Tuesday's Talker is about kids, music, and growing up.
One day they're singing nursery rhymes, the next they're following Kesha on Twitter. Or in the case of millions of teen and pre-teen girls, they're going wild for Justin Bieber. Did you know there's a documented scientific explanation for "Bieber fever?"
"Bieber fever" has been at pandemic levels, as evidenced by a scene in Norway a couple of months ago. Thousands of girls out of their minds with the fever clogged the streets of Oslo in a rush to get seats at a free concert. Oslo officials nearly declared a state of emergency.
This type of scene, in one form or another, plays out in many places Bieber goes, so what's going on here?
A researcher says it's the same thing that made teens swoon at the Beatles and Frank Sinatra back in the day. Now we have technology to pinpoint it.
Daniel Levitin Is a professor of neuroscience at McGill University. He looked at the effect music has on our brains. He says, in the bodies of those teens, there's a whole bunch of chemical things going on.
He's a musician himself and a former record producer and music industry consultant.
"Bieber and those who came before him are sort of artificially rendered to appear safe and like 11-year-old boys, with no stubble, used to airbrush out the hair on chest and under arm to make them appear safer and closer in age to the girls," Levitin said.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 4:14 PM EDT2013-06-19 20:14:33 GMT
Two government aid programs somehow became one Wednesday afternoon on the West Side. Hundreds of people lined up for both food and flood assistance at the state office at Chicago and Pulaski.
Two government aid programs somehow became one Wednesday afternoon on the West Side. Hundreds of people lined up for both food and flood assistance at the state office at Chicago and Pulaski.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 4:10 PM EDT2013-06-19 20:10:10 GMT
Chicago is at the tipping point, as the showdown continues over CPS closings. The final bell will ring for more than half of the public schools scheduled to close on Friday, under CPS' reorganization plan.
Chicago is at the tipping point, as the showdown continues over CPS closings. The final bell will ring for more than half of the public schools scheduled to close on Friday, under CPS' reorganization plan.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 3:48 PM EDT2013-06-19 19:48:47 GMT
A body found in the water off the 39th street beach Wednesday has been positively identified as missing University of Chicago student Austin Hudson-Lapore, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed.
A body found in the water off the 39th street beach Wednesday has been positively identified as missing University of Chicago student Austin Hudson-Lapore, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 2:12 PM EDT2013-06-19 18:12:39 GMT
Police are urging parents and community members to exercise caution after a man tried luring an 11-year-old girl into a car in the North Side Albany Park neighborhood.
Police are urging parents and community members to exercise caution after a man tried luring an 11-year-old girl into a car in the North Side Albany Park neighborhood.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 2:08 PM EDT2013-06-19 18:08:32 GMT
After collecting tens of thousands of dollars for themselves on Wednesday, members of the General Assembly plan to kick the can of public employee pension reform down the road for at least one more month.
After collecting tens of thousands of dollars for themselves on Wednesday, members of the General Assembly plan to kick the can of public employee pension reform down the road for at least one more month.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 1:32 PM EDT2013-06-19 17:32:03 GMT
Nearly 9 percent of Illinois' bridges are "structurally deficient" and in need of serious maintenance or replacement -- an uptick of 1 percent from two years ago, a new report indicates.
Nearly 9 percent of Illinois' bridges are "structurally deficient" and in need of serious maintenance or replacement -- an uptick of 1 percent from two years ago, a new report indicates.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 12:53 PM EDT2013-06-19 16:53:49 GMT
Police on Tuesday said they are looking for a maroon Hyundai Sonata that fatally struck a woman in a Bridgeport hit-and-run last week on the South Side.
Police on Tuesday said they are looking for a maroon Hyundai Sonata that fatally struck a woman in a Bridgeport hit-and-run last week on the South Side.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 12:04 PM EDT2013-06-19 16:04:44 GMT
A man previously convicted of sex trafficking in Cook County has been charged again, this time for allegedly kidnapping a Minnesota woman and bringing her to Chicago to work in the sex trade.
A man previously convicted of sex trafficking in Cook County has been charged again, this time for allegedly kidnapping a Minnesota woman and bringing her to Chicago to work in the sex trade.
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