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Sirens in the Grocery Aisles
On his long sea journey back home following the fall of Troy, the Greek war hero Odysseus sailed perilously close to the Sirens. The Sirens were beautiful and seductive creatures who used their enchanting songs
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Whither the Type A personality?
I first studied psychological science in the 1970s, and one of the most popular ideas at that time was the Type A personality. Two cardiologists, Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, had made the case that
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“Consult your physician immediately if . . .”
It’s difficult to turn on the TV today without seeing an advertisement for one drug or another. That’s not surprising, since drug makers spend billions of dollars each year to promote their treatments for depression
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For Obesity, the Future Is Now
Obesity is largely a failure of self-control. I know it’s possible to quibble about calories and carbs and dietary fat, but fundamentally, obesity comes down to valuing fattening foods today, in this moment, more than
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The Shame of the Alcoholic
This month in Cleveland, a woman was caught swerving her car onto a sidewalk, illegally passing a school bus full of children. A judge sentenced her to stand on the street corner wearing a sign
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The Healthy Poor: Demystifying John Henry
John Henry is one of the big men of American folklore, a former slave and “steel drivin’ man” who helped pioneer the American frontier in the 19th century. According to legend, John Henry was a
