In the first half, anti-GMO spokesperson Jeffrey M. Smith gave an update on his work, and reported on the current state of genetic modification and what he sees at its dangers. The goals of his organization, the Institute for Responsible Technology, are to educate the public about GMOs, and hold governments and corporations more accountable for what he says is "one of our gravest existential threats." More specifically, Smith aims to stop all genetic enhancements of pathogenic microbes, as well as the releasing of modified microbes of any kind into the outdoors.
The threats GMOs pose to all of Earth's life forms, Smith said, are complex and far-reaching. What he described as extremely lax regulation over genetic modification could result in the release of millions of newly-created microbes into the ecosystem, which he believes could do severe damage in the form of contagious diseases in soil, altered weather patters, compromised immune systems in infants, and disastrous socioeconomic problems.
Not all hope is lost, according to Smith. About half the world's population already believes GMOs to be less safe than conventional food, he stated, and "We're not too late, but the situation is urgent."
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Ghosthunter, researcher, and stunt artist Rick McCallum talked in the latter half about the ways in which his career in movies has intertwined with his interest in the paranormal. Meeting some fellow ghost enthusiasts while working on the set of The Shawshank Redemption, he said, led him to create the Hollywood Ghost Hunters.
McCallum also recalled notable times he's encountered the paranormal in different parts of the world. He said he believes his father's home in Texas to be the most haunted house he's ever been, but that in general ghost hunting is much more intense in Europe. He recounted, for example, an incident at Ireland's Hellfire Club when he was struck by a pain he described as a spear going through his head. After the pain subsided, McCallum learned that on the spot on the property where the pain had hit him, a duel had taken places many years earlier, with its loser being shot in the eye.
In the last hour, listeners called in with their questions for McCallum. One caller wondered whether ghost activity would be greater in areas of mass tragedy, like Civil War battlefields (McCallum affirmed that it would). Another wondered whether McCallum had, at any point in his career, encountered any ghosts of celebrities (he had not).