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Monday, July 8, 2013
SO LONG. FAREWELL
'Talk of the Nation' signs out for last time
The day I pooped my pants in the backseat of my mom's red Jeep, Neal Conan was on the radio. In the quiet car ride home from my uncle's funeral, "Talk of the Nation" was discussing Obama's reelection. NPR ended Talk of the Nation a few weeks ago and it feels like I've lost another uncle.
Every day at 1 p.m., Conan would go on the air, as reliable as the tide. Conan and his Wednesday sidekick Ken Rudin tucked into politics like a Paula Deen meal and dealt with all the stigma and subtext with poise and a strong sense of humor.
I was there, head propped against the window, watching trees go by as my mom nodded, laughed, and tut-tutted along with the stories. The callers that "Talk of the Nation" relied on were always respected, even when they were more passionate than informed. The best of them had anecdotes and points that made a show unforgettable, and the worst were politely steered back to their nutty blogosphere.
Controversies and tragedies were handled delicately but with confidence. The purpose at the end of the day was to report the news and dig up opinions from up and down the political spectrum.
Through it all, Conan was pressing here and pulling back there. Sometimes he was a nearly invisible facilitator and other times an assertive reporter probing for answers.
Eventually, after I had crapped myself into embarrassed tears and spent a while reading. I graduated to the front seat and began to listen along with my
mom. Most of our relationship developed around summer afternoon driving back from summer camp and discussing the Iraq War or the economy. We didn't always see eye to eye, but Conan was there, mediating as much his audience as his guests.
I consider myself incredibly lucky, growing up with and admiring a journalist who respected the public as much as his craft. In a world of Glen Beck and Howard Stern, finding a show that mixes news, expert input, and public involvement without a single shout is nothing short of spectacular.
It's too easy to get angry anymore. Of course there are those that will disagree with you; it's a given fact. But handing a honking microphone to everyone with an internet connection has gone straight to their heads. Everyone demands that his or her opinion be heard and heard first. A swift business decision put a handful of them on the air with sound effects and guest appearances from Sarah Palin. It's the modern need for passionate, uncompromising entertainment
I wrote most of this column in the Notes section of my iPhone. It's a sign of the times, and maybe Conan moving on is the same. Radio is an aging medium that is evolving rapidly to adjust, probably faster than I'm ready for. There's a lot left to be decided, but one thing I'm certain of is that my commute back from L-Town won't be the same for the rest of this summer or any summer for the rest of my life.
You and your team in Washington D.C. have done the listening public and I an invaluable service for more than a decade. From a young student to an old pro, thank you very much, Mr. Conan.
As bummed as I am to see "Talk of the Nation" go, at least we still have Science Friday.
Kenney is a sophomore from Leawood.
HEALTH
Notion of 'safe hookah'a bunch of hot air
Call me a stick in the mud, but I don't smoke hookah. When I tell this to others, I often receive looks of contempt, disappointment and mostly, curiosity. As a college student, it is almost presumed that you are willing to smoke hookah, because it is perceived as a harmless pastime. It's true, hookah doesn't carry the same disreputable connotation as smoking cigarettes does, ultimately to the detriment of many misinformed youth. As many students matriculate to the bacchanalian college experience, they should be fully aware that not all staple experiences are as innocuous as they might think. Compared to tobacco and cigarettes, there is scant research into hookah, but what is known suggests the practice is nonetheless deleterious to one's health.
Common explanations for the harmlessness of hookah range from
the "natural" qualities of the tobacco (because everything in nature is safe) to the infrequency of use, the most cursory of which suggests that the water in hookah pipes filters out undesirable substances. Doubts about the veracity of this claim arose when a study in Food and Chemical Toxicology comparing chemical intake of tobacco based and tobacco free hookah found results contrary to the widely held belief. The study concluded that both kinds of hookah resulted
in transmission of large quantities of toxicants, with little to no variance between the tobacco and tobacco free waterpipe, meaning this claim simply doesn't hold water.
Even more disturbing, however, is the research suggesting hookah may be more detrimental than other vices. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that hookah sessions can actually deliver more harmful chemicals than smoking cigarettes. "A typical 1-hour-long hookah smoking session involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke inhaled from a single cigarette" the CDC wrote.
The preponderance of evidence leaves, I should think, little room for confidence in the safety of hookah. Keep that in mind next time you crave apple flavored hookah. It's what you can't taste that matters.
Perhaps just as deadly as the toxins
themselves, however, is our attitude towards hookah and our health. Out of fear of being ostracized, many youth capitulate to peer pressure with little resistance. Evidently, the pangs of exclusion are more visceral than the diseases themselves. It seems as though it is much easier to accept the spurious claims of "safe" hookah when one knows their reputation is on the line. This, in tandem with a societal cheapening of good health, has left people blind to the adverse effects of these behaviors. But there is a solution. If people approach new vices with more skepticism, they won't have to see their spritely bodies and unmarred health go up in smoke.
Ashley is a sophomore from Topeka. Follow him on Twitter @punchikweken.
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