Health

We talk with Jodi Jacobson, senior researcher at the World Watch Institute, and the author of a new report on the state of women's health around the world.

Writer Sam Fussell was scared of living in the big city, so he decided he'd look like less of a target if he took up body building. He chronicles his four year transformation in his book, "Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Body Builder."

We examine the current craze surrounding low-fat and low cholesterol foods. First, nutritionist Jane Hurley of the advocacy group, Science in the Public Interest talks about recent marketing trends in "healthy" food...things like McDonald's "McLean" burger. Second, Wall Street Journal cultural writer Raymond Sokolov talks about America's obsession with food and fat. Third, cardiologist Thomas Graboys of the Harvard School of Public Health gives us some sane advice about diet and health.

Jodi Jacobson is senior researcher at the World Watch Institute. Her report, "The Global Politics of Abortion," examines how various countries handle the issue of reproductive rights, and the affect that can have on the global scale. She's discovered that more restrictive policies did nothing to curtail abortion -- in fact, they increased the chance of maternal death.

New Yorker writer Paul Brodeur's new book considers the health hazards and cancer risks associated with power lines and electronic devices. Later, Fresh Air host Terry Gross talks to Dr. William Farland of the EPA to get the agency's perspective on this matter.

Actor, writer, and Monthy Python member John Cleese and therapist Robin Skynner. The pair have co-written a new book, "Families and How To Survive Them."

Writer and editor Corby Kummer. He's written a series of articles for the "Atlantic Magazine" on coffee, covering health effects, brewing, and decaf versus caffeine.

Family therapist Salvador Minuchin. (mi-NOO-chin). In the early 50's, he helped launch the field of family therapy, shifting the focus of psychotherapy from the individual to the entire family. He's also known for aggressive, short-term intervention for dealing with delinquent children and anorectic girls. His books include "Families of the Slums," a look at the impact of poverty on a family; "Family Kaleidoscope," based on observations of families in London, England; and "Family Therapy Techniques," which he co-authored.

Writer Le Anne Schreiber. A successful journalist at the New York Times, and their first woman sports editor, Schreiber left her career at the Times to go live in rural upstate New York. Then she found out her mother had cancer and was given only a few months to live. Schreiber kept a journal during the period of her mother's illness until she died. This journal served as the basis for Schreiber's memoir about her mother's death, "Midstream: The Story of a Mother's Death and a Daughter's Renewal."

Psychiatrist Irvin D. Yalom. Yalom is one of the world's leading psychotherapists, and his theories have been adopted by most of this country's clinics and hospitals. Yalom has written several books on psychotherapy, aimed both at experts and the layman. Yalom's new book is called "Love's Executioner & Other Tales of Psychotherapy." It's a collection of ten stories, each featuring one of Yalom's patients, that illustrate the individual difficulties and common threads of psychotherapy.