DAN RODRICKS

An account from medical historian Howard Markel about the years-long cocaine use of neurologist Sigmund Freud and of William Halstead, the ambitious surgeon and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. A look at the physical and emotional damage caused by the then-heralded wonder drug, and how each man ultimately changed the world in spite of it — or because of it. Markel is author of the book An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halstead, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine.

Midday brings you a Tropical Storm Irene follow-up with the latest on power outages with Rob Gould from BGE, best practices when driving through intersections in areas without power with Greg Shipley from the Department of Maryland State Police, an update on Ocean City with OC Mayor Richard Meehan, and a hurricane consumer warning from the Maryland State Attorney General's office, with Karen Straughn, director of the Consumer Protection Division Mediation Unit.

Fire up the grill with Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman, of award-winning Charleston and three other Baltimore restaurants. How to prep the grill and -- whether you're using charcoal, wood or gas --  hit the perfect temperatures for meats and for vegetables. Radio guaranteed to make you hungry.

Original airdate: 7/1/11

Guest host Karen Hosler is joined by Andy Green, opinion editor for the Baltimore Sun to discuss the latest news:

We open up the phones to listener questions and comments. Dan continues the conversation about the earthquake, Hurricane Irene and other news.

Your reactions to the 5.8 magnitude east coast earthquake. With experts: Donald Prothero, professor of geology at Occidental College and author of Catastrophes! Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, and Other Earth-Shattering Disasters, Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory and professor in the department of geological sciences and engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Yunfeng Zhang, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Maryland.

Our guest this hour is Ned Zeman, contributing editor at Vanity Fair, who chronicles his own journey through the tunnel of manic-depression - though pills, therapy, psychiatric hospitals, and ultimately, twenty sessions of Electro-convulsive therapy, in his new book The Rules of the Tunnel: My Brief Period of Madness.

"Af-Pak": that's what journalists call the two-country package that represents a challenge as the United States tries to extricate itself from its post 9-11 commitments. Many politicians argue it's time to leave Afghanistan and let it stand on its own against the Taliban. But what of neighboring Pakistan (America's crucial yet not quite dependable ally that just happens to have nuclear weapons)?

Just how much control does Google have over your use of the internet? Websites that gather information about you and then customize your web experience is cause for concern says Eli Pariser, our guest this hour. Board president of MoveOn.org, Pariser talks about the political and social implications of such personalization in his book The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding From You.
Original airdate: 7/6/11

In an emergency, the first step is to call 911. But the actions you take while professional help is on the way can mean the difference between life and death. From how to save someone from a burning car or a collapsed building to how to rescue someone (including yourself) from broken ice, our guest, Kalee Thompson, tells us how to take action.