David Hyde

  Here are five programs we did in 2012 that I loved. Each is an interview about a Seattle person. And they all have big, bold personalities. Who knew?

1. Who Is Nancy Pearl? 

You’ve heard librarian Nancy Pearl share her picks for great books and stories on NPR and KUOW. But what is Nancy Pearl’s own story? What does she do when she’s NOT reading books? Much is revealed when she sits down with Ross Reynolds.

2. Who Is David Brewster? 

You think you know him: red suit, white beard, jolly old elf, etc. But do you why St. Nicholas became the Patron Saint Of Prisoners? David Hyde talks with Adam English, author of "The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life And Trials Of Nicholas Of Myra."

The weather outside is frightful, so why not curl up by the fire with a nice holiday cocktail? David Hyde talks to veteran bartender Kristen Naranjo about her favorite holiday cocktails.

Some people believe the world is ending today (and they are completely wrong about that). But let’s say today really is your last day on Earth. How would you want to spend it?  It’s kind of like your one day bucket list.  We’ll hear from listeners and special guests including John Moe, formerly of KUOW and now host of Wits. 

Designing safer schools doesn't mean turning them into military bunkers. That might have been an easy remodel back when schools were built like jails, filled with "cells" and controlled by bells. Today's schools are open, flexible spaces that allow students to combine and recombine into groups that learn from each other as much as they learn from the teacher.

Before 1970, doctors used to lie to their patients all the time. They knew that some hypochondriacs became noticeably better when doctors gave them a sugar pill.

This was called "the placebo effect." After 1970, we thought of placebos differently. Researchers decided that for a drug to be deemed effective, it had to outperform a placebo. But we never stepped back and took a good hard look at the placebo and why it worked.

Hanukkah has come to a close, and Christmas and Kwanzaa are still on the way. These are the three we hear about, but how do you celebrate the holidays? David Hyde takes calls from listeners and hears what the holiday season means to Seattle.

Critics of Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo say that the elephants there are not being treated well and that they don’t do well in captivity. Defenders say zoos are key to global conservation efforts. Should zoos, including Woodland Park, continue to display elephants?

David Hyde talks with Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, University of Guelph researcher Georgia Mason who has studied elephants in zoos, and Michael Berens, the investigative reporter for the Seattle Times who has written about the Woodland Park Zoo.

Why do most people love animals they consider cute, like puppies or panda bears, but they don’t have a lot of love for animals they consider ugly, like naked mole rats? Western Carolina University Psychology professor Hal Herzog explores the paradoxical relationship people have with animals in a new book, "Some we love, some we hate, some we eat: Why it’s so hard to think straight about animals."

According to a new study nearly 1 in 3 pedestrians is distracted by a mobile device like a smart phone when walking into high-risk intersections. Only 1 in 4 looked both ways before crossing the street.  

David Hyde talks with Dr. Beth Ebel who was the lead author on the study. She directs the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research center at the University of Washington.