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Growing Up is Awfuler then All the Awful things that Ever Were

Sunday, July 01, 2007

We now know that too much stress makes you sick. Fifty years ago, we had no idea. Credit an upholsterer, a chair, and some lab rats. Dr. Paul J. Rosch, President of the American Institute of Stress, describes a series of not so nice things he and his colleagues did to rodents which began to illuminate what it means to be "stressed out." Dr. Robert Sapolsky takes us to the edges of our seats, literally, as he explains the discovery of Type A personality, and why being a Type A person is worse for you then smoking. Speaking of chairs, upholsterer Charles Young helps us smooth our wrinkles. And we conclude this segment with a trip to one of the truly bizarre outposts of medicine - stressed dwafism - and story of a much beloved author caught in a body that never grew up.

The American Institute of Stress
Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s book: The Trouble With Testosterone
More info on J. M. Barrie


Comments

  • [1] Nellie Haddad from Atlanta, GA July 30, 2007 - 08:34PM

    I think what you guys need is a former Shakespeare scholar, now university administrator to balance out all the success stories of your staff and bring the intelligence level down from the stratosphere to the moon. I'd be happy to consider helping.


  • [2] toasterhead from Washington, DC March 04, 2008 - 08:43AM

    The moon is actually above the stratosphere, just FYI.

    It's also 239,000 miles from The Cure.


  • [3] E. Anderson from Maryland March 14, 2008 - 01:40PM

    As a college professor who enjoys using NPR radio clips and transcripts in my teaching, I am sometimes concerned about having my students read the transcripts that contain numerous errors. Not only is there a typo (dwafism should be dwarfism), but the incorrect use of "then" -- twice! This is a frequent error my students make and something that infuriates me every time I see the incorrect use appear in "professional materials." How can I effectively teach my students that "then" and "than" are not interchangeable and mean very, very different things if they continue to see them used improperly. Please, please, please have a professional proofread these texts. As an extensive consumer of NPR in my private and professional life, I find such errors to be embarrassing.


  • [4] Shamash from London, UK December 23, 2008 - 06:16AM

    Hi Radiolabers,

    Love the show - so nice to have something funny and informative at the same time.

    I run mindfulness meditation courses to reduce stress across in London, UK. If anyone out there is interested see www.LearnMindfulness.co.uk

    Thanks again guys, and keep up the AMAZINGLY GOOD work. Radiolab is the best science radio program I have ever heard.


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