Prager H3: Dennis talks to Dr. Pim van Lommel, cardiologist in Holland, who has studied near-death experiences in patients for more than twenty years. His new book is Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience.

Prager H2: The results of a new vitamin study from the Institute of Medicine are reported in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal with opposite recommendations. Dennis also touches on the Christmas tree bomber’s entrapment defense; The fact that there has been so little coverage of the murder of one of Iran’s top nuclear scientists; and the controversy surrounding a 5 year old boy who dressed up as Daphne from Scooby Doo for Halloween.

Prager H1: Most people recognize that the self-esteem movement has been at best silly and at worst injurious to society. No one is recommending that parents never praise a child or that parents seek to cultivate a low self-image in their child. But, if raising good adults is the primary task of a parent, trying to give one’s child high self-esteem is not helpful, and it can easily be counterproductive.