Leid Stories – 10.28.15

U.S. Foreign Policy: A History of Empire, Racism and Genocide
What informs U.S. foreign policy? Noble ideas about fostering freedom, justice and democracy all over the world? Not at all, says our guest, peace activist Robert Fantina.
U.S. foreign policy is a mere cover for military involvement and intervention, the true purposes of which are power and wealth, Fantina says.
In a wide-ranging interview, Fantina elaborates on this theme, drawing from his most recent book, Empire, Racism and Genocide: A History of U.S. Foreign Policy.

David Griffin – Climate Denial

According to a recent report from Inside Climate News, scientists hired by Exxon had concluded in the 1970s and ’80s that continuing to burn great quantities of fossil fuels would likely produce “catastrophic events” that could endanger humanity. Therefore, said these scientists, Exxon should begin a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable resources. But in the late ’80s, the …

The Natural Nurse And Dr. Z – 10.06.15

Topic: Leaf Blower Madness

Host Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, www.naturalnurse.com, interviews Dr. Jamie Banks and Daniel Mabe.

Jamie Banks is the Executive Director of Quiet Communities, a 501c3 organization that conducts research, and provides education and outreach to help communities transition to clean, quiet, sustainable, and healthy landscape maintenance practices. After working in health care economics and health outcomes research, she shifted her activities to the area of environmental health and science. In 2007, she founded Planet Rewards. In 2013, she founded Quiet Communities. She earned her PhD at the University of Kent (Canterbury, UK), in Social Policy (Health Economics/Outcomes) and holds Masters degrees from Dartmouth Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dan Mabe is the President of The Green Station and Founder of the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA).Dan has devoted many years to developing and applying clean battery technology in which emissions-free, quiet outdoor maintenance is practiced in noise- and emissions-sensitive areas. Dan’s company, The Green Station, conducts R&D, manufactures and distributes emissions-free outdoor maintenance equipment . The American Green Zone Alliance is working with towns, campuses, companies, contractors and Air Quality Management Agencies to develop the Green Zone concept. AGZA was founded to train and certify outdoor maintenance professionals and encourage sustainable maintenance entrepreneurship. Contact: www.quietcommunities.org, www.agza.net

The Gary Null Show – 09.29.15

Dr. Jill Stein is a medical physician of internal medicine and a pioneer in advocating environmental health issues in Massachusetts. Is currently the exploratory presidential candidate for the Green Party; many may remember her having been arrested for not being permitted attendance to an Obama-Romney debate and then later her arrest for supporting protestors — bringing food and Halloween candy — against the Keystone pipeline in Texas. During her presidential run in 2012, she was endorsed by Noam Chomsky and Chris Hedges and received enough votes making her the most successful woman presidential candidate in US history.

Dr. Stein is a Harvard magna cum laude and received her doctorate from Harvard Medical School. Over the years she has been active in Massachusetts campaigns to better protect women and children from toxic pollution that has been associated with earning disabilities. She is also on the national board of directors of the organization Physicians for Social Responsibility favoring a national universal healthcare program and has won awards for her public health efforts in clean water policies and children’s health. In 2003 Jill founded the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities to support local green economies, grassroots democracy and various health care agendas.

Christina Sarich – Study: GMO Soy Accumulates Cancer-Causing Formaldehyde

In a groundbreaking new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Agricultural Sciences, researchers have found that when soy is genetically engineered, it disrupts the plant’s natural ability to control stress and even sparks the production of carcinogenic formaldehyde. This new research led by an MIT trained biologist, Dr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, Ph.D., an MIT-trained systems biologist, utilized a method to integrate 6,497 in vitro and in vivo laboratory experiments from …

Robot surgeons kill 144 patients, hurt 1,391, malfunction 8,061 times – Iain Thomson

Surgery on humans using robots has been touted by some as a safer way to get your innards repaired – and now the figures are in for you to judge. A team of university eggheads have counted up the number of medical cockups in America reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from 2000 to 2013, and found …

How Technology Is Destroying Jobs By David Rotman

Given his calm and reasoned academic demeanor, it is easy to miss just how provocative Erik Brynjolfsson’s contention really is. ­Brynjolfsson, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his collaborator and coauthor Andrew McAfee have been arguing for the last year and a half that impressive advances in computer technology—from improved industrial robotics to automated translation services—are …

Home-Brew Heroin Is Coming – Phillip Smith

When it comes to producing drugs like heroin and cocaine, science is on the verge of a revolutionary breakthrough that could disrupt traditional drug markets by making it possible for anyone to produce their own. Researchers working with genetically engineered yeasts are rapidly advancing toward the point where all it would take is some humble fungi and a home-brewing kit. …

MIT’s Suicide Rate Far About National Average – Veena Trehan

Last week NPR ran a story about recent suicides at MIT which highlighted the “imposter syndrome,” in which students feel like a fraud, dismissing their earlier accomplishments. The article also emphasized other non-academic factors in stress. I believe the not-so-subtle attempt at victim blaming downplayed MIT’s contributions to its students’ poor mental health. For many years, MIT’s rate of suicide was far above the …

MIT Scientist: Glyphosate to Cause Autism in 50% of Children by 2025 – Christine Sarich

As if to corroborate a growing trend in rising autism rates, a senior research scientist from MIT has warned that of all children, a disquieting 50% will be autistic by 2025. What’s the culprit? Monsanto’s best selling Round-Up containing glyphosate is top on the list. The overuse of glyphosate in our food supply is causing diseases like Alzheimer’s, autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and …