with steven colbert. we get help with experiments and treatments, which ones work. >> we just have to try things. john: let us experiment, that is our show tonight. john: this tv show is about ideas. but tonight i will bother with you my personal problem, my own life taught me a lesson about benefits of limited government. without so many rules, that does not prevent you from trying experiments. i can stand up right now, because, i have tried some experiments i can speak to you because i tried dozens of experiments. i'll conservative speaking first, i am a stut erica olsen, er. when i was a kid in school i i would stay silence in class, and avoid parties. i would hang up on the phone. now because of caller i.d., stutterers cannot do, that i got a job at a tv station, i never expected to go on tv when i did, i stuttered so badly i wanted to quit, i tried all kinds of therapies. all these experts said they could cure me, but they couldn't, until i got help from a clinic in roanoke, virginia that reteaches stutterers how to speak, that worked. i came out of treatment fluent. my speech is better than it used to be, i would play you my before and after tapes but they were lost in roanoke value, flood, we will look at someone else's before. >> the potential -- the -- p- portfoliop-pdifficultys. >> this one di guy invited my ia trip, it was supposed to be so romantic, he brings his mother. john: congratulations oil proving your speech, you are a model, and actress and having speaking parts now. >> yes, i have shot a lot of commercials and a film, i do a lot of work, which is awesome for hollywood. snow you also started a lot of experiments. >> i started speech class 8 years old, i tried all types of techniques, stretching every word together, i tried just talking into speaking out loud. talking to my dad. and then, went on. john: speaking of your dad, stutters runs in families, he stutters. >> my dad, my grand dad did. my cus ins do. -- cousins do, it has run in our family. john: about 5% of children go through some period of stuttering. most of them recover on their own. by late child hood. but about 1% do not. 4 times as many men as women, you are unusual that way. >> yes. i am one of few. john: and let's talk about this weird clinic we went to, it is really boring. >> it is. >> they slow us down, to two seconds per syllable to reteach us how to speak. this is about half a second per syllable. >> it takes a long time to have a conversation. but, they retaught us how to breathe and speak. that was one of the things that takes, awhile to understand, which we hear what a normal conversation is, from another person, and we. john: which is really very fast. >> we want to cop that's -- copy that, we're forcing words out rather than thinking how are we saying the word, and how our throat skpefrg works fo and eveg works for us. john: they put us in little rooms with a computer. >> now there is an app, i actually, before i go into every casting, i will hole my phone up, and -- hold my phone up and speak into the phone to make sure i talk clearly. john: to practice. >> to practice before every audition. john: we know how to speak correct khre, thaly. lear are othelee are stutters tt know were *eufrbg tige. tiger woods was afraid to answer questions in school. >> a simple question of most frightening thing, if you can't speak it. john: shaquille o'neal, teacher used to call on students in chat, i would sit there saying please don't call me. me. >> you know this guy. >> the most debilitating thing, people, hard to ask you to go to the prom, they look at you, they say this must be a he must be an idiot. john: well i have my own political opinion, but. he went on to say that in latin classes, his name nam nickname s joe impedementa . he said he helped himself by standing in the mirror, and quoting yates skpeupler son and. and samuel jackson? >> he talks about, we know how he swears a lot, he will say a swear word with the actual word hements to say, that helps him speak clearly. but marilyn monroe also did, i read into a lot of her work, she she would sit in the back of class, he said tha everything very sloy with a lot of breathiness. john: thank you fire dawson we learned from our experimenttation. the therapy that helped her, helped me, had no government sale of approval. it was relatively new, and untested, if it had to get government approval, she and i might never have been helped. it is still illegal for that clinic to offer to people in other states, america has so many rules that limit innovations, licenses rules in that case, remember the king's speech, it told a true story how king of england good help for his stuttering by going do an unlicenseed expert. >> my physician said, it relaxes -- the throat. >> they are idiots. >> they have all been knighted. >> it makes it official then. john: at first, the king criticizeed his new speech therapist. >> ni training, no diploma, a greet deal of no. >> lock me in the tower. john: the king goes ahead with the therapy, and unlicensed therapist helped him. here is one other unlicenseed therapy, that is stranger but as an experiment i tried it, when a difference it ahead in my life. -- it made in my life, for years his crippleing back pain. >> i spend years on my back, doing phone interviews, whatever i thought lying down meeting less of a strain on my back, there was a report on my back pain i did years ago, i took x-rays to this doctor. i had real stuff, disk problems s a crack. >> yes, they are normal. john: normal? that is what that doctor said, he claimed movie of what orthopedists and other so-called experts say about back pain is wrong, i was skeptical, but he said, how come everyone got back