Cornell University
Professor of Eating Behavior at Cornell University and Director of its Food and Brand Lab; author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More than We Think," his website is MindlessEating.org
PROFILE
Brian Wansink
Guest
FROM Brian Wansink
Which Way, L.A.?
Overconsumption: The American Way This is the holiday when gluttony is not just acceptable, it’s almost required if you try to taste everything on the Thanksgiving table. But ask yourself: is this the only time you eat more than you ought to? Obesity is a national epidemic, and over-consumption of another kind is on the rise. Credit card debt is up by 66 percent since last year and by 368 percent since 2009, when the Great Recession made Americans try to be frugal. Why do we want so much more than we can afford and, probably, more than we need? Is there a relationship between mindless eating and manic buying?
To the Point
Overconsumption: The American Way This is the holiday when gluttony is not just acceptable, it’s almost required if you try to taste everything on the Thanksgiving table. But ask yourself: is this the only time you eat more than you ought to? Obesity is a national epidemic, and over-consumption of another kind is on the rise. Credit card debt is up by 66 percent since last year and by 368 percent since 2009, when the Great Recession made Americans try to be frugal. Why do we want so much more than we can afford and, probably, more than we need? Is there a relationship between mindless eating and manic buying?
To the Point
Who's Having Free-range Turkey This Thanksgiving? You may think that today's traditional Thanksgiving meal is the same as it always was, but that's not necessarily so. The food Americans eat is changing. Farmers' markets are all the rage, and in grocery stores, consumers are reading nutrition labels on bottles and cans. With celebrity chefs appearing on TV, cooking and eating habits are changing, too, but not everybody can afford to go green and organic. We hear about changes in food, shopping, cooking and eating from upscale suburbs to urban ghettos, and from region to region. From posh neighborhoods to urban ghettos, from region to region America's food is changing. So are the ways we produce it, buy it, cook it and eat it.
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To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.