NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO BROADCASTS:

• "For a Healthy Brain in Old Age, Start Early":

  • Morning Edition, (01/04/07).
  • Synopsis: It's called "use it or lose it" -- the belief that exercising your brain will keep your memory and thinking skills sharp as you age, and maybe even ward off dementia and Alzheimer's. That's the hope, at least, but the scientific proof is pretty modest.

• "Medical Care at the End of Life"

• Fresh Air from WHYY (12/04/06).
• Synopsis: "Journalist Stephen Kiernan's new book is Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System. Kiernan writes that doctors are not well-trained in end of life procedures, and that half of those who die in hospitals suffer untreated pain, while those in nursing homes risk abuse and personal bankruptcy."

• "The Science of Death"
  

• Talk of the Nation, (10/27/06).
• Synopsis: " Is the end of life really The End? Though conventional scientific wisdom says so, that hasn't stopped researchers around the world from trying to quantify the soul, explore near-death experiences, and other research into what might come next. Mary Roach, author of the book Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife talks about her findings."
  

• "Caring for Kids at the End of Life"

• All Things Considered, (08/09/06).
• Excerpt: "I think of all the patients, that as a palliative care team we take care of, who feel like they're losing or that they're giving up or somehow society has stigma on them for not 'fighting to the bitter end.'"The true reality, Chris Feudtner says, is that "we're not in ultimate control."

• "Ethics vs. Responsibility in Medicine"

• Talk of the Nation, (07/18/06).
• Snynopsis: In hospitals and medical practices around the country, doctors and nurses refuse to perform certain medical procedures because of their personal beliefs. Guests on the program discuss the rights of the patient, and whether or not a health care professional's personal convictions should outweigh his or her professional responsibilities.

• "Justice Talking: The Challenge to Assisted Suicide in Oregon":

• Broadcast by NPR on 09/28/2005.
• Synopsis: Program on physician-assisted suicide, with guests: Art Caplan is the Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics & the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania; Kathryn Tucker is Director of Legal Affairs for Compassion and Choices, an organization dedicated to improving end of life care and protecting the rights of the terminally ill; Wesley Smith is an attorney for the International Task Force on Euthanasia and is the author of “Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America.”; and Lonny Shavelson, MD is a writer, photojournalist and physician whose articles and photographs have appeared in numerous publications. Shavelson is the author of A Chosen Death: The Dying Confront Assisted Suicide.

• "The Schiavo Case":

• Synopsis: A listing of NPR news broadcasts from March 21, 2005, to April 1, 2005, on the case & related topics.
• Resources:
• Living Wills: A Primer (03/22/05)
• Legal Limbo for Living Wills (12/03/03).
• The Basics of Setting Up Living Wills (03/24/03).
• Living Wills & Advance Directives (10/16/03).
  

• "End of Life: Exploring Death in America":

• Roundtable Discussion: End of Life Issues Mon November 3, 1997 All Things Considered	The Story of Helen Payne (Part One) Tue November 4, 1997 All Things Considered
  The Story of Helen Payne (Part Two) Wed November 5, 1997 All Things Considered	The Missoula Demonstration Project Thu November 6, 1997 All Things Considered
  The Place of Palliative Medicine Fri November 7, 1997 All Things Considered	Coping with Death: A Personal Story Fri November 14, 1997 Morning Edition
  Roundtable: Grief and Bereavement Tue November 25, 1997 All Things Considered	Do it Yourself Funerals Mon December 8, 1997 Morning Edition
  A Critique of the Rule of the Double Effect Thursday December 11 All Things Considered	Doctors and Death Sunday January 4, 1998 Weekend All Things Considered
  Reincarnation: Tibetan Buddhism Saturday January 10, 1998 Weekend Edition Saturday	Death & Society Sun January 25, 1998 Weekend Edition Sunday
  Unknown Soldier Tue February 3, 1998 All Things Considered	Funeral Homes Tue February 3, 1998 All Things Considered
  Slow Code Wed February 11, 1998 All Things Considered	Burial Society Sun March 8, 1998 Weekend All Things Considered
  Alternative Funerals Tue March 10, 1998 Morning Edition	Who Will Remember Me? Thu April 2, 1998 Morning Edition
  Biology of Suicide Wed April 29, 1998 All Things Considered