also, ...
Please Explain: Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite
Friday, February 03, 2006
Humans have documented encounters with bed bugs since the 1600s. The parasites feed on human and animal blood, usually while the host is sleeping. The bugs, which were fairly common in the US before WWII, are starting to crop up again. On this week’s edition of Please Explain, Richard J. ...
Please Explain: Bridges
Friday, January 27, 2006
There are 2,027 bridges in New York City. On this week's edition of Please Explain, we'll learn how bridges work, and how they serve the communities that build them. Khaled Mahmoud, bridge engineer and president of Bridge Technology Consulting, joins us. He's also chairman of the Bridge Engineering ...
Featured Comments
Holy crap! This was a great segment. I almost choked when they described the toilet sneeze and "fecal flora!!!!" Wow! ...
Fascinating segment! Heard part of it in the car and had to look up the video when I got home. ...
Here is a poem I wrote about that early bird thing: "The early bird catches the worm"; Or so it ...