lauren mayk: holiday myths busted. today, we'll separate fact from fiction when it comes to the things you thought you knew and we'll explore why they just keep popping up. and wacky for wawa, a new book takes a comical look at our areas loyal wawa customers. today, we hear from the men behind "the five people you meet in wawa." director's cut, and the man behind some of your favorite tv and movie dramas is now trying his hand at directing. aaron sorkin opens up about his new film. male announcer: "nbc10@issue" starts now. lauren: good morning, i'm lauren mayk for "nbc10@issue." we begin with holiday myths, those false and half-truths about the season we know so well. there's just one problem though, they're not true. with me now is temple university psychologist dr. frank farley. dr. farley is a former president of the american psychological association.

he also has a special interest in myths and storytelling. thanks for being here. frank farley: you're welcome. lauren: and we're going to start with a serious myth that just won't seem to go away and a lot of psychologists worry that believing this could actually be dangerous and damaging. and the myth is that suicides increase during the holidays. you have found this is not true. dr. farley, tell us what the truth is, and why it's dangerous to believe this. frank: well, the numbers are very clear. the centers for disease control tracks suicide and when they occur, and they simply do not go up at the holiday time. so, i think it's very important for people to know that because we don't want any self-fulfilling prophecy, you know? or people feeling that suicides go up at christmas, and you know, and if they're thinking of suicide, maybe they'll feel validated doing it at that particular season. so, that's a myth that is very good

to get rid of. in fact, they tend to be higher in the spring and in the fall. lauren: not in the winter at all. frank: not in the winter at all. and for some reason, it sorts--it seems to be associated kind of with seasonal change and we don't know exactly why that is. lauren: interesting, all right let's move on to some other myths that we find during the holiday season. one of them is that we tend to gain a lot of weight during that delicious holiday season. what's the truth here? frank: maybe one or two pounds nothing notable. your biggest problem of weight gain is how you eat during the regular year, on a day to day to day basis not at a particular holiday season. so, put that one away also. lauren: does that mean we can eat all the cookies that we want? frank: no, i don't think so. lauren: maybe we don't want to stretch that holiday season into 2 months and make that our regular, everyday thing. frank: yeah, you know, don't--well, let's put it this

way, as long as it doesn't convert to a habit, you know? so, you engorge yourself on all sorts of sweets and stuff or whatever, but if that doesn't turn into a habit, then it's probably not a problem. lauren: all right, all right but it's not something that everyone's gaining all that weight because we see all those commercials then for our gym memberships after a while, that's-- frank: yeah, well, they're capitalizing on a myth. lauren: all right, you know--and why do these myths why do they stick around? why do we see them all the time? frank: well, you know, it's hard to sort out truth and fiction in the modern world. we're an information driven culture and world and we're just literally inundated with a million viewpoints and a million data points. and you know, 150 years ago, if you're living on a farm somewhere in some isolated area, something like over 80% of people in america in the late 19th century were living

in more small town and rural areas, et cetera the information overload didn't even remotely compare to today. and in fact, a majority of people today work in the information industry in one way or another, and we're just overwhelmed with information. how do you sort out what's truth and what's fiction? and we don't have, you know, some fabulous arbiter who can say, "this is true and this is false." lauren: but we have things like social media. frank: and social media exacerbates the problem because it's an open platform for anybody who wants to foment any kind of false information, and we're seeing it all over america today. are the russians interfering what's going on with wikileaks, you know? is misinformation being spread for all sorts of nefarious purposes, et cetera. lauren: and is there some also sort of an attraction

to the familiarity of it? we've heard it--we heard it from--you know, maybe we heard it when we were a kid, we're hearing it again, and we're just sort of attracted to that. is there anything to that? frank: oh sure, of course. we grow up with a lot of myths, you know, fairytales. and we learn a lot from those fairytales, you know? they're not of the real world, but we learn things about the real world from them. and we learn some problem solving, we learn some good values like generosity and other kinds of values, we learn some right and wrong ideas, and they carry forward.at is, myths, you know, the world of fantasy is embodied in movies and literature, even as adults. and so, we shouldn't be surprised if it gets to be very difficult to know what is truth and what is not truth. and social media, of course, exaggerates it because eve person who has access to a device can enter social media. and they may have conspiracy theories, or they may have

