drmoney

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I was at this live episode, and I do have to say, the atmosphere was quite tense and the audience did turn against David a bit. I'm actually surprised they released it (it did take them a while, and they did cut out a few parts). I'm a huge fan of PBO and I was a little sad that the episode was about such a serious and heavy topic, but it was still a fun time. Hopefully they come back to Boston again soon!

I just want to say I kind of loved his viewpoint as a stay at home dad. A mom would get so much shit for talking like that.

Don't put so much pressure on yourself! You can take a vacation and we'll survive without a new podcast for a little while! Only a little while, though.

I was 11 when this movie came out and I was a HUGE Spice Girls fan (...I still have a very soft spot for them). This movie is an amazing piece of pop culture history, and hearing this episode makes me want to watch it again SO BAD. I'm so glad June was in studio and on board with girl power. Girl power really did make a huge impression on my young self. I think this movie influenced my sense of humor as well - I love the non sequiturs and campiness. It was quite a treat to listen to an "in depth analysis" - I guess my 11 year old self didn't quite piece together the complexities of the "plot."

Hi Paul, what would you do if you imprinted on a baby?

The book did not have the big fight scene, which made it extremely anticlimactic. Alice walks up to Aro, shows him the future, and everyone's all like, "Well, ok, I guess we have nothing to fight about, see you later" and the book ends. The way the movie handled it was WAY BETTER.

I believe that any and all differences between men and women - from career choices to hobbies to housework - are all societal. From the moment we are born we are sculpted into "boys" or "girls" through clothing choices, toys, attention from adults, etc. A young girl wearing a pretty dress will not be allowed to play the same way as a boy because it may ruin her outfit - she will be encouraged to play inside with a doll or tea set. Even if this particular example does not happen often - she certainly will be told by multiple adults on multiple occasions that certain actions are not 'lady like' while boys are given freedom and excused, because 'boys will be boys'. From these experiences girls learn quite early that there are certain things boys can do that girls cannot. We are conditioned to learn that girls and boys are different, and this influences thoughts and choices throughout our lifetime. And women may not choose to pursue being a "steel worker" as a career, not because she isn't physically strong enough, but because there are few women in that industry and therefore she does not see herself in that position and subconsciously does not feel welcome in that industry. Same with carpentry, or other fields that require "strength." Really, the only time where a women cannot equal/compete with the strength of a man is basically on the Olympic level. Anyone has the capability to lift 80+ lbs -- not just men. It is just that men are more encouraged to do so, and so develop the muscles necessary for the job. And honestly, any modern woman (or man) is a feminist. Unless you believe that women should only be stay at home mothers and believe that women are not equal to men -- you are a feminist. The vast majority of women in the US, whether they are vocal advocates or not, believe women should be equal to men and be allowed to have the same opportunities and paid equally for the same amount of work, and are therefore feminists. It is kind of annoying to have people think a feminist has to be some hairy-legged, bra-burning, angry-man-hater.

Brendan, there is no inconsistency. The point is people are much too germaphobic nowadays. Greater than 99% of bacteria and microbes are harmless to humans (and usually they are beneficial). That is why not washing your hands is not harmful and a fecal transplant is not harmful. Growth of beneficial bacteria on your body (hands, intestines) makes it harder for the minority of harmful bacteria to grow. This is part of the hypothesis to explain why third world countries have lower rates of asthma and allergies compared to first world countries like the US -- there is less 'hygiene' where people don't have access to limitless water and therefore there is greater exposure to the microbial world. If you mother was a microbiologist who works in a hospital, then, yes, she should advocate for washing hands. Everyone who is in a hospital should wash their hands often because that is how you stop spread of hospital-acquired illnesses like C. difficile. If you don't work/live/visit hospitals or live with an immunosupressed person, then in all honesty, it is perfectly fine to not wash your hands constantly. I'm not an obsessive hand washer or hand sanitizer user and I can't remember the last time I was sick. And fecal transplants are an incredibly easy procedure. You could do it yourself at home if you wanted. Of course, you'd want to make sure your donor was completely healthy and had no bowel problems. And fecal transplants have been a common procedure in veterinary care (they call it "transfaunation") for decades, and it is a very successful treatment for a number of bowel issues in horses and cattle. The bottom line is, people shouldn't be so afraid of microbes. Check out Carl Zimmer's recent microbiome/fecal transplant piece for the New York Times for his informative take on the subject: http://www.nytimes.c...?pagewanted=all