Please Explain (The Leonard Lopate Show)

For this week’s Please Explain, we discuss psychosomatic illnesses and the mind-body connection with Dr. Suzanne O’Sullivan. O'Sullivan is a neurologist and author of the book, Is It All in Your Head?: True Stories of Imaginary Illness. In her book, O’Sullivan chronicles the world of psychosomatic illnesses and shows how it can take over people’s lives.

Our latest Please Explain is all about navigating the high seas and using water to help you find direction in your everyday life. We’ll hear from explorer and natural navigation expert Tristan Gooley, author of How to Read Water: Clues and Patterns from Puddles to the Sea. Do you have a question, or a story, about navigating through open water? Leave us a comment!

‘Tis the season for sniffles. Millions of Americans suffer from allergies, seasonal and otherwise. For this week’s Please Explain, Dr. Clifford Bassett, the founder and medical director of Allergy and Asthma Care of New York, joins us to explain what an allergy is (and isn’t), identify key triggers - from nuts to gluten to the nickel commonly used in cell phones - and offer both medical and nonmedical alternatives to treatment. Dr. Bassett’s book The New Allergy Solution: Supercharge Resistance, Slash Medication, Stop Suffering is out on March 21.

Dave Owen, Professor of Law at U.C. Hastings, joins us for this week's Please Explain to discuss the history of clean water legislation and what's at stake as the EPA attempts to roll back established water regulations. A recent executive order issued by President Trump instructed the EPA to review the "Waters of the United States" rule, an Obama-era clean water act that the president criticized for it's "horrible" treatment of small farmers and small businesses. Owen will discuss that 2015 water regulation, as well as the history and impact of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. Have questions about clean water regulations? Leave us a comment below, or let us know on Twitter or Facebook.