To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio

In 1918 a mysterious killer roamed the world, decimating populations on every continent. 100 million people died in the Spanish Flu pandemic, many of them just hours after their first symptoms appeared., and only today are scientists on the verge of figuring out why. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, science writer Gina Kolata on the story of the deadliest flu the world has ever known, and the medical race to solve its mystery.

New York Times science writer Gina Kolata tells Jim Fleming about the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. It killed 100 million people worldwide and scientists are only now beginning to trace the virus responsible. Kolata's latest book is "Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It." Also, handkerchief collector Aimee Glassel tells Jim about some of her favorite hankies: diet hankies listing what you should eat, crying hankies, and cautionary hankies for kids. Glassel was the curator of a recent hankie exhibition at the University of Wisconsin's Gallery of Design.

Alternative medicine guru Dr. Andrew Weil tells Steve Paulson that the Mediterranean diet is a template for healthy eating - lots of fruit and veggies, not much meat, cooking with olive oil, etc. Weil's latest book is "Eating Well for Optimum Health." Also, science historian Robert Proctor tells Steve Paulson that the Nazis were anti-tobacco activists in the 1930s and did sound scientific research on several public health topics. They banned environmental carcinogens and promoted breast self-examination for women, while they proceeded with the extermination of millions. Proctor's book is "The Nazi War on Cancer."

David Biro talks with Judith Strasser about his book "One Hundred Days - My Unexpected Journey from Doctor to Patient." Biro suffered from a rare blood disease requiring a bone marrow transplant. He describes being a medical oddity, and says doctors should be more mindful of their patients' needs.

Distribution dates:

• week of 03/26/2000 - hour 2