First hour: How much should we spend on medical research?
Second hour: Rediscovering 1970 America
Texas recently brought 100 top-level researchers to the state to search for cancer treatments. How did Texas poach talent from other places? A new state priority on research funding. And now an association of New York medical schools is asking our state to do the same. Is this how we cure certain cancers, or triumph over diseases? It's possible; the schools argue that it's also how we create jobs and prevent other states from stealing our talented men and women. So how much should taxpayers contribute, and how does the process work? Our guests:
- Steve Dewhurst, chair of microbiology and immunology at UR Medicine
- Jo Wiederhorn, president of the Associated Medical Schools of New York
In our second hour: a Rochester photojournalist was 26 years old when he set out across the country in 1970 -- a man with only his friend and a beat-up VW bus. Throughout their journey, Mark Brady took black-and-white photographs. Forty years later, he essentially rediscovered the slides, and he discovered a different America. It was more open, more accepting, and in some ways, more beautiful. His photographs became a book, and now his work is on display this month at the Little Theater's cafe. Mark joins us to talk about the journey: the hospitality he found on the road; why hitchhiking was safe; his encounter with a young Michael McKean; the beauty of America; and the way that trip feels almost impossible today, and yet almost necessary.
