This program opens with a litany of insurance statistics relating to problems from being overweight. Dr. Harry F. Klinefelter, of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, explains charts showing the mechanical, metabolic, degenerative, and psychological complications of obesity as well as the issues of decreased life expectancy, malignant disease (cancer), and cirrhosis of the liver. He points out that the basic problem is overeating, or taking in more calories than the body requires for energy. However, since the basal metabolism and average daily metabolism varies by person, two people of similar build may have quite different food requirements. Dr. Klinefelter compares people to cars of similar size that get different mileage due to variations in their engine construction and design. He displays average height and weight tables, which don't consider body build and bone structure, and thus are merely guidelines. Dr. Eugene Meyer, psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins, discusses the psychological factors in weight reduction. Compulsive eating begins when one habitually seeks comfort and satisfaction through eating, creating the cycle described by Dr. Hilde Bruch. This pattern may also begin by filling a sense of loss or emptiness with food or by mothers habitually consoling a child with food. Dr. Klinefelter explains that for weight reduction fat must be metabolically burned. Massage and strenuous exercise are both ineffectual in doing this. Since losing more than two pounds per week is dangerous, Dr. Klinefelter recommends a long-term balanced diet, limiting high calorie foods such as bread, potatoes, butter, and cereal and eliminating sweets. He also suggests eating three small meals each day, drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day, using the normal amount of salt, eating a well-balanced diet, and weighing only every two weeks on the same scale and the same time of day.

Lynn Poole opens the program by summarizing a letter from viewers who are members of the Science Club at Monclair State Teachers' College in New Jersey. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute teacher Malcolm Davies proves that perpetual motion does not exist. The device purporting it is actually a Crookes' radiometer that merely demonstrates the facts of radiation. Davies then discusses the navigational issues confronting Columbus and his sailors, such as the differences in distances from the magnetic poles to the actual poles and the strength of the tradewinds. Poole exhibits a copy of "The Story of Maps", written by Peabody librarian Lloyd A. Brown, which mentions an astrolabe, like that used by Columbus. Davies displays an astrolabe and shows how it's used in conjunction with the north star for navigation. He also demonstrates Gunter's quadrant and a marine sextant. The camera views through the sextant eyepiece as Davies makes adjustments, allowing viewers to experience its operation. Finally, using several examples, Davies explains Bernoulli's Principle, which occurs when vehicles at high velocity pass on roads and atmospheric pressure appears to push them together. Lynn Poole concludes the program by announcing that the current "Look" magazine has a preview of the next program, "Troubled People Meet."

Lynn Poole invites members of the Federal Communications Committee, meeting in Washington, DC for hearings on the use of television as an educational medium, to watch this program as a practical example of how educational institutions can bring educational programs to the American people. This is the first public showing and demonstration of a combination of x-ray photography and fluoroscopy picked up by a television receiving tube, affording both dynamic and clear internal views of patients. The equipment was constructed at The Johns Hopkins University with funds from the U.S. Public Health Service and developed by Dr. Russell H. Morgan. Dr. Morgan shows and explains the dim images of a standard fluoroscope and the static x-rays of a chest, colon, and kidney produced on a radiographic table to compare the strengths and weaknesses of each procedure. With physicist Ralph Sterm at the controls and assisted by Vernon Bowers, Ed Custer, and Roy Collier, Dr. Morgan then demonstrates his new invention, which amplifies images 300-3,000 times, and x-rays the movement of the chest and hand of Joan Hunter for viewers to see. Finally, in the first live television, inter-city diagnosis, Dr. Paul C. Hodges, at the University of Chicago, and Dr. Waldron Sennott, at the U.S. Marine Hospital in New York, observe the x-ray/fluoroscopy images broadcast on their televisions and consult with Dr. David Gould, at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, and together diagnose and prescribe treatment for a patient, machine operator James Carter, who has metal particles clearly lodged in his chest and possibly his lungs.

Host Lynn Poole reviews highlights of programs from the past year: "Freezing the Atom" (10/10/50) shows how atoms are slowed down and the development of the bolometer; "Electronics at Work in a Vacuum"(10/25/50) describes the development of the vacuum tube and the principles behind it, using puffed wheat in a jar as an example; "Your Questions About Science" (12/26/50) explains and demonstrates atomic chain reaction or nuclear fission using mouse traps and sugar cubes; "The Unbreakable Laws of the Universe" (1/2/51) explains the physical laws governing all things: inertia, action and equal reaction, conservation of motion, gravity, and atmospheric pressure; "Fight Against Polio" (1/16/51) filmed at the Children's Hospital in Baltimore, MD, shows how polio victims are being strengthened and restored to a normal life; "Don't Take Your Heart for Granted" (2/13/51) describes what the heart is, what can happen to it, and how to take care of it; "Archaeology: Key to the Past" (3/13/51) looks at the work of archaeologists and their study of the lost civilization of the Etruscans; "Cancer Will Be Conquered" (4/10/51) features Dr. Gey describing the differences between normal and cancerous cells and showing a magnified, live view of the separation of normal and abnormal human cells; "Is There Science in Art?" (2/27/51) reveals the science of cleaning varnish and dirt from old paintings at the Walters Art Gallery and the art of using x-rays and ultraviolet light to restore old paintings to their original intent. Poole also thanks the studio staff and mentions other favorite programs: "Fear" (103/50), "X-Ray, the Super Sleuth" (12/5/50), "Stream Pollution" (5/1/51), "Don't Drink That Water" (3/20/51), "Schistosomiasis" (11/21/50), and "Magnificent Microscope" (5/15/51).