pain after ulcers got cureed? back is a strong muscle, this is psychological, you don't have a physical problem, you have a psychological problem, he said, i resiveed that claim, but -- i resisted that claim, and i saw howard stern said my life of the filled with back pain until i applied dr. sarno's principles in a phaelter of week phaelter r of weeks my pain disappeared, we went to a lecture, then some other people he helped would speak out about highway they got rid of their pain by ignoring it. attending one lecture, and reading his book, changed my life, i still get back spasms but, i ignore them they go away. people come to me, i saw that youtube video of you with back pain, it changedn my life, it hard to believe a lecture or a book could change so much but it did for me, theory is another one who was -- here is another man who was once paralyzeed with back 59. >back pain. >> tuesday. width, day 6, thursday. this is day 7, i was stum there for weeks unable to move on the floor of my office, i called dr. sarno 92 in. john: that is michael golinsky. you were skeptical too, but desperate? >> i was skeptical but i had a basis for belief, my fa her read the book in 80s and had gotten better after having an ulcer, i read the book, i saw my father on the pages and my brother and myself. john: the doctor said i do a lousy job. >> if you believe that it is a physical problem, that is a distraction for repressedic motions that might come up, if you stick on that idea you will not get better, if you embrace the idea it is not a vehicle you rally problem -- it is not a structural problem you get rid of the fear,. john: emotion could be anger or agenagent. >> he said they are goodests, people who do good things for others, they would get up early to move their mother's car to make sure they don't get a ticket. john: my brother is a fancy harvard doctor they trust, he had similar back pain, he spend time hanging by his neck in the we're track device. i told him doctor sarno said, he was probably an angry man, and he said this. >> if anybody told me that was all in my head, my rage would not be rether repressed. >> what do you have to lose? why not go to sarno try it? >> there are a lot of ridiculous things that i could do that woeup work. john: it workedf me. >> i am not convinced. >> it does sound ridiculous but you read story after story it is not, sarno is now in his 90s he is no longer practicing. >> there are about 50 people who treat with this methodology, there is no licenseing structure, which is a good thing, ideas come and go by themselves. john: thank you michael golinsky. what do you think, would you try an experiment at treatment, give us your opinion on twitter. so, my back pain is mostly cureed. so it my stuttering, but, i am still not happy. i worry a lot. i wish i were happier, some people say, you just need a hug. here is a woman offering hugs in times square. >> you want a hug? i want a hug. john: actually want a hug a stranger? does this create happiness? another small experiment when we return. you're down with crestor. alright! now there's a way you can get crestor for $3. adding crestor, along with diet, lowers bad cholesterol. crestor is not for people with liver disease, or women who are nursing,pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness; feel unusually tired; have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. ask for the crestor $3 card. ask your doctor about crestor. when you're on hold, your business is on hold. that's why comcast business doesn't leave you there. when you call, a small business expert will answer you in about 30 seconds. no annoying hold music. just a real person, real fast. whenever you need them. so your business can get back to business. sounds like my ride's ready. don't get stuck on hold. reach an expert fast. comcast business. built for business. to discover the best shows friends together and movies with xfinity's winter watchlist. later on, we'll conspire ♪ ♪ as we dream by the fire ♪ a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land, ♪ ♪ watching in a winter watchlist land! ♪ xfinity's winter watchlist. watch now with xfinity on demand- your home for the best entertainment this holiday season. >> who wants a hug? john: what is this woman yelling about. >> anyone feeling bad, i have hugs for you. john: she is offering people hug therapy, people take her up on it. elmo. the woman is ricky ratliff, one of my producers, i asked her to do this there is a theory that hugging makes you and them more trusting more willing to cooperate with people, and happier. >> i feel great. >> i feel better too, it's weird. john: i asked my produceer to do that because, i didn't want to do it our show title is let us experiment, hugging strangers in times square is not my kind of experiment. but, paul zach is easier to do it, he has done versions of if there are last 14 years, why? >> we wonder idea prosperity lives in some countries not other, we studied role of trust, we wanted a biological basis for why we trust strangers. john: because of a chemical in our body? >> it functions to cause us to resip kate, almost always. you are nice to me, i am nice to you. john: my hugging people, people release more of that hormone. >> oxyto since. john: makes people happier. >> and healthier, and promoteing cooperation, without anybody telling us we have to. john: you try to do a scientific experiment with this in america, america said no. >> we did our first study in europe, and now have gotten fda approval a backdoor method for oxitosin instution studies in u.s., for a given environment why would you trust me? >> i would not, you some are weirdo with a drug. >> and a crazy white