Underreported from WNYC's The Leonard Lopate Show

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Underreported: Why Belgium Has No Government Nov 29, 2007

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Belgium has been without a government since June. And there’s a movement afoot to split Belgium apart, into the Dutch-speaking Flanders region and French-speaking Wallonia. Journalist Robert Lane Greene of the Economist joins us for today’s Underreported.

Underreported: Biofluorescence Nov 15, 2007

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Scientists have a lot to learn from fireflies and glowing jellyfish. On Underreported: a look at the science of biofluorescence, and how it could lead to revolutionary advances in brain research and even military technology. Vincent Pieribone and David Gruber are co-authors of the book Aglow in the Dark.

Aglow in the Dark is available for purchase at amazon.com

Underreported: Update on Sri Lankan Press Freedom Nov 08, 2007

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Back in August, veteran Sri Lankan journalist Iqbal Athas told us why he was in grave danger because of government crackdowns on freedom of the press. He joins us again today to update us on the situation there, and whether the threats against him have died down.

Underreported: Congo Radio Nov 08, 2007

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Radio is THE medium in the eastern Congo. Wanda Hall of Interactive Radio for Justice (IRfJ) produces radio shows there exploring ways to achieve justice and reconciliation post-conflict in the Ituri region of the Congo, where millions have died during the war.

Underreported: Selective Justice in Alabama Nov 01, 2007

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In 2006, Alabama’s Democratic Governor Don Siegelman was convicted of corruption charges, and he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. But top Alabama Republicans involved in the same scandal were not investigated or prosecuted. On Underreported, Adam Zagorin, a journalist for Time magazine, talks about what happened, and whether Karl Rove may have been involved.

You can read a recent article about Siegelman's conviction by Adam Zagorin here.

Underreported: American Hostages in Colombia Oct 18, 2007

Show notes

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been holding prisoners and hostages for years, including high-profile former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, as well as three Americans who were captured after a plane crash in 2003. For the second part of today's Underreported, we'll look into who the hostages are, what FARC wants, and Hugo Chavez's recent talks with the leadership of FARC. Joshua Goodman is an AP reporter based in Bogota and George Gonsalves is the father of Marc Gonsalves, one of the three American hostages held since 2003.

To find out more about Marc Gonsalves, go here

Underreported: New Hopes for Treating HIV/AIDS Oct 18, 2007

Show notes

New hopes for treating HIV/AIDS lie in part with a group of people called "elite controllers," patients who have been infected with HIV for as many as 30 years -- without ever getting sick or needing medication. These patients are relatively rare, but researchers are trying to find out what makes their immune systems unique in the hopes that it could be applied to all patients, and maybe even a vaccine. On today’s Underreported, Leonard speaks with Dr. Bruce Walker, Director of the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and head of a new multimillion dollar study of these elite controllers.

To find out more about the HIV Elite Controllers study at Mass General, go here

Underreported: Nanosilver Oct 11, 2007

Show notes

The EPA recently issued a ruling that a Samsung washing machine must be regulated as a pesticide. That's because the washing machine, the "Silvercare" model, claims to kill germs by injecting 100 quadrillion silver ions into each wash load. The wastewater would be released into public water systems, and there have been questions about the safety of widespread nanosilver use. On today's Underreported, we'll look into potential misuses of nanotechnology.
Leonard speaks with Dr. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s Health and Environment Program. Also, Dr. Samuel Luoma, senior research scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey.

A recent article in the NRDC's On Earth magazine explores the safety of nanosilver; you can read it here.

Underreported: Poultry Antibiotics May Not Be Effective Oct 11, 2007

Show notes

An estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics sold in the United States are used on farms, mostly in animal feed. Health researchers have long worried that this heavy load of antibiotics is causing strains of bacteria to evolve that are impervious to the drugs. Plus, these resistant bacteria can pass on resistance to other bacteria and infect humans. Farmers have long justified using growth-promoting antibiotics on the grounds that fatter birds mean fatter profits. But a groundbreaking study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has undermined this argument. On today’s Underreported, Leonard speaks with Dr. Mary Pearl, President of Wildlife Trust, about this serious public health issue.

Underreported: New Meat Inspection Rules Oct 11, 2007

Show notes

The farm bill passed by Congress in July contained a little-noticed provision that would eliminate a 40-year old requirement of federal inspection for meat and poultry sold across the United States. States would then have more authority to inspect meat and poultry. On today’s Underreported, Leonard speaks with Christopher Waldrop, Director of the Consumer Federation of America’s Food Policy Institute, about what the changes mean for consumer safety and for the meat processing industry.

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