Not having a minute to yourself: that is the cry of the typical high school senior. Karolina Vue tells her story. She is seemingly tied up 100% of the time with varying responsibilities.

All items in the What’s Real series are self enclosed w/music on each end written and voiced by Minneapolis High School students.

Part One

Shankar Vedantam, author of "The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives," encourages us to be aware of how our unconscious mind is capable of controlling our decision making capabilities.  In this, the first of two visits with Shankar Vedantam, we explore the unconscious mind, how we rely upon it and how it is capable of manipulation by advertising media and our anecdotal experiences.  I visited with Shankar Vedantam by phone from his home in Massachusetts on May 17, 2010, and began by asking him to describe the "hidden brain."  Shankar Vedantam is a national correspondent and columnist for The Washington Post and 2009-10 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.

The book Shankar Vedantam recommends is "A House For Mr. Biswas" by V.S.Naipaul.

Part Two

Not too long before the pseudo religious organization known as "The People's Temple moved to the remote jungles of Guyana in the northeast corner of South America where over 900 people killed themselves at the direction of Jim Jones in 1978, they were based in Redwood Valley, California, about 10 miles from Ukiah, the home of Radio Curious.   In this, the second Radio Curious conversation with Shankar Vedantam author of "The Hidden Brain: How Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars, and Save Our Lives," we explore what compelled these people to kill themselves. We'll examine what compels suicide bombers of the early 21^st century to take their own lives and those of others? And are we, in fact, all susceptible to these ideas? The conversation with Shankar Vedamtam, recorded from his home in Massachusetts on May 17, 2010, began when I asked him to explain the attraction of cults, who are drawn to them, and why.

Shankar Vedantam is a national correspondent and columnist for The Washington Post and 2009-10 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. This interview was recorded on May 17th, 2010.

The book Shankar Vedantam recommends is "Heart Of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad.

More children are being diagnosed with autism than ever before. Recent journal studies show rates three to four times higher than thirty years ago. As researchers ponder reasons for the trend -- some say it's greater awareness, others blame environmental factors -- parents and doctors are learning to pick up the early signs of autism. And debating when it’s appropriate to make the diagnosis. By focusing on two boys diagnosed with autism, this two-part series looks at emerging theories on early identification and treatment of autism. Part one asks the question: How young is too young to diagnose autism? Does labeling a very young child with autism create a self-fulfilling prophecy? And if you wait too long, do you give up the chance to change the course of this heartbreaking disorder? One mother swears her push for early diagnosis is what saved her son from a lifelong disability, while another mother wonders if she was in denial too long. Part two investigates new theories in treating autism – and asks the question: is autism a permanent disability to be managed as best as possible, or is it a developmental problem that – with the proper therapy – can be reversed? We hear from the mothers who worked tirelessly to bring their sons out of their autistic worlds, as well as experts with conflicting advice on how to handle and help autistic children. STATIONS ARE FREE TO USE ONE OR BOTH OF THE STORIES IN THIS SERIES. THEY CAN EACH STAND ALONE. This series first aired in December 2003 on WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts and WNPR, Connecticut Public Radio.

Autism spectrum disorder is the fastest-growing developmental disability in America, now affecting one in every 150 children. No one knows for sure - or can agree on - what causes autism spectrum disorder - but every parent of an autistic child can tell you stories about the challenges it presents. Autism Chronicles is an hour-long special profiling three of families living and coping with autism, produced by Dan Collison and Elizabeth Meister for Long Haul Productions, in association with Chicago Public Radio. Partial Funding from the Coleman Foundation.

Also: IT was long thought that children of 17th and 18th century Europe were thought of as incomplete adults not yet worthy of love or compassion. However, historian Michael Galgano says children were understood to be in a different stage of life, and they were celebrated and loved.

Also: Infants come into the world equipped with an enormous capacity to trust, which is essential to rapid learning. Vikran Jaswal says part of the challenge of childhood is learning when to question. Through his work with hundreds of young children he is looking for the origins of this struggle.

Narcissists and Sociopaths have always been among us and yet recent research brings us new understanding of just what these serious emotional disabilities are; what causes them, how prevalent they are, and how studying them helps us to draw the connections between psyche and society.

Join host/producer Jari Chevalier as she talks with experts Dr. Nina W. Brown, Dr. Linda Martinez-Lewi, social worker Lisa Charlebois, Dr. Philip Zimbardo, Gabor Mate, MD, Dr. Sandy Hotchkiss, Dr, Scott Baum, and Dr, Martha Stout. Narration includes in-depth research and synthesis of the work of these and many researchers and healers.

Learn just how and why narcissists and sociopaths might be a bigger part of your life than you imagined. We focus on the many factors of unreality inherent in these personality structures and how they spin unreality into the world.