Ignoring Distractions

Ignoring Distractions

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 202 , Segment 3

Episode: Media and Cancer, Ignoring Distractions, Breathless Choir

  • Dec 23, 2015 12:13 am
  • 19:57 mins

Guests: Michael Halassa, PhD, Professor at New York University’s Langone Medical Center; Jim Gnadt, PhD, Program Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health  Distraction is a constant in our daily lives. Sometimes by choice—like when you scroll through your Facebook feed while watching TV while carrying on a text conversation with a friend. Sometimes by circumstance—think about everything that comes at you when you drive—the traffic signals, the weather, the pedestrians, other cars around you and whatever you’re listening to on the radio.  How our brains are able to filter out unnecessary information and zero in on what matters is a mystery researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health are getting closer to unlocking.

Other Segments

Christmas History

20 MINS

Guest: Bruce Forbes, PhD, Chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies department at Morningside College and author of “America’s Favorite Holidays”  Every year we hear the lament: Santa Claus is a commercial invention. Christmas is about Christ. We’ve forgotten the true meaning of the holiday. And there are calls to return to the pure spiritual roots of Christmas.  Except, the true roots of Christmas have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. And once the holiday was considered so pagan it was banned in America. Anyone caught observing Christmas in any way could be fined five shillings in Massachusetts. That was back in 1659 when the Puritans ruled the roost.  So how did Christmas become America’s favorite holiday?

Guest: Bruce Forbes, PhD, Chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies department at Morningside College and author of “America’s Favorite Holidays”  Every year we hear the lament: Santa Claus is a commercial invention. Christmas is about Christ. We’ve forgotten the true meaning of the holiday. And there are calls to return to the pure spiritual roots of Christmas.  Except, the true roots of Christmas have nothing to do with Jesus Christ. And once the holiday was considered so pagan it was banned in America. Anyone caught observing Christmas in any way could be fined five shillings in Massachusetts. That was back in 1659 when the Puritans ruled the roost.  So how did Christmas become America’s favorite holiday?