Jim Tull – Positive Thinking in a Dark Age

I recall a Buddhist parable involving a stick that appears from a distance to be a snake, causing fear to rise in the perceiver. As the perception shifts upon closer examination, the fear subsides and the relieved hiker continues down the path. Understanding and awareness have a lot to do with how we feel and how we act. As hosts …

Bruce Levine – What Does It Mean to Be Called ‘Crazy’ in a Crazy World?

It has become increasingly mainstream [3] to criticize psychiatry for its corruption by drug companies, invalid diagnoses, lack of long-term treatment effectiveness, and other scientific failings. The recent book, Outside Mental Health: Voices and Visions of Madness [4], by radio host and therapist Will Hall, reminds us that perhaps the most pathetic aspect of “inside mainstream mental health” is how simplistic, boring and reductionist it …

Thomas Riggins – Over Forty Percent of U.S. Children Are Living in Poverty

A January 2015 report from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health reveals that forty four percent of children (those under 18) are living in de facto poverty. The Federal Government issues an artificially low annual official poverty level that radically understates the real level of U.S. poverty. For 2015 the official level of poverty for a family of four, …

HOW ANTI-GAY PREJUDICE CUTS LIFE EXPECTANCY

In the first study to look at the consequences of anti-gay prejudice for mortality, researchers found that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals who lived in communities with high levels of anti-gay prejudice have a shorter life expectancy of 12 years on average compared with their peers in the least prejudiced communities. “The results of this study suggest a broadening …

Express Scripts Research Highlights $52 Billion Challenge for U.S. Healthcare System

Nearly 600,000 Americans have annual medication costs above $50,000- The number of U.S. patients taking at least $100,000 worth of prescription drugs tripled in 2014- Majority of these patients take at least 10 medications, from at least 4 different prescribers- Express Scripts solutions address critical opportunities to improve care and reduce costs for patients with high medication costs ORLANDO, Fla., …

Modern Life Is a Frightening Experiment in How Much Exposure We Can Take from Toxic Chemicals – Allegra Kirkland

Back in 1974, the agricultural multinational Monsanto developed a class of herbicides using glyphosate as the key ingredient. By the 1990s, the company had created corn, soy and cotton seeds genetically altered to resist glyphosate herbicides, meaning farmers could kill weeds without fearing for the health of their crops. Today, Monsanto’s Roundup is the most widely used [3] weed-killer in the world. One …