Ecosystems and Human Networks, Obesity, History
Ecosystems and Human Networks (1:03) Guest: Dr. Matthew Mars, Ph.D. from the University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Researchers at the University of Arizona and at the National Counterterrorism Center say the interconnectedness of ecosystems in the natural world provides a good metaphor for examining terror groups. Obesity Stigma (22:18) Guest: Dr. Alexandra Brewis Slade, co-director of Mayo Clinic-ASU Obesity Solutions Overeating, lack of exercise, depression, and an unhealthy diet are just a few of the contributing factors that can lead to obesity. Alexandra Brewis Slade, the co-director of Mayo Clinic-ASU Obesity Solutions says the stigma attached to being overweight - so-called "fat shaming"- may also be exacerbating the obesity problem in America. Some causal factors: people who feel stigmatized because of their weight tend to avoid exercising in public, and may fall back on patterns of comfort eating or extreme caloric restriction (often leading to later cravings and binges) when they feel bad about themselves. Moreover, many people who have felt judged by a health care provider avoid going to the doctor later, reducing their access to professional weight loss guidance. Apple Seed (39:49) Sam Payne is the host of BYU Radio's storytelling show, The Apple Seed. Sam visits Top of Mind to share a story told by Michael Reno Harrell: "13 Quilts." History of Chairs (51:04) Guest: Dr. Galen Cranz, Ph.D. (Professor of Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley) Dr. Galen Cranz is a champion of what she calls "body-conscious design." She says it"s about time people caught on to the evils of chairs. Dr. Cranz: "Every posture has a stress associated with it...we're designed for movement." "Ghost Army" (1:15:16) Guest: Rick Beyer, best-selling author and filmmaker. His latest work is “The Ghost Army of World War II,” which he co-wrote with Elizabeth Sayles, a children’s book author and daughter of one of William Sayles, who served in the Ghost Army. The one thousand men assigned to the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops in 1944 had a single mission—deception. They were painters, sculptors, sound engineers and actors. Their assignments were often so secret and so well-executed, they fooled high-ranking German commanders, civilians in towns near where they operated, and even American military personnel from other units. Their very existence was highly classified and largely untold for some 50 years after the War ended. But when their story came to light, it came not just in words, but in a trove of paintings and sketches from these artist-soldiers who seem to have spent every spare minute with their noses buried in sketchbooks and paint boxes. The adventures of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops are now on full display in a just-published book by Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles called “The Ghost Army of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived the Enemy with Infalatable Tanks, Sound Effects and Other Audacious Fakery.”