some crazy ideas they've got a platform. and furthermore, often there's other people who have the samewrong idea, and they get onto social media, and all of a sudden you're validated. "oh, there's other people believe that crazy conspiracy theory." lauren: what happens when you tell them it's just not true? frank: well, people will want-- they should ask for evidence. and what's your evidence versus what's my evidence? and we both may be ending up playing off of some myths, you know? i'm hopeful that iul, yes, we can work on the technologies and try to get the technology companies to do something about the truthfulness and the truthiness of the media. but i'm hoping that science, and scientific thinking, and critical thinking, rigorous thinking, learning howi'hoful anwill gro with a better crectoand you kn particularly attracted to are ones

about our safetyfi be safe or keep ouon this that they are poisonous. what's truth there?er lauren: i had cats growing up, that's probably where i got it too. we were probably putting them away. frank: well, the truth here is that they're not particularly toxic. i mean, an animal might become ill briefly. but so far as i know, there's no compelling evidence that they're going to keel over dead. lauren: okay, what are some of the myths that if you could just, you know, get rid of them, what would be some--what are some of your pet peeve myths? frank: well, one is that most of the heat in the body is radiated off the top of the head-- lauren: oh, that's why your parents tell you to put a hat on. frank: absolutely, of course and i grew up in canada in heavy snow for much of the year, and that was a myth that we had, and i would always wear a woolly hat as a kid. it's not true. heat is distributed from--is dispensed from all over the body, not just the top of the head. so, that's one.

we often hear about flat earthers, you know and people who--this sort of backward thinking people. so, one myth is that christopher columbus himself believed that heading west on the ocean, that there was a chance he might fall over as i understand it. apparently he never did believe that. so, he was a round earther. let me see, what would be some other ones? lauren: well, and these are some that come up every year. does it tend to be the ones that are seasonal that stick around longer because, you know we don't hear about them for a year, and then they come back again? frank: oh sometimes they--you know they stick to that holiday you know, for a long peod of they become part of the myth of the whole holiday. lauren: part of the tradition. frank: indeed, and holidays often are centered on mythical concepts, you know? and so, we shouldn't be surprised if it's--there's a bundle of myths that come up at any holiday that we have.

lauren: all right, dr. farley, thank you so much, really appreciate it. thank you for busting some myths with us this morning. well, next on "nbc10@issue," meet the men behind a popular new book, "the five people you meet in wawa," when we come right back.

lauren: it is a regular stop for so many of us on the road, wawa. well, now the experience is the inspiration for a new book called "the five people you meet in wawa." nbc10's rosemary with the two local men behind it. rosemary connors: so nick, this is lifelong resea in terms of picking the five people you would meet in wawa. nick kupsey: yes, it has been lifetime research. like, three times a day type research. yeah, i've started to kind of accumulate the ideas for this after going into wawa several times a day to buy coffee-- rosemary: and you're not alone. i me from philly--the philly area too. i mean, this is a--not just a tradition, but it's sort of like a cult type of thing among philadelphians.

nick: it's like an isis-like fanaticism, it really truly is. i think that people, when you love wawa, you love wawa. it's not like, "oh, it's okay." it's like, "no, i will murder everyone if they say an ill word about my favorite store." rosemary: you are drawn to wawa. nick: very much so very much so. and my idea of it was to show that--how much love i had, but how much love this whole region has for tenn illustrator, to be part of this project. nick: we've been friends for a number of years now, so. ben fidler: yeah, we performed together and stuff. and i've done, you know, just flyers and stuff in the comedy circuit for friends and he hit me up and said, "i've got this book." and i read it and instantly could picture every single person that he listed, and that was it. yeah, it was off and running. nick: yeah, it's so funny. like, when i asked him to do this, i was more nervous to ask him than i would be, like, my senior prom date. you know, i was like, "hey, do you want to do this with me?" and i was, like, eagerly awaiting.no, i'm going to cry." rosemary: what am i going to do? nick: like, what am i going to do? rosemary: you used the old-school wawa logo. ben: yeah, so we didn't know how wawa was going to kind of

