By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 22, 2011 at 2:00 PM ET New studies show that the taller a woman is, the more likely she is to develop certain kinds of cancers. Being short might not be such a bad thing! [Time]
Think you’re brave? You’re not embarking on an 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West through shark-infested waters. [NY Times]
Zumba and other giant fitness classes are the newest trend in wellness. [Washington Post]
Don’t trust the calorie counts on restaurant menus. You might be eating more than you think you are. [Wall Street Journal]
Check this out for a good laugh: 15 health-related headlines that make you say “duh!” [Huffington Post]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Here’s some tips on how to beat the heat this summer, from a roofer who’s used to working in scorching weather. [CNN]
Good news, nice guys. New research on baboons reveals that alpha males are significantly more stressed out than beta males. [Time]
According to the British Medical Association, doctors being Facebook friends with patients is a no no. [Wall Street Journal]
New research shows the widespread use of search engines and online databases has affected the way people remember information. [NY Times]
Does summer make you nostalgic for the better days? According to scientists, it’s totally normal. [Psychology Today]
By Lisa Miller, on Tue Jul 12, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET (Pardon the interruption from the healthy civil dialogue, but we need to pause to acknowledge our sponsors. Actually, while Mrs. RP isn’t paying ad revenue, she’s owed a bundle for all the time the RP spends on the weekends getting this site organized. Besides, what she has to offer is pretty cool…)
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET Maybe this Time magazine article should actually be titled “Ladies, Your Gaydar Is Real.” [Time]
Families with surrogate mothers, sperm donors, and same-sex parents are more common today, so family tree mapping is a little more complicated than it used to be. [NY Times]
Can’t get away from work for a vacation this summer? Eat some Vitamin D rich foods instead. [Psychology Today]
Scientists in the UK are researching innovative sunburn treatments… by starting with human test subjects. [Wall Street Journal]
Yet more scientific proof that we need to go green: a new study reveals that air pollution is linked to memory issues and depression. [Psych Central]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 1, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Girl power! Now we finally have scientific proof that women are more likely to succeed than men in certain areas because they don’t take as many risks. [Time]
The New York Times busts this popular myth: Working out on an empty stomach does NOT help you burn more calories. [NY Times]
Watch out, beachgoers! The Natural Resources Defense Council is now advising people to check water quality alerts to check for bacterial pollution in ocean waters. [Wall Street Journal]
Why do your fingers get pruney when you step out of the bathtub? You know you’ve always wanted to know the answer. [Huffington Post]
Not only can exhaustion make you cranky, a new study reveals that it can also make you unethical. [Washington Post]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Tue Jun 28, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
Last week, I wrote about my father, Robert Kennedy, and his critique of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the measure of national well-being. He said, “It measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”
Had my father lived, we might have started work a lot sooner on truer ways to measure the state of the nation. Sadly, that did not happen. His critique of the GDP was forgotten. Instead, other values came to govern American life.
In 1968, David Frost asked both Ronald Reagan and my father to speak on the purpose of life. Ronald Reagan answered:
 Well, of course, the biologist I suppose would say that like all breeds of animals, the basic instinct is to reproduce our kind, but I believe it’s inherent in the concept that created our country–and in the Judeo-Christian religion–that man is for individual fulfillment; for our religion is based on the idea not of any mass movement but of individual salvation. Each man must find his own salvation; I would think that our national purpose in this country–and we have lost sight of it too much in the last three decades–is to be free–to the limit possible with law and order, every man to be what God intended him to be.
My father said:
 I think you have to break it down to people who have some advantages, and those who are just trying to survive and have their family survive. If you have enough to eat, for instance, I think basically it’s to make a contribution to those who are less well off. ‘I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.’ You can always find someone that has a more difficult time than you do, has suffered more, and has faced some more difficult time one way or the other. If you’ve made some contribution to someone else, to improve their life, and make their life a bit more livable, a little bit more happy, I think that’s what you should be doing.
Ronald Reagan’s views came to dominate the political landscape. Later, when he was asked what he meant by freedom, he described driving up the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible with the wind blowing through his hair. Here was a man truly doing his own thing, alone.
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had nice houses. They could have enjoyed contented private lives. But it was not just about their property.
What Ronald Reagan is remembered for does not reflect what he actually did. Of course, he believed in public engagement. He was a six-term president of the Screen Actors guild, calling union membership a “fundamental human right.” He was governor of California and president of the United States. He spoke eloquently about America as a “shining city on a hill.”
Read the rest of…
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: The Pursuit of Happiness: What the Founders Meant—And Didn’t
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 24, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET What’s popcorn brain? If you don’t want to find out, step away from that smart phone and get out into the world. [CNN]
New research shows that living in an urban environment can actually alter the chemical makeup of your brain, making you more anxious and stressed than you would be otherwise. [Time]
The cost of misdiagnosing children with bipolar disorder: [Newsweek]
The U.S. government just rolled out nine new designs for cigarette warning labels, coming out next year. And boy, do they do the job! [NY Times]
The next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is in 2013, and doctors are already considering which disorders could get the axe. [Huffington Post]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Mon Jun 20, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET I recently spoke in Pesaro, Italy at a conference on new ways of measuring the well-being of nations and communities. For the past half-century, the yardstick for measuring national progress has traditionally been GDP. But in the last few years, a growing number of economists, concerned citizens, and even heads of state have been asking whether there is more to happiness than a big pile of dollar signs.
Politicians, at times, see what should be done, but can’t quite persuade citizens to act–as when Franklin Roosevelt, despite the terrible threat Hitler presented, couldn’t convince Americans they should fight. Right now we’re on the cusp of taking seriously an insight about GDP that my father, Robert Kennedy, originally had more than 40 years ago.
For those who haven’t been reading speeches from 1968, let me remind you what my father said a few days after he announced his candidacy for the presidency. Speaking to students at the University of Kansas, he said:
 Click here to watch RFK's Eulogy for King, April 4, 1968 Too much and for too long, we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product, if we judge the United States of America by that, counts air pollution and cigarette advertising and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.
For years, my father’s words were viewed not as a practical challenge to the use of GDP but as an affirmation that a nation, like individuals, needs a purpose that is not merely material but spiritual. His policy insight didn’t catch on. With little dissent, we’ve continued to measure the success of a nation by a single number, its GDP.
Read the rest of…
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: What Makes Life Worthwhile? GDP Won’t Tell You
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Just in time, here’s some Father’s Day gift ideas for the health-conscious papa. [Huffington Post]
This is your brain on anesthesia: For the first time, scientists can watch 3-D mapping of the brain as it slips into unconsciousness (and you can see the video too!) [Time]
Does a tendency towards sexting make you more scientifically likely to be a cheater? We’re looking at you, Weiner. [NY Times]
The FDA’s new changes to sunscreen labeling were introduced this week, after reforms were promised four years ago. It’s about time! [Wall Street Journal]
Check out your projected life expectancy, based on where you live in the U.S.: [Washington Post]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jun 3, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET A rare strain of E.coli has spread to 10 countries and is blamed for 16 deaths and hundreds of illnesses… Is the United States next? [CNN]
New research indicates that crossing your arms actually helps you manage pain better. No, we’re not making this up. [Time]
Yesterday the USDA introduced new nutrition guidelines that relate healthy eating to portions on a plate, to rave reviews. [USA Today]
The New York Times offers tips for those of us who still can’t get a good night’s sleep. [NY Times]
If this isn’t a sign that our world needs to unplug, I don’t know what is: a 17-year-old in China sold his kidney on the black market to pay for an iPad 2. [Techland]
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