with Emanuel Pastreich, professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Illinois

with Richard Alexrod, author

Guest: Paul Ewald.

Today on Focus, we'll talk to a challenger of the conventional knowledge that our genes and environments are the causes of most serious illnesses, including cancer and heart disease. Paul Ewald believes that these problems, among others—ulcers, miscarriages, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's—all come from infectious origins. He'll talk about what led him to this conclusion and his book Plague Time today on the show.

with Tracy Blommart, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

Jean Pellegrini, foster parent

Rhonda Newhouse, Champaign County foster and adoptive case recruiter

with Ron Ehrenberg, author, professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Economics at Cornell University