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John McCain Returns to New Hampshire to Energize His Supporters

By David Darman on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Republican John McCain came back to New Hampshire today, and held a town hall meeting in Nashua.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s David Darman has more.

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Concord Lawyer Wins High Court Ruling on Guantanamo

By Jon Greenberg on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

The US Supreme Court’s ruling that Guantanamo detainees have the right to a hearing in a US courtroom has particular significance for a New Hampshire lawyer. Robert Kirsch from Concord has been one of several lawyers representing six Bosnians who were sent to Guantanamo in 2002. New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg spoke with Kirsch about what the court’s ruling means for his clients.

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How Food Has Failed Us

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

When you walk into a supermarket and see the dizzying selection, do you ever consider how all that food got there?

Shoppers in Spain this week faced nearly empty shelves, after independent truckers blocked transport routes to protest high gas prices. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans marched on Tuesday to dispute their government’s agreement to resume American beef imports. And in Rome last week, 40 nations convened by the UN Food Program met to discuss mounting food prices.

Rice, wheat and corn are nearly triple the 2007 cost, and food riots in Egypt, Lebanon, Haiti and Senegal provoked fears of whether the Earth's supply can continue to feed its growing population.

Heard enough? Well, before you slice that recalled Roma tomato, author Paul Roberts is here to tell us that cheap food is not the solution, and may in fact be the problem. His new book "The End of Food" tells the story of a broken food system, and he joins Word of Mouth with the message that the golden age of abundance and high yield production is over.

(Photo by flyzipper)

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Bringing Meditation Into the Doctor's Office

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

Modern psychiatry is such a strong part of our culture, that even people who’ve never set foot in a therapist's office can imagine this scene: Doctor sits impassively, waiting for the client to open up. There’s a box of tissues on an end table, and maybe a white noise machine humming as the patient talks and the doctor nods. Together they unearth difficulties, the doctor might diagnose disorders, prescribe medication, and help alter behaviors. That’s the traditional Western model, but some practitioners of talk therapy are upending that scenario and bringing meditation into their practice. Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of those who believes in bringing what is called "mindfulness" into the doctor's office. Dr. Kabat-Zinn is founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic and Center for Mindfulness in Medecine, Healthcare and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and he joins us on Word of Mouth.

(Photo by Rosh PR)

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Tripping Out At Harvard

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

In the 1960s, Harvard psychology professors Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, later known as Baba Ram Dass, were approved to conduct research on psychedelic drugs. But after rumors spread of students holding "private psilocybin parties," the two were given the boot. Leary's encouragement to seek mystical experiences and spiritual enlightenment by "tuning in, turning on and dropping out" helped spark the counterculture's fascination with hallucinogens. But in the nearly five decades since, Harvard researchers haven’t messed with mind-bending drugs.

Until this past February, when Dr. John Halpern began administering MDMA, better known as the club drug Ecstasy, to dying cancer patients. He got started by researching the use of peyote in Native American religious rituals. Now he’s hoping Harvard will approve testing on the medical prospects for LSD for treating cluster headaches.

Freelance writer Peter Bebergal is based in Cambridge, Mass., and wrote about the new wave of psychedelic-drug research for the Boston Phoenix.

(Photo by Curtis Perry)

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Today on Word of Mouth, The end of food: Author Paul Roberts says we're heading towards a global food crisis, and the current system is to blame. We'll also hear from a top-notch chef who only uses locally grown ingredients at his restaurant. Plus, bringing meditation into the psychiatrist's office and new LSD research at Harvard University.

(Photo by Muffet)

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