Talk of the Nation on WFAE

Social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, have been important parts of this year's presidential campaigns. As Americans prepare to head to the polls, experts discuss social media's influence on politics, and whether Twitter can predict who will win the election.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Next up, the science of monsters. Like most myths, there are some real-world phenomena behind the stories. Take vampires, for example. Let me read you a passage from Bram Stoker's "Dracula," where Professor Van Helsing describes the monster.

Earthquakes, terrorist attacks and muggings have all scared people to death. Sporting events, too, sometimes cause frenzied fans to drop dead. Neurologist Martin Samuels of Brigham and Women's Hospital explains how positive or negative excitement can lead to a heart-stopping surge of adrenaline.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Up next, time for our Video Pick of the Week. Flora Lichtman, our multimedia editor is here.

Hi, Flora.

FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Ira.

FLATOW: You have a super-duper, super-duper this week.

LICHTMAN: Yes, and we have one of our listeners to thank. It is about - this week's video is about humans who fly.

FLATOW: Humans who - well, you get in the plane and you fly.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. First the Democratic debacle in the Denver debate, then a show of teeth in Tennessee, last week hells-a-poppin' at Hofstra, and this week a comparative Kumbaya in Boca. It's Wednesday and time for a...

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Horses and bayonets...

CONAN: Edition of the Political Junkie.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDINGS)

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: There you go again.

Inspired by a fellow referee who was sick with cancer, high school football ref Mike Wilmoth dropped 25 pounds, ignored the naysayers, and was picked to officiate a total of six NFL games. Wilmoth talks about making it to the big leagues and the challenges of working as a replacement ref.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. As of Monday, the procedure of freezing women's eggs is no longer experimental. The announcement from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine should make the controversial practice more widely available and increase pressure on insurance companies to pay for it.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Taking care of an ailing parent or grandparent can be an emotional and physical drain on anyone. Of course, millions of us take on those family responsibilities, but it's never easy, and there's a subset of family caregivers that often gets overlooked.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foodborne illnesses kill some 3,000 people in the U.S. each year. Often, the job of keeping America's food supply safe falls to for-profit companies with connections to the food producers they're supposed to inspect.