coat, we did it recall of time, but if we don't the economy crashs, unless we have someone telling us what to do we have to create opportunity to create wealth, and country with high trust we see higher prosperity, greater happiness, and greater well being issue unless we use the drug in u.s. we could not she the causeing a. john: now more than 10,000 papers of oxytauzin. >> right,y and radio been involved in clinical trials, let's try to discover something new. >> now, some people in types square, did not want the full frontal hug of strangers, so she tried an experiment. >> here is the appropriate stranger side hug, if you want to feel better, you want your oxytauzin level to increase i have to go full frontal. >> no, you are a stranger. >> stranger danger. john: all kinds of people are happy to hug. >> you i refuseed handshakes for 5 years. john: high produceer got full frontal hugs from dozens of strangers, some people ran to her. >> she is running. >> she is running. we're doing this. >> so, i am in middle of my hug experiment. and i am probably about 40 hugs in. i have hugged min, and hugged women, and hugged children. the men i have hugged they hug he too tightly, my dad is watching not going to appreciate this. oh, he is coming in he is going in here for the kill. -- oh,. >> i file better. >> i feel fantastic. >> maybe dr. love on to something. john: data show this makes people happy, but scientificly, oxytauzin how? >> we en fuse it into the nose it gets into brain after an hour we show a causal relationship between the ocyen to ienie the . do you want to dry? sure. >> >> i am required to wear a white coat, okay, take a deep breath. this will me melt the barrier between and you anyone you see. >> here is another experiment you gave people the oxytauzin spray, and showed them this video, call it the cancer kid video. >> a research center used to raise money. >> who do you see? >> ben is dying, there are no words to describe how it feels to know that your time is limited. john: people who got the spray gave more money. >> the video itself causes about a 50% increase in oxotocin. >> well one weird experiment after the other, thank you dr. paul zach, we'll see how i feel at the end of the show, up next more experiment with other stossels. ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. i earn unlimited 2% cash back on everything i buy for my studio. ♪ and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... that's huge for my bottom line. what's in your wallet? john: do you get anxious often? i do, i worry i will stutter on tv, i worry that my tv ratings will go down, and fox will fire me, but whatever anxious experiment i have, is not compareed to my nephew scott. john and his nephew are joining us. john: scott and i appeared on fox and friends, he wrote this best setter, so, scott, sorry you are anxious but congratulation on having a bestseller, which i am ticked off about. because it -- i think out selling my last book. >> thank you but your ratings are higher than mine, i'm sure. john: you are that anxious, you can write this book, and most of us did not know. >> people with panic disorder, have hav fear about having 4 any exposed. you project to outward look the calm and conconfidence and calm but that contributed to the anxious you are trying to keep that house of cards in tact, everyone will see me for weak, pathetic 18 shoes person they am. >> yet, here you are. on this show, and that just, promote age of. >> i would rather be buried in a sar coff -- full of rats and snakes than diped into cheese. no cheese. >> you are g good with velveeta. >> not even velveeta. >> you drug yourself up to do a tv show like that. >> i do. john: i am your uncle, do you have to take something today. >> less than i would to contend with colbert. >> what do you take? >> i will do a take a xanax or, if a high stakes one. don't try this at home, i will combine that with small amounts of alcohol. john: have you run off the stage? >> why would you want to do this you torture yourself. >> it has been therapeutic doing this public speaking on a regular basis. john: you are trying different techniques, you have tried a million techniques, predescribed drugs, psycho therapy, more drugs, nothing worked or all worked or some things worked? >> some have worked atle, nothing has fundamentally cureed the underlying dis order or stamped out the anxious uness. certain things work for different times. john: for other people, some get help. >> it is hard to predict, one never knows, in general, for any given treatment, one-third of people will get better could one third will get better for a short period of time and relapse, and one third it will not help at all, but you cannot tell in advance, which one third will be affected by which treatment. john: go try stuff. >> yep. john: tha see what works. >> you can feel like a guinea pig. john: a picture of you, that came out with atlantic article that you did, you feel miser in, i was not a happy kid either. it is a stossel trait, but this was you being anxious. >> on vacation in bermuda, i was 10 years old, i was unhappy, we had to go to dinner, and it made me nervous. john: if my brother made he dress that way in per mudea i can see -- bermuda, i can see why. >> i have a recollection of a thanksgiving dinner, i was nervous about a stomach agee ache, you were kind and consoleing to me, as i paced back and forth,. john: a picture of and you me at my wedding your sister who isal al al al al anxious that makes people say it could run in the family. >> thank you scott stossel, coming up more stossel trying crazy experiments that is wrong with us or maybe it is not wrong. john: this show is about the beauty