Historical detective Graham Phillips presented his thesis that a comet, which came close to Earth around 1500 BC, had global effects on civilizations. The comet, according to ancient Chinese records, arrived in 1486 BC and appeared as being eight times the size of the full moon. It's tail was described as hair-like.

Phillips theorized that parts of the comet's tail may have broken off and released chemicals into the atmosphere which increased aggressive behavior. A number of relatively stable civilizations were suddenly plunged into war at this time, he cited. For example, Egypt's Pharaoh decided to invade half of the Middle East, massive civil wars took place in China, and Britain's Stonehenge cultures began to fight amongst themselves.

He also noted that monotheism temporarily emerged in a number of locations such as China and Egypt during this same time frame. It could have been brought about by the worship of the comet in the sky, seen as a singular object, he explained. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a likely candidate for this object, and its due to return in 2024, but it's not known yet how close it will pass to the Earth, Phillips reported. He also discussed his research into ancient relics such as the Holy Grail.

Health Data Privacy

First hour guest, privacy expert Lauren Weinstein addressed issues related to Microsoft's new HealthVault system, which can manage a person's health information. The broader concern, he said, is electronic medical records (EMR) in general-- such data could fall into the wrong hands if patients are increasingly asked to store and share their information online.