take our little fun book, so we weren't sure how current or up to date we wanted to make everything. so, i used a lot of stock images online that i found and everything like that. rosemary: received well. you'tweeted by wawa. and certainly received well by book readers. you've got great sales on amazon, and nick: it was the bestseller in three different categories at one point. the--you know, people have received this-- we did not expect this. this was completely unexpected. we just thought it looked-- ben: like goofy little-- nick: fifty of our friends would like it. and like, you know our grandparents. like, we had no idea that people would really take to this book and they have, and it's--we've been--our minds are blown. rosemary: favori somebody specifically you based one of your characters on that you can give us a little-- nick: the guy who pays with change is just the worst, man. like, and i'm not saying like, a dollar for a paper or a dollar for coffee. not that, i'm talking about someone who buys, like six things and then takes, like, the sandwich bag and just dumps it all over the thing. rosemary: and you're three behind him waiting to-- nick: oh, i'm like ten behind at this

point. ben: other register's closed. nick: yeah, like my coffee's cold at this point and i'm, like, just angry. and because it just grinds everything to a halt. and that's what makes us mad. that's the first thing we did, what i said to him, he's like, "dude, that's the same thing that makes me angry." and i was like just--you can see my face is purple right now. ben: and i think i always see police and girl in pjs. i think that's a staple. i don't know if wawa has-- rosemary: i think it depends which wawa you are frequenting. if you're down by one near manayunk, you might see people coming in, you know, after a late night. ben: anyone near a college campus pj rates are going to be-- nick: oh yes skyrocket, you know? and i--my favorite is to talk to the police officers because i--you know, they'll be standing around the coffee and i'm just like, "hey, no donuts?" and like, i've never seen a cop eat a donut, so i'm like "do you want me to buy you one? like, how does this work?" rosemary: all right, so my producer, cathy mcdermott, has to know what do you guys order when you go into wawa? nick: oh god what don't i order? rosemary: i know. nick: i mean, do you really want to get into get into this? okay, my favorite sandwich and everyone yells at me for it, is a roast beef hoagie with american cheese sweet peppers, and bacon.

rosemary: okay. nick: people think that's gross. rosemary: eh, it's not my taste, but-- ben: it's meat heavy, i mean-- nick: it's very meat heavy. rosemary: i'm a tuna salad kind of person with the cheese and with-- rosemary: all right, ben. so yeah, what do you order? ben: yeah, the italian foot--or whole hoagie? how do i'm not from philly originally. nick: he's originally from-- ben: but the only thing i knew about philly when i moved down here was wawa because i knew one guy from philly and he used to tout wawa. nick: it's a shortie, a classic.classic, all right. i got it, classic, classic. but yeah, italian classic. nick: i also like the chicken corn chowder soup. rosemary: who doesn't? nick: that's the best, especially if it's like, freezing. and then you just eat it on the trash can and, like, nobody ever thinks any different to tell you not to do that. you know, like if i ate on top of the trash can at my home-- ben: i feel like saying you're eating on top of the trash can people are trending towards you being onry: is that one of the characters? it's one of the characters in the book. nick: but that's like my goal. ben: i couldn't just draw nick so i had to have a beard-- nick: i always wanted to be the old man. like in my 60s, i'm going to spend all of my time at the wawa eating on top of a trash can, like when i'm retired. that's like--sucking down coffee,

yeah, just talking to people, bothering them. like, that's the kind of--that's how my retirement's going to be, forget florida. rosemary: unless the sequel, you know. the sequel, you may get a movie made out of it. nick: i would--yeah, a movie. it'll be, like i said, just me and him eating. like wow, for an hour and 20 minutes. i bet you it'd be a hit at sundance. rosemary: nick kupsey, ben fidler, thank you so much. nick: thank you so much for having us. rosemary: really appreciate it. lauren: you can get the book "the five people you meet in wawa" online. the writers are already talking about a second book, but so far they won't say what the topic is yet. next on "nbc10@issue," fans of the nbc drama "the west wing," listen up. award winning screenwriter aaron sorkin is out with a brand new film, and this time he's the director too. ♪

announcer: this is "nbc10@issue." lauren: he's the brains behind some of television's most t,t wing," "the newsroom," as well as critically acclaimed films like "a few good men," "moneyball,"