of trying experiments in life, let us experiment? my immigrant parents did not teach me, that says these are the rules of america. join a company, that is the route to success. but i have learned there are many other ways, maybe they are better. this group of young entrepreneurs has concludeed that. rod runs several businesses, inkpwhraouding this one that sells tickets to early morning dance partie parties. john: alec left school to talk his way. >> this is my son max. so. you frighten me because you are living an experiment. >> i am. i have jumped head first into the start up world that appealed to me, because of much of what i beforeed from my loving father. people are responsible for their own money, their own what they are building is what you see good results, that has driven ni these passionate people and great ideas. john: you live with some people are you doing start ups work i paid big bucks to help send you to fancy college. where have you learned more in two years since you graduateed or 4 years of the college? >> i think been 4 since graduation, but in those 4 years, learned so much more from the work force than school. i question whether i would send my own kids to college. john: you quit a job to try these experiment. a company that scans yore body for moles and send its to doctors. >> yes, dermatologisting rec mean you draw mole maps of your body. >> and feedback? >> turns every customer interaction into an experiment, we have the smartphones every time a business interacts with a customary that data walks out the door, we capture that. >> and ocho. >> an earnings percent. -- exper. ech.openocho makes everyone a br videographer. >> i wish you luck. now, irk rad a had -- erada you had a bunch of successes, the early morning dan thing people get up at 6 a.m. and go to a 7 a.m. dance party. >> all of us are looking for exciting ways to continue night life mentalty, but, a wholesome away. so, we said what if we start this experiment and lauren a early morning party called daybreaker, they break the day a 7 a.m. and mix and ming wel like minded entrepreneurs or artists. john: people pay 20 a head. >> 25 a head. >> it is growing. >> it is growing. we get calling from new delhi, tel aviv, japan, tokyo. john: if you think erada looks familiar her twin sister was once on the show, they started a be called super sprout promoteing vegetables to kids. >> my favorite vegetable is broccoli. because it makes me super strong, what is your super power. john: no kids will eat a vegetable because he does that. >> you wouldn't tell me if you would not playing with carat over here, wo would not think at eating a vegetable, colby carrot is good for your eyes, kids learn through stories and super powers why vegetables are good for you, is a very big success. >> i don't believe this. in cafeteria lunc lunchrooms, we wrapped them with art work, gave lunch laids hand puppets to remind kids to eat their super powers. they measures before and after, there was a 2 50% increase in children eating vegetables because of our program. john: alex, he said you are one of the most experimen experimen, you left college to go work, and you talked your way on to the price of right. >> i have never seen a full episode before going on. i pull an all nighter, before a final exam, figure out how the show works realize there is a loophole in statistic, focus by merge on that, won the showcase showdown, won a sailboat, sold the boat, that is how i funded my book. >> your book, you interview famous people, and you have gotten in lady gaga. and bill gates? >> well, not easy. john: keep writing e-mails. >> no, so there are some ways you can experiment, i have done cold e-mail its works and i have done cold e-mailing does not work, i have chased people down the sidewalk. >> peter grouper. >> you were a stalker? >> you know what difference between a stalker and me? intendtion. >> one thing you guys do with a dozens of your other friends experiments is burning man in the desert, what is that points? >> have you all these people coming to one place, they build these remarkable art pieces, in the en it is burned down, it is all about the process not the outcome, that is different from the world we live in. >> thank you, max, erada, alex and super sprout. next. >> smartest stossel of the family, no, it is not me. we live in a pick and choose world. choose, choose, choose. but at bedtime? ...why settle for this? enter sleep number, and the lowest prices of the season. sleepiq technology tells you how well you slept and what adjustments you can make. you like the bed soft. he's more hardcore. so your sleep goes from good to great to wow! only at a sleep number store, find the lowest prices of the season. save $600 on the #1 rated i8 bed, plus no interest until january 2018. know better sleep with sleep number. it's not going to fit up liftthe stairs.legs. what time does goodwill close? google voice: goodwill is open till 9pm. show me a moving company nearby. google voice: moving company within 6 miles. how do i get to 3221 carter ave.? 226 hyde street. google voice: here are your directions. when does my package arrive? google voice: your most recent order has shipped. thank you. setting new home address. text mom: i really like it here. john: let us experiment. here is result of one. a scientist discovered how your cells crawl. here is video of a white blood cell, chasing after germs. the smaller black dots there. white blood cell kraeul crawls d chases until, finally it eats the bacteria. grabs it and eats it, hurray. this is why you are not dead, person who discovered how this works, happens to be my brother, dr. tom stossel, how many lives have you lengthened with