Seth Mnookin on The Panic Virus (On The Media: Friday, 07 January 2011) from On The Media by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

This week the British Medical Journal concluded an extensive investigation into a study that claimed a link between childhood vaccination and autism. Their conclusion? The study WAS A FRAUD. And yet, after a decade of no convincing evidence of a link, the panic remains and vaccination rates are down. Seth Mnookin, author of The Panic Virus, explains why it’s so hard to dislodge misinformation and fear. Download the podcast here.

"Unauthorized Biography" - an On The Media episode of WNYC Radio

In the hierarchy of journalistic respect, the "unauthorized biographer," we might agree, falls somewhere above the gossip columnist. How far above is a matter of debate. And author Kitty Kelley, who has sold millions such biographies, fired off an eloquent salvo in that debate recently in an essay she published in "The American Scholar." Kelley defends the unauthorized.

Download the podcast here. See the On The Media webpage for this episode, here. Kitty Kelly was also on NPR's All Things Considered recently:

Kitty Kelley chronicles the lives of public figures — politicians and celebrities alike. She does so without her subjects' permission and sometimes without their blessing. In fact, when news got out that Kelley was going to write Frank Sinatra's unauthorized biography, he sued her before she wrote the first word. "I've been doing these books for 30 years and I have never ever lost a lawsuit. I have never been successfully sued," Kelley tells NPR's Audie Cornish. "I want to tell you, though, that Frank Sinatra got my attention." Sinatra is on a long list of public figures who have not been pleased with Kelley's writing. While her books may spend weeks on the best-seller list, they are never without controversy. Kelley's been called a "poison pen" writer and her books dismissed as "Kitty litter." Kelley writes exclusively about living people. Her subjects include everyone from Jacki Kennedy Onassis to Nancy Reagan and the British royal family.

Download the All Things Considered podcast here. Read the full All Things Considered feature here. See these other unauthorized biographies by Kitty Kelley: The Royals, His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra, The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, Jackie Oh!, Nancy Reagan: The Unauthorized Biography, Elizabeth Taylor: The Last Star. And a fit of irony, there's this unauthorized biography, on the Queen of Unauthorized Biographies: Poison Pen: The Unauthorized Biography of Kitty Kelley

And finally, Kitty Kelly recently published a piece in the well respected literary periodical, The American Scholar. In the piece, Kelly defends unauthorized biographies. Find "Unauthorized, But Not Untrue," here.

Justice Brennan and the First Amendment (On The Media: Friday, 03 December 2010) from On The Media by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

Justice William J. Brennan served on the Court from 1956 to 1990, and during that time helped forge the interpretation of the First Amendment we now take for granted. Seth Stern, Congressional Quarterly reporter and co-author of the new biography, Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion, talks about Brennan’s influence on libel, obscenity and speaking with fire.

Download the podcast here. See also: Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion, Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices, The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America.(Book review): An article from: Trial

Mark Twain's New, 100-year-old Autobiography (On The Media: Friday, 19 November 2010) from On The Media by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

There has been much ado lately over the release of Mark Twain's autobiography after a century-long embargo. But with only a small portion of the material in fact never-before-published, is this merely deft brand management by Twain from beyond the grave? Writer Craig Fehrman describes the tactics behind the embargo and how it has worked well as a modern day marketing strategy.

Download the podcast here. See also: The Complete Mark Twain Collection (Over 300 works, with active table of contents), Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race, Classic American Literature: The Works of Mark Twain, 24 books in a single file, improved 10/6/2010

Invasion of the Mind Snatchers (On The Media: Friday, 15 October 2010) from On The Media by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

Consumers could buy televisions as early as the 1920s, but the medium didn't really dominate American culture until the 1950s - the era of black and white sitcoms, nuclear families and nuclear weapons. Author Eric Burns' new book, Invasion of the Mind Snatchers, charts not only the rise of television but also the social context that birthed it. He says that TV's inventors worried they created a monster.

Listen to the podcast here.

Is the Internet Making us Smarter? (On The Media: Friday, 17 September 2010) by onthemedia@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

As people have become more and more dependent on the Internet, some have concerns that all that information (and the devices that help us connect to it) could be doing seriously damage to the way we think, interact and learn. But Nick Bilton, lead writer for the New York Times Bits Blog, explains in his new book that he's lived his whole life connected and managed to turn out just fine. He says scientific research backs up his experience.

Read the full WNYC On The Media post here. See also: I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted, (I LIVE IN THE FUTURE & HERE'S HOW IT WORKS) WHY YOUR WORLD, WORK, AND BRAIN ARE BEING CREATIVELY DISRUPTED BY Bilton, Nick(Author)Hardcover{I Live in the Future & Here's How It Works: Why Your World, Work, and Brain Are Being Creatively Disrupted}