Science Friday, NPR October 12, 2012

This has been a discombobulating week for me on many levels, oddly echoing my editing work, doing research for a political fiction novel that involves a bit of a thriller note, with the protagonist's perceptions preyed upon. And as is my wont, I'm finding it easy to draw parallels to today's political climate. Perception is key. And most humans walk around with skewed perceptions that actively reject evidence, just like walking through the tilted house. This, my friends, is a non-partisan issue. I'd like to be smug enough to believe that liberals are more open to revising our opinions in the face of new information, but sadly, I don't think it's so.

But I'm also keenly aware that many of our perceptions are colored by the way that the media frames issues for us. The country is in crisis...we're going to go off the fiscal cliff...entitlements are bankrupting us. None of those are the entire truth, just perceptions that color the truth. I'm going to make a plea to those of you looking for more awareness of how things are framed to consider purchasing Anat Shenker-Osorio's new book, Don't Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense about the Economy. We don't have the wingnut welfare system for our authors and truly, it will change your perception of how to talk about economic issues to wrest it away from the conventional wisdom.

ABC's "This Week" -- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Panel: Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz; Faith and Freedom Coalition founder and chair Ralph Reed; former Obama White House environmental adviser Van Jones, co-founder of Rebuild the Dream; Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren; and political strategist and ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd.

NBC's "Meet the Press" -- Rubio; David Axelrod, adviser to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign; Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio. Panel: Democratic Strategist and Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers; Republican strategist Mike Murphy; NY Times Columnist Tom Friedman; and NY Times White House Correspondent Helene Cooper.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" -- Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent; John Harris, Politico; Michael Duffy, TIME Magazine; Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post.

CBS' "Face the Nation" -- Rubio; Stephanie Cutter, deputy campaign manager for the Obama campaign; Kevin Madden, adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Panel: The Wall Street Journal's Peggy Noonan, The New York Times' David Sanger, TIME Magazine's Joe Klein and CBS News' John Dickerson.

MSNBC's "Up with Chris Hayes" -- Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, former Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State in the Obama administration (2009-2011); Reza Aslan, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Author of “No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam;” Sonali Kolhatkar, Co-Director of the Afghan Women's Mission, Author of “Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords & the Propaganda of Silence” and Host of “Uprising”, heard on KPFK Pacifica Radio; Hooman Majd, Author of “The Ayatollah's Democracy: An Iranian Challenge & The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran;” David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame; Elise Jordan, Former national Security Council official and Former speechwriter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Fmr. Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), Former Navy 3-star Admiral and former Director of Defense Policy on the National Security Council under President Clinton

MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry" -- Guests: Rula Jebreal, MSNBC Contributor and Foreign Policy Analyst at Newsweek; Jonathan Capehart, Opinion Writer at The Washington Post; Matt Miller, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; Salamishah Tillet, Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Thomas Norman DeWolf & Sharon Morgan, Co-Authors of “Gather at the Table”

CNN's "State of the Union" _ Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Donna Edwards, D-Md.; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; former Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.; Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.; former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va. CNN Sr. Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash and The Washington Post’s Dan Balz.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" -- Kofi Annan, The New Yorker’s Evan Osnos.

CNN's "Reliable Sources" -- Nia-Malika Henderson of the Washington Post, Roger Simon of Politico, and Jackie Kucinich of USA Today; Washington Post blogger Jennifer Rubin and Current TV’s David Shuster; Tina Brown, editor-in-chef of Newsweek and The Daily Beast; Media critic Jeff Jarvis.

"Fox News Sunday" _ Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Frank Newport, the Editor in Chief of Gallup. Panel: Brit Hume, Fox News Senior Political Analyst, Liz Marlantes, The Christian Science Monitor, Bill Kristol, The Weekly Standard/Fox News Contributor, Juan Williams, Fox News Contributor.

So what's catching your eye this morning?