Thursday , March 28 2024
Up this week: The T4 Project, shopping social networks, 401(k) plans, and childhood obesity.

BC Radio Live: T4 Project’s Shannon Saint Ryan, ThisNext’s Scott Morrow, Authors Daniel R. Solin and David Ludwig, MD

BC Radio Live is the flagship program of the BC Magazine station on BlogTalkRadio. It's hosted by Phillip Winn, Eric Olsen, and Lisa McKay and airs weekly on Wednesday evenings at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Shows are archived and available for streaming or download after the live broadcast. Our guests on July 23 were Shannon Saint Ryan from the T4 Project, Scott Morrow of ThisNext, and authors Daniel R. Solin and David Ludwig.

BC Radio last spoke with members of the T4 Project on May 21 and this week Shannon Saint Ryan, who independently produced this multinational musical and artistic collaboration over a period of two and a half years, returned to BC Radio Live for a more in-depth discussion of his role in shepherding this project to completion. He talked about the challenge of bringing the project to life while working a day job, encouraging like-minded listeners to make their own lives richer by not letting the responsibilities of daily life get in the way of tackling more meaningful projects. In keeping with the spirit of this multimedia group effort, fans can enter a contest for an opportunity to be drawn by artist Keith Rosson and featured in T4 Project poster art. Listen to the show to get the whole scoop, and visit the T4Project's official website and their MySpace page for more information.

If you, like many other online consumers, seek out others' recommendations and opinions before you buy anything, then you'll be interested in ThisNext, a social shopping network that combines the information value of a consumer opinion site with the sense of community found in a social network. Scott Morrow, President of ThisNext, joined BC Radio to walk us through a typical shopping experience. The site gives members the opportunity to gather information in several different ways. Community members can, via their product recommendations, become mavens or experts who traverse the web, looking for great deals and great products; they also become trend-spotters. If you spend some of your hard-earned dollars online, and if you'd like some good shopping advice and to see what other shoppers are doing around the world, ThisNext is well worth a visit.

Millions of Americans have their retirement savings invested in 401(k) plans, often with funds matched by their employer. Because of the matching, 401(k) plans are generally considered a no-brainer, but Daniel R. Solin, author of The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read, visited with BC Radio and opened our eyes to some of the pitfalls of these plans. In a discussion that ranged from tax rates to fund management fees, Solin told us why these plans aren't always the best way for workers to invest and better yet, shared some tips about how we could do better for ourselves. If you don't listen to any other show this week, listen to this one, as Solin gives BC Radio's listeners some solid advice (the kind you'd pay a financial advisor for) about when and how to participate in a 401(k) and what other measures we might take to ensure ourselves a comfortable retirement. Pay attention.

Researcher and author David Ludwig, M.D. Ph.D. is a pediatrician and endocrinologist at Children's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Ludwig's primary interest is the problem of obesity in children, and with recent research indicating that obese children are at higher risk for certain diseases in adulthood, it makes sense that parents will want to get a handle on their childrens' eating behavior sooner rather than later. Citing the rampant junk food advertising aimed at children and the frequent lack of nutritious food choices available in school cafeterias, Dr. Ludwig told BC Radio that his book, Ending the Food Fight, helps families work together to make the right food choices that will lead to improved health for all. Recognizing that biology, behavior, and environment all play an important role in the process, Dr. Ludwig's approach gives parents tools to deal with all the necessary factors, and he has tailored a program that will help families work together to conquer the problem of childhood obesity.

About Lisa McKay

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