Host Lynn Poole reviews highlights of programs from the past year: "A Hospital Never Sleeps" (1/21/52) takes viewers behind the scenes at Johns Hopkins Hospital at night; "Artist and the Doctor" (12/17/51) reveals medical artists' work, including photographic art and "moulage" at the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine founded by Max Brodel in 1885 at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; "The World From 78 Miles Up" (9/11/51) shows film clips, diagrams, and explanation of the operation of the Navy's Aerobee rocket as it gathers atmospheric data; "Solar Power for Food and Fuel" (2/11/51) describes solar energy research and offers an explanation and microscopic view of plant cells engaged in photosynthesis; "Is It True?" (10/22/51) differentiates between the myths and facts about hypnosis; "It's a Fact" (12/3/51) demonstrates the facts of radiant heat using a Crooke's radiometer and explains Bernoulli's Principle; "Krilium for Tomorrow" (2/4/52) introduces Monsanto's soil conditioner for creating porous soil for better plant growth and uses time lapse photography to show plants' growth rate in the product.

Dr. Andrews compares the irregular molecules of water to the regular ones of ice and explains that ice floats because it is less dense than water. He then shows a diphenyl oxide molecule model and explains that it freezes at room temperature and sinks and is therefore used to remove impurities from a liquid. He demonstrates how skating on ice creates pressure causing ice to melt enough to allow gliding on water, which couldn't be done if the water froze at a lower temperature. Dr. Andrews points out that the molecules of iron in a drill and sodium chloride in salt are arranged in a regular pattern and are therefore "frozen." He then adds liquid nitrogen to water, alcohol, glycerin, and molasses to compare the differing results. Ways of measuring temperatures include household thermometers, Beckmann thermometers (accurate to 1000th degree), and electrical thermometers such as platinum resistance, thermocouple, and bolometer (measuring to the millionth of a degree).

Orthopedic surgeon Robinson describes three types of bones that break: ribs or skull, with which the underlying organs must be protected; facial bones, which require accurate, fine correction; and large, long bones, which must be held in place promptly and securely. Dr. Robinson shows x-rays of broken femurs and a diagram of how bone heals, explaining that the deformity must be corrected first and then held in place until a bridge of new bone is formed. A patient demonstrates the range of motion in his formerly fractured elbow that was held together with a metal plate and screws. Other x-rays display the intramedulary, a diamond-shaped stainless steel nail used to hold a femur fracture in place and allow weight bearing. A model of the hip joint and femur with surrounding muscles proves that without such a supportive rod, the muscles would override the bones and cause deformity or shorten the length of the leg. Dr. Southwick introduces former patient William Brown and explains how a metal rod was inserted.

Dr. Kimble, geographer and author of Our American Weather, displays a map of the United States, from U.S. News and World Report, that indicates winter temperatures during the past 30-40 years have become milder by 5-8 degrees on the eastern seaboard but gradually decrease going westward, revealing 3-5 degrees colder temperatures in the Pacific northwest. As examples that the weather may be getting warmer, Dr. Kimble shows diagrams of a Canadian glacier's retreat in 1869, 1900, 1933, and 1946. He also cites New York Historical Society photos of the frozen Hudson River, the shifting of traditional boundaries of the corn and wheat belts, the southern birds and animals frequenting northern states in the winter, and the opening of Spitzbergen's arctic port an additional three months of the year. Dr. Kimble says he doesn't know the answer for the change in the weather and suggests sunspot cycles, volcanic dust, ozone content change, but mostly man-generated pollution from factories and motor vehicles.

Lynn Poole discusses some of the reasons for underwater research: studying alewife fish in Lake Hopatcong, NJ; researching predator fishes; harvesting agar from seaweed for iodine, ice cream gelling agents, and other uses; and obtaining magnesium from the sea. Cartoons illustrate historical diving gear and models show current masks, snorkels, and fins. Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan developed the regulator and diving suit, which became synonymous with SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Divers from Johns Hopkins's Chesapeake Bay Institute model both warm and cold weather diving gear, and Dr. Carritt, researcher at the institute, explains how an oceanographer uses SCUBA to investigate such underwater activities as the health of oyster beds. In a film clip, scientist-divers explore the Gulf of Mexico's bright oily crescent for Saucony-Vacuum and Magnolia Oil Companies. A diagram shows the anticline, fault, and stratigraphic oil traps of this region.

In this second program in a three-part series on peacetime uses of atomic energy, Lynn Poole demonstrates how radioactive iodine has been collected in a woman's thyroid for diagnosing goiter. An animated film shows the differences in size, shape, and stability of various atoms, the unstable ones being labelled radioactive isotopes. Dr. Bugher, of the Atomic Energy Commission, claims that the use of nuclear energy has advanced medicine by 25 years. For example, radioactive isotopes can be used to study the actual functioning and behavior of plants and animals, to trace and diagnose diseases such as thyroid problems, and to treat and cure diseases such as polycythemia, a form of cancer. He also demonstrates a thulium x-ray unit and narrates a short film showing cobalt-60 radiation of a patient with cancer. Gamma radiation is compact, reliable, and intense. Dr. Bugher notes that cesium, separated from the waste of atomic reactors, is a useful source of radiation. commercial electrical power. Dr. Hafstad, Director of the Reactor Development Division of AEC, discusses the costs and problems of harnessing atomic power. He points out that although our coal and oil supplies are dwindling and uranium supplies are vast, the cost of generating power from the atom is currently prohibitive. However, he predicts that, within the next five to fifteen years, as nuclear power is developed, its costs will fall.