Stanford's chief dermatology resident, Dr. Alexa Boer, and her brother, attorney Andrew Boer, have developed an unusual way of making this information palatable. Instead of a spoonful of sugar, they offer a dose of wit on a live radio call-in program. They banter through a recap of the week's medical headlines. This allows Alexa to explain the significance of each discovery, but it also gives listeners time to muster the courage to call in. She and Andrew typically field two or three calls and several e-mail questions during each program.
Topics range from the mundane to the bizarre.
One caller, for example, wondered whether applying iodine under his arms was the best way to eliminate body odor. Alexa's original plan for the show didn't include a part for her brother. But when he moved to the Bay Area the day before the first broadcast in October 1996, she invited him to sit in. He's still there, and his role has grown. Andrew, who has a day job as CEO of Emptor, an electronic commerce company in Berkeley, helps choose the week's stories and recruit guests for the show.