Oliver Sacks

A few of the recent pieces I've liked: Sara Rosenbaum at the Health Affairs Blog: Planned Parenthood, Community Health Centers, And Women’s Health: Getting The Facts Right Laura Ungar at USA Today: Study: Needle exchange policy prevented HIV Maryn McKenna at Phenomena: Germination: Tickborne Diseases: Widespread, Serious, and Taking us by Surprise Elissa Strauss at Longreads: The Lost Summer Oliver Sacks's opinion piece "My Periodic Table" appeared in the New York Times in July, just weeks before he died of cancer. Since then, past writing by and about him has gained attention. I enjoyed…
I probably don't need to introduce Oliver Sacks to you. You've undoubtedly already delighted over his wobbly affectation and tales of neurological strangeness on RadioLab or NPR. You might have read his lovely first-person account, in the New Yorker, of his early experiments with hallucinogens of all stripes, from the "pharmacological launch pad" of amphetamines and LSD, to the synthetic belladonna-like drug, artane. You may even have read one of his bestselling books of clinical studies, like The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat or Awakenings. I interviewed Dr. Sacks in 2007, on the…
In case you missed them (or miss them, and want to read again ...) The (Illusory) Rise and Fall of the "Depression Gene" DIY circumcision with nail clippers Go figure. Oliver Sacks meets Jon Stewart Wheels come off psychiatric manual; APA blames road conditions Alarming climate change chart of the day Swine flu count in US hits 1 million; can't wait till flu season! Will government involvement drive up health-care costs? What if you could predict PTSD in combat troops? Oh, who cares...
Okay, Jonah saw this first -- but in case you missed it there, here's a snip from Jon Stewart interviewing Oliver Sacks about music and the brain. This is a nice meeting. I've not met Stewart, but I had the pleasure to spend some time with Sacks while working on a couple stories, and he once gave me a book about Alexander Agassiz because he liked my book about Agassiz -- and I'm happy to see him exert his usual charm and humor here in this Stewart segment. The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c Oliver Sacks thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason…
Dr. Oliver Sacks is a rare bird in the world of medicine: not only is he one the country's top neurologists, but he also has a knack for weaving clinical profiles of his most exceptional patients into lovely, thoughtful books that open up the complex workings of our minds to the peering eyes of layfolk. His charm has much to do with the fact that he's the embodiment of a long-musty archetype of scientist: blustery, with a lisp, brilliant, and eccentric, a member of the American Fern Society, and fascinated with fluorescent minerals. His latest book, Musicophilia, tackles our intimate mental…