this. >> not one. >> made mo difference. >> none. >> you kept experimenting. >> absolutely. >> in doing this you sometimes work with drug companies, pharmaceutical companies. >> and by technology companies that is only way yo it can be d. john: i'm told that is a horrible conflict of interest, a har is harharvard researcher yoo get information and drug companies want to make money. >> true, i want information, drug companyments to make money, and everyone benefits. john: you say there is a war against this. >> the conflict of interest mania. >> mania? >> it has no substance. it is just made up. it is taking what is normal competition, normal controversy. and turning it into a witch-hunt. john: are not there cases where researchers doctor their work, to sell drug, drug companies push drugs that are not good for us? >> turley there are not, all of cases are scientis scientific t, fraud, they had nothing to do with the industry, this is just people trying too -- like you researchers trying to advance their own career. or reason you can't fathom, success in science is when other people can produce your work. stuff you make up, people cannot reproduce. john: i am seeing these conflict of interests, a graph that shows how they increased. and titles of the stories are funny, bad farm amoney driven medicine, the big fix. sex, lives and pharmaceuticals. it is convincing . i want to make sure and you your partnership with say biogen is not selling me a drug that is bad. >> it is superficially plus able, people -- plu plausible, people cheat for money, it takes enormous resources to get those products to people, medicine is incredibly better today than what i starred out, it is too bad the medical products industry, have let themselves be blamed for bad things they did not do. they have let doctors, hospitals, medical journals, medical schools take credit for the good they have done, they are all important 92 i thought that is where innovation came from, from scooting and government funded research. >> i have had government funded resafrp mresearch my life. itit important but what gets product to patients comes from private sector, only they have resourceing and skill sets to get the job done. john: you worked with a company, biogen, a picture of the board with wearing their beanie hat. this turned your head? >> this folks wearing beanies they were world class scientists nobel prize winners, wok individua-- oneindividual in pat died last year, ken murray, and his work led to what is now the hepatitis va vaccine, and this s hugely important. >> the way he was paid, is now forbidden, he got stock options that is now illegal? >> that is correct. if he does research he did, to develop the hepatitis vaccine, he could not have had the stock, he would not have done it. john: thank you, tom, and next, just what is this show about? why are there so many stossels here? i will try to tie this together. next. good news. you're down with crestor. alright! now there's a way you can get crestor for $3. adding crestor, along with diet, lowers bad cholesterol. crestor is not for people with liver disease, or women who are nursing,pregnant, or may become pregnant. tell your doctor all medicines you take. call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness; feel unusually tired; have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of serious side effects. ask for the crestor $3 card. ask your doctor about crestor. show, i have had a 40 year career in journalism, how did i get here, i was never a good public speaker, i'm shy, and a stutter, why am i here? because of experiments, i plan to be come a help manager, i was accepted by graduate school at university of chicago. but, before i went to grad school, i was sick of school, i took a year off, i went to a lot of job interviews, seattle magazine offered me a job doing bookkeeper, i accepted but they went out of, someone offered me a job working in a tv newsroom that too was an experiment. i never watched tv news. in rets respec having no formal training properly helped me. i was open to new ideas. i did well in a profession that was barely invented when i was in school, tonight, i was surprised my own son said. >> i question whether i would send my own kids to college when that time comes. >> world has changed but i think he is right, by the time that time comes, most of your colleges will be history, they will be cheaper, and betteral to thattives created by people who tried oak percent. s, i tried one, that happiness research erin jeced the hormone oxytocin into a nasal spray, and gave me about 1 10 hits of the stuff, extra amounts of hormone with make people feel happier dit work? -- feel happier, i feel nothing, really, no happier, no different, he did say it may take an hour. so, i will wait, and report what happens later to my web page. finally, let's remember america. is an experiment. explorers sa*eulged west, they don't know what they would fine, then limited government founders created in philadelphia was an experiment it happened it bring us a longest tpurpblgsing democracy in the modern world, but funners did not expects that. hire it is still going strong. so are we, so far. so let's keep experimenting, that is our show, see you next week. site. >> a rock 'n roll legend. >> crazy thing about roy orbison from 1959 to 1964 he had 21, top 40 hits. >> he dies too soon with 3 young sons. >> he se secretly wanted us to e musicians but he was not going to push. >> i rubbed my eyes and look add the this. >> i have a cassette of a song nobody heard before. before. >> it will bring roy and his boys together again. jamie: had you always dreamt of plays with your dad. >> always, yeah. >> have mercy