"the social network," and "steve jobs." an award winning screenwriter, aaron sorkin is now embarking on the next chapter of his re nbc 10's rosemary connors sat down with sorkin for a one on one. rosemary connors: thank you so much for being with us. aaron sorkin: it's great to be here. rosemary: so, you have had so many accomplishments in your career. why this movie to make your directorial debut? aaron: you know, i wrote the script with no intention of directing it. i fell in love with it as i was writing it, as i normally do. but the producer said, "we think that you'd be the best director for it." and i thought they were joking, but they weren't. and i decided to direct it because, you know, in this movie, there are a lot of shiny objects that you can gravitate toward: the decadence, the money, the glamor, the poker all the hollywood boldfaced names. and the story for sure is set against the backdrop of those things, but it's a much more emotional story about a real-life movie heroine found in an unlikely place.

and i just wanted to protect all that and make sure it was there. rosemary: the film obviously based on the book "molly's game" by molly bloom. it talks about her life running high stakes poker in hollywood. what's that process like working with molly bloom turning her story into a movie? aaron: the first time i met with molly, frankly i wasn't expecting much. i thought i was going to be meeting someone who was cashing in on their decade long brush with celebrity, and that wasn't something i wanted to write a movie about. but within about 10 minutes, she had knocked my socks off. i tend to write very romantically very idealistically. and what she did was like ringing the dinner bell for me. she was given the opportunity to be given all of her money back after the fbi seized it if only she would spill some gossip about the people who were in the games, and she refused to do that. she was given the opportunity to guarantee

her own freedom and stay out of jail if only she would spill some of the gossip about the people who were in the game. and she wouldn't do that. and beyond that, there's a very interesting story about her relationship with her father who's played by kevin costner. as you said, idris elba plays her criminal lawyer. he is fantastic in the movie. but for jessica chastain it's a tour de force. she straps the movie to her back in the first scene, runs a full out spring and doesn't let go of the movie until the end credits roll. rosemary: we should mention that your film, "molly's game," is actually replacing the film that featured kevin spacey at the american film institute's closing night gala screening. obviously, this raises the discussion about the sex scandal in hollywood. aaron: these stories, and it seems like there is a new one not every day, but every hour since rona farrell and the new york times broke the harvey weinstein story 4-5 weeks ago. i'm heartbroken for the victims. i am horrified and i'm furious.

this isn't what hollywood is like. it's what these people--those particular people are like. when someone like harvey weinstein's behavior is discovered, or james toback's, or kevin spacey's, it even taken as long as 100 hours for them to be finished, that hollywood doesn't want to have anything to do with them. and i don't want to be politically divisive, i'm sure there are people in your audience on all ends of the political spectrum, but there's a big difference between that and what is happening in the us senate race in alabama or e here's what i hope will happen in the future, that the fact that this behavior, when called out, has received essentially the death penalty for the perpetrators, i hope that will

sufficiently frighten any other man who was thinking about behaving this way, either at work or not at work. that they'll--they get to see what happens when sunlight is put on this. rosemary: aaron sorkin screenwriter, now director. your movie, "molly's game," op in philadelphia on christmas day. aaron: christmas day. thanks very much. rosemary: really appreciate it. aaron: take care. lauren: some cast members of sorkin's "west wing" have said they would love to see a reunion for the popular show. here's hoping.

announcer: this is "nbc10@issue." lauren: in florida, a canine cop is joining his partners as they prepare to fight crime. the gulf shores police department posted this video to their facebook of the three officers doing their daily pushups. it has been seen more than 44,000 times.

that's it for this edition of "nbc10@issue." it's game day, so be sure to join us for eagles game day final tonight after nbc 10 news at 11. i'm lauren mayk, thanks for joining us. ♪ ♪

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