The Curious Autodidact

Oversharing The editors of Webster’s New World Dictionary chose the verb ‘overshare’ as their word of the year in 2008. Why are we increasingly compelled to share mundane details of our lives online? We talk with Hal Niedzviecki, author of “The Peep Diaries: How We’re Learning to Love Watching Ourselves and Our Neighbors.”

Atul Gawande on Health Care Costs in McAllen, Texas. This town on the Mexican border, has the lowest household income in the United States and health care costs in McAllen are nearly the nation’s highest — almost double the national average. Surgeon-journalist Atul Gawande went to McAllen to figure out why. What he found was doctors systematically milking the system — running up fees with a philosophy that put wealth before health.

Matt Flannery of KIVA.org talking on the Seattle Channel about his micro-lending work.

Annie’s Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg and associate editor at The Washington Post talks on the Diane Rehm show June 9th’s eleven o’clock hour about his book “Annie’s Ghosts” (Hyperion). This journalist’s memoir tries to understand why his mother never revealed she had a sister. It’s a story of family secrets, deception and how the mentally ill were once treated in America.