These selected conversations feature people who explore nearly every aspect of what makes human beings tick, and have contributed to the effort to keep them ticking - body and mind.

Gina Kolata
Alan is joined by New York Times science and health reporter Gina Kolata, author of Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss -- and the Myths and Realities of Dieting.

 

Dr. Joyce Vergili
Alan is joined by Dr. Joyce Vergili, a doctor of education in nutrition education, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, and an adjunct assistant professor at Teachers College at Columbia University, where she is assisting in the development of an online Masters program in diabetes education.

David Kaczynski, Gary Wright and Patricia Fennell
Alan is joined by David Kaczynski, Gary Wright and Patricia Fennell to discuss the effects of trauma on the human mind. Wright, a survivor of Unabomber attack, has formed an unlikely friendship with David Kaczynski, the Unabomber's brother. Patricia Fennell is an expert on chronic illnesses and trauma.

 

Dr. Robert Baker
Alanis joined by Dr. Robert Baker, Director of the Union Graduate College Bioethics Program to discuss medical ethics.

 

 

James Barba
James Barba is president and chief executive officer of Albany Medical Center. In these capacities, he oversees the medical education, biomedical research and patient care activities of northeastern New York's only academic health sciences center.

 

James Barba
James Barba joins Alan Chartock for an interview about health care reform and how it could affect hospitals in our region. Barba is the president and CEO of Albany Medical Center. This interview was taped July 15th at WAMC studios.

Dr. Stephen Bergman
Stephen Bergman is a novelist, playwright, and, for three decades, a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty. His novels, The House of God, Fine and Mount Misery have sold over 3 million copies.

 

Dr. Lawrence Epstein
One of the nation’s premiere sleep experts, Dr. Lawrence Epstein arms readers with his proven, six-step plan to improve sleep. He presents tips for dealing with common issues such as insomnia, disrupted sleep, daytime exhaustion, restlessness, sleepwalking, and the many other chronic sleep conditions suffered by more than 70 million Americans.

Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn
Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, a former internationally known surgeon, researcher and clinician at the Cleveland Clinic, believes that heart disease can be prevented, reversed, and even abolished. Dr. Esselstyn argues that conventional cardiology has failed patients by developing treatments that focus only on the symptoms of heart disease, not the cause.

Dr. John Ratey
Dr. John Ratey is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and has a private practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In this hour long interview, Dr. Ratey discusses his most recent book, Spark: The revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

Carl Rosner
Carl Rosner is president and CEO of CardioMag Imaging, Inc. in Schenectady. CardioMag is dedicated to developing non-invasive heart monitoring devices. Carl founded the company in 1999 after almost 30 years as head of another important company in the region, Intermagnetics General in Latham. Before that he’d been an engineer for General Electric’s superconductor division, a job he took here soon after he escaped Europe and the Holocaust.

Dr. Philip Stieg
Dr. Philip Stieg is the Professor and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Weill Medical College and Neurosurgeon-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Stieg has developed an international reputation in the area of cerebrovascular disorders. He has been active in many international courses and been broadly published.