"The Homework Debate"

Hosted by Dr. Dan Gottlieb on Voices in the Family, WHYY, September 21, 2009:

Does it help learning? And, how much is too much? Dan's guest is Sara Bennett. She has written The Case Against Homework, and writes a blog called StopHomework.com. We'll also hear from Dr. Stephen Soffer, who is a staff psychologist at the Center for Management of ADHD at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"Mercury fish contamination common"

"Study: Mercury fish contamination common" - UPI.com, August 19, 2009. "The full USGS report is available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5109/pdf/sir20095109.pdf."

NPR's "On the Media" re food

On the Media, NPR/WHYY, July 19, 2009:

Covering Big Food
Robert Kenner set out to make a documentary about the food industry [Food, Inc. ], thinking he'd hear from both activists and industry insiders. But he quickly realized that the insiders wouldn't talk, farmers who did suffered consequences and, by the way, he needs a lot more lawyers. Kenner says the process was "Orwellian."

How the Sausage Was Made
Kevin Mattson is a historian who's written about the food industry's original scourge, Upton Sinclair. Sinclair is famous for writing The Jungle, a novel that exposed some of the more stomach-turning goings-on in meatpacking factories at the turn of the century. Mattson discusses some of the surprising facets of Sinclair's life, like his mediocre talent as a novelist and his failed run for the governorship of California.

Frontline/PBS: "Poisoned Waters"

FRONTLINE: Poisoned Waters on PBS: "A far-reaching investigation into American's great waterways. They are in peril. There's a new wave of pollution that's killing fish, causing mutations in frogs -- and threatening human health."

PA Governor's Schools of Excellence axed

"Gov. Ed Rendell said Thursday that state funding for Drug Abuse Resistance Education grants should be cut to help balance the state's 2009-2010 budget . . . one of 100 he wants to cut to balance the budget, although he said some of the programs that get the ax will likely be funded in the future once the state's dire financial situation improves.

"I take no pleasure in any of these eliminations," Rendell said. . . . Rendell also mentioned he would propose no funding for Governor's Schools of Excellence, which are summer programs for talented students." York Dispatch, January 30, 2009

DVD helps kids with autism

DVD Helps Kids with Autism Read Faces, Emotions : NPR, All Things Considered, January 28, 2009