Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Weight loss -- myths and errors

At the Wise Counsel podcast Dr. David van Nuys interviews Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D. on motivating people to eat healthy and her book Waistland. She explains the science relevant to healthy weight, obesity, diet and weight loss in general. She comments on diets, on the genetic component and the counterintuitive elements in choosing the right food.

Diets and weight loss formulas are big business and consequently it is very necessary to get the pseudo-knowledge that runs around debunked. This is especially important in the light of the public health problem of obesity, which is -also in the podcast- sometimes called an epidemic. Since I have had some personal experience with overweight and am happy to report having been able to return to the right weight and stay there, I deeply connect with what she says. What she points out as myths and erroneous presumptions about weight and diet, concur with what I have learned and experienced. What she points out what eventually works, also parallels what I have found.

Hence, apart from being a high quality podcast, in my view, this particular issue is also an extremely important one. Strongly recommended.

Public Speaking with The Word Nerds

Dave Shepherd and Howard Chang discuss public speaking. First they dissect the phenomenon, go over the various aspects and necessary qualities and finally close off with practical pointers. Apart from the usual quality (the best kind of radio), this issue is also very practical. You nervous guys who are to engage in public speaking: this podcast may prove to some help.

The rude word of the week, if less helpful, is one of the regular sections and the one that is always the most charming, if naughty, still educational section. As always I have this tiny contest with myself, if I can guess up front what the rude word is going to be. This time my guess was demagogue, but it turned out to be rabble-rouser, which is somehow a synonym - yay! Not the first time I got it nearly right.

This is the language podcast I stick to. It is entertaining, funny, educational and charming at the same time.