Lopait Videos

The new science of epigenetics is changing our understanding of heredity, identity, and disease. On today’s edition of Please Explain, we’ll find out how environmental factors can change the way our genes function, and how the epigenome—which can be seen as the software that tells our DNA how to function—works. We’re joined by Dr. Dana Dolinoy, Searle Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan; and Dr. Randy Jirtle, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University.

Julie Powell talks about learning the art of butchering and traveling from Argentina to Ukraine to Japan to learn about meat. Her new memoir is Cleaving: A Memoir of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession. Event: Julie Powell will be reading and signing books Friday, December 4, at 7:30 pm Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Triangle 1972 Broadway, 66th Street She'll also be reading and signing books Thursday, January 7, 7:00 pm Housing Works 126 Crosby Street

Actress Lynn Redgrave stars in a play she wrote herself, inspired by the life of her maternal grandmother, a woman she barely knew. "Nightingale" is playing through December 13 at New York City Center, Stage 1, 131 West 55th Street.

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture’s second annual Young Farmers Conference is December 3-4. Fred Kirschenmann, Stone Barns Center’s Board President and Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, discusses his advocacy of a new "50 year Farm Bill" in Washington, and about his work helping to energize the burgeoning young farmers movement in the United States. He’s joined by Zach Wolfe and Emma Hoyt, two young farmers. Resources for young farmers: The Land Institute Shelter Island Farm Beginning Farmers Environmental Working Group's Farm Subsidy Database Good Farm Movement Mas Masumoto Gives Young Farmers the Wisdom of the Last Farmer Young Farmers, in Their Own Words, For the Greater Green Farm Living, The New York Times Young Farmers Unite 2007 Census of Agriculture Report

Ukraine will hold its presidential election in January, but in recent weeks swine flu has threatened to delay the vote. On this week’s first Underreported: Julia Ioffe of Foreign Policy explains how fears about swine flu have been politicized and why next year’s election is so important to the future of Ukraine. You can read Julia Ioffe’s article here.

Director Jenn Thompson and actress Mary Bacon discuss the "The Late Christopher Bean," a comedy rarely seen in New York since its Broadway premiere in 1932. It tells the story of a country doctor who learns that the paintings a poor former tenant gave him instead of rent are suddenly valuable and sought after by a New York art collector. "The Late Christopher Bean" is playing at the Beckett Theater, 410 West 42nd Street, through December 12.

Comedian and host of "Deal or No Deal" Howie Mandel describes his ongoing struggle to overcome Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and ADHD, and how has it shaped his life and career. His book Here’s the Deal: Don’t Touch Me is a frank, funny account of his effort to find comic inspiration in his darkest, most vulnerable places.

William Eggers and John O'Leary discusses how we can renew our trust in our government and renew its legacy of competence. In If We Can Put a Man on the Moon: Getting Big Things Done in Government, they remind American people who might be frustrated with the government, the war in Iraq, and the financial meltdown that our nation has a long history of great achievements.

For years Hal Turner hosted a right-wing internet radio show from northern New Jersey that catered to white supremacists and neo-Nazis. For most of that time Turner also received thousands of dollars from the FBI for acting as an informant who spied on the same groups he was broadcasting to. Now he’s on trial in Brooklyn for posting death threats against three federal appeals court judges on his blog. On today’s second Underreported, we’ll speak with Mike Kelly, a columnist for The Record of northern New Jersey, who is covering the trial and wrote an exposè on Turner’s story last Sunday. You can read it here.

Picking up where his bestseller Three Cups of Tea left off in 2003, Greg Mortenson recounts his efforts to establish schools for girls in Afghanistan; his work in Azad Kashmir and Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake; and the ways he has built relationships with Islamic clerics, militia commanders, and tribal leaders. In Stones Into Schools, he shares his vision to promote peace through education and literacy and weaves together personal stories of those who have been involved in his humanitarian efforts. Event: Greg Mortenson will be speaking Wednesday, December 2, at 7:00 pm Hofstra University, Monroe Lecture Hall Hempstead, NY For more information here.

In 1921, Franklin Delano Roosevelt had just lost an election as vice president, was left paralyzed from the waist down by polio, and his marriage was on the rocks. Julie Fenster describes how his friend and advisor, Louis Howe, was instrumental in FDR’s resurgence and for shaping Eleanor Roosevelt’s role. In FDR’s Shadow: Louis Howe, the Force that Shaped Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, she gives a behind-the-scenes account of this influential friendship. Event: Julie M. Fenster will be in discussion with Adam Cohen, moderated by Alan Brinkley Wednesday, December 2, at 6:30 pm New York Historical Society 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street Tickets: $20.00; members $10.00; to order tickets by phone, call 212-868-4444 More information here.

Award-winning photographer Michael Poliza talks about venturing to the polar regions with his camera. His book Antarctic: A Tribute to Life in the Polar Regions captures images of these frozen paradises threatened by global warming.

Alexandra Natapoff, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, argues that the consequences of snitching—police and prosecutors offering deals to criminal offenders in exchange for information—aren’t always positive. Her book Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice is a comprehensive analysis of this common practice, and looks at how it affects the legal system, policing, and communities. Event: Alexandra Natapoff will be speaking Wednesday, December 2, at 6:15 pm Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 55 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1115 Jacob Burns Moot Court Room More information here.

Leslie Caron made her film debut with Gene Kelly in the classic MGM musical "An American in Paris," created one of the most enduring roles in American musicals as "Gigi," danced with Fred Astaire in "Daddy Long Legs," and starred with Cary Grant in "Father Goose." She discusses her remarkable career and reminisces about MGM at the end of its Golden Era and about the great stars she worked with. Her memoir is titled Thank Heaven. Event: Leslie Caron will be speaking and signing books Tuesday, December 1, at 7:30 pm Barnes & Noble, Lincoln Square 1972 Broadway, at 66th Street

Popular British cook Nigella Lawson tells us how to have a happy holiday in her latest book, Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities. It’s filled with inspirational ideas, practical tips for making the most of the season, and reliable, easy-to-follow recipes and advice about planning, cooking, and entertaining. Events: Nigella Lawson will be speaking and signing books Wednesday, December 2, at 7:00 pm Barnes & Noble, Upper East Side 150 East 86th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenue She'll also be speaking and signing books Thursday, December 3, at 5:30 pm William Sonoma 110 Seventh Avenue, between 16th and 17th Streets

Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior analyst and New Yorker staff writer, discusses the upcoming Khalid Sheikh Mohammed trial, and how the appointment of Justice Sonya Sotomayor will affect the Supreme Court. He's the author of The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court.