Tax fraud costs our nation billions in lost revenue, while corporate crime hurts stockholders. But whistleblowers are helping curb both these rip-offs. Then, a grammar expert shares some common word mistakes and says it’s how people speak that really shapes our language.
Episode Segments:
The Whistleblower's Handbook Every year, criminals and fraudsters rip off the federal government by committing tax fraud—stealing billions of taxpayer dollars in the process. However, it’s becoming much more difficult to do so, thanks to a massive increase in whistleblower disclosures. Stephen Kohn, attorney, Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center, author of The Whistleblower's Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide To Doing What's Right And Protecting Yourself discussed recent changes in laws that have made it much easier to report wrongdoing. He also explained what steps to take to weigh the plusses and minuses of blowing the whistle.
Proper Grammar Mary Norris, longtime copy editor at “The New Yorker,” author of Between You & Me: discussed the most common mistakes in spelling, punctuation and word usage, and why it is so important. She explained how new technologies and changes in our nation’s education system have made proper grammar less “cool.”
African Americans and Blood Pressure Kevin Fiscella, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community & Preventive Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry discussed his groundbreaking research that found that the lives of nearly 8,000 black Americans could be saved each year if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of whites. He talked about the reasons behind the gap between the races in controlling blood pressure, and the possible ways to reduce that gap.