Fresh Air, Peta Thornycroft and James Weinstein, October 31, 2007

Hear journalist Peta Thornycroft, orthopedic surgeon James Weinstein, and rock critic Ken Tucker on this edition of Fresh Air.

Peta Thornycroft recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Women's Media foundation for her reports from Zimbabwe. During a 2001 crackdown on journalists in Zimbabwe, Thornycroft renounced her British citizenship and became a Zimbabwean citizen so that she could remain in the country and keep reporting. She's one of the few remaining independent reporters left in that country. She helped to create the Media Monitoring Project, an independent trust that works to promote responsible journalism in Zimbabwe, as well as the Public Broadcasting Initiative to train journalists.

Then, Dr. James Weinstein, who is the Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Dartmouth College and is considered one of the nation's leading experts on low back pain. He'll tell us about the outcome of a multi-year study examining surgical vs. non-operative treatment for lumbar disk herniation. He says that there is little difference in outcomes, and that surgery is not necessarily the best choice. Weinstein is an advocate of conservative, non-invasive treatment. The study was published in JAMA last year.

Also, Ken Tucker reviews the new soundtrack album for the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. The movie does not open until November 21, but the two-disc soundtrack is already available. It features 34 Dylan songs covered by artists including My Morning Jacket and Sonic Youth. [Broadcast Date: October 31, 2007]