max brooks is author of "the zombie survival guide."blished author and tv writer in his own right. and you may have heard of his father, of course, mel brooks. so max brooks joins us now from los angeles. max, what's up with this fascination? i told you am fascinated by them. fascinated by "the walking dead" and "night of the living dead," movies, all of that. why are people who study zombies, they do it as if they are a scientific reality? >> well, i think if you're ready for a zombie plague, you're pretty much ready for a real natural disaster. there's nothing zombie-specific. so it's very empowering preparing for a zombie plague. >> very empowering. isn't there something beyond that? not just empower -- something that takes us out of the realm? and it's just plain old scary to think about someone who is alive but not alive and who can actually kill you. >> well, you know, zombies are big. they're -- a mega problem. it's not like one werewolf that you can run from. if there's a giant shark, don't go in the water. but zombies are a pan

i talked about this with max brooks, son of actor and director mel brooks.with zombies and the people that study them. >> zombies are big. they're a megaproblem. it's not like one wear wolf and it's one massive global problem after another. that's sort of on everybody's brain right now. >> how did the 1968 film, "night of the living dead" resurrect the interest in zombies? >> that changed everything. this did for what george lucas did for space movies. this yourselfed to be like the haitian voodoo zombie. but george romero made a global, plague, flesh-eating pandemic. >> and the cdc has jumped on board and warned people against the zombie apocalypapocalypse. they say it tongue in cheek but still -- whooi do this? >> it gets kids to prepare for natural disasters without realizing it. i get asked all the time, do you have a zombie preparedness kit and i say, yeah? it's the same one i've had in southern california forever. it teaches kids to be prepared for anything. >> i've told you in the commercial break that i went to the set of the "the walking dead." they

i talked about this with max brooks, son of actor and director mel brooks about the fascination of zombiesd the people who study them. >> zombies are big. they are a mega problem. it's not like one werewolf you can run away from. if it's a giant shark, just don't go in the water, but zombies are a pandemic, so to speak, and i think we've been facing since 9/11, just one massive global problem after the other. so i think that's sort of on everybody's brain right now. >> how did the 1968 film "night of the living dead" resurrect the interest in zombies? >> that changed everything. george romeroid for zombies what was done for other things. it was one dude raised by the dark arts and did your laundry. but george romero made it a plague flesh-eating pandemic which we now know as zombies. >> the cdc has jumped on board warning people to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse. i mean, they admit it's tongue in cheek but zombies don't really exist so why do this campaign, max? >> it's very smart. it's actually getting kids preparing for natural disasters without realizing it. i live in southern ca

i talked about this with max brooks, son of mel brooks about the fascination of zombies and the people> they're big. they are a megaproblem. it's not like one werewolf you can run away from. they are pandemic, so to speak. we've been facing since 9/11 just one massive global problem after the other. that's sort of on everybody's brain right now. >> how did the 1968 film resurrect the interest in zombies? >> that changed everything. they used to be the haitian voodoo zombies. >>he cdc has jumped on board warning people to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse. why do this? >> it's very smart. it's getting kids prepared for natural disasters. they're tricking kids into being prepared for anything. >> i've told you in the commercial break that i went to the set of the walking dead. they wouldn't make me a zombie. i don't think you'll make me one. i know your books world war z is being made into a movie starring brad pitt. it's required reading for several colleges including the u.s. naval war college. my question is why do college students need to be aware? >> i think because zombies are

max allowed by state law. >>> no jail time for a former campaign aide. howard brooksmmunity service for lying to investigators. back in may, brooks confessed to paying third party candidate suleman brown. he would then attack adrian fenty. brooks also admitted he lied to the fbi about payments to brown. prosecutors accepted the lighter sentence in exchange for information into gray's 2010 campaign. >>> now the live desk with break news out of the middle east. >> masked gunmen have killed a u.s. employee of the embassy in yemen. the yemeni man was on his way to work on thursday. the attackers were apparently on a motorcycle and opened fire on a cardozo rig the man who headed an embassy security team. as we get more information we'll pass it along. >>> the dalai lama will visit charlottesville, virginia, to speak about compassionate medical care. he will speak during two events, one which will be held at an outdoor pavilion in downtown. it is part of a larger tour of college towns which wraps up later this month. yesterday he was at the college of william and mary in wi

by spring even if you have a max ten or $20 we can get lower than that through mechanisms that are being worked on through local power so let's stay -- >> thank you mr. brooks there any other members of the public that would like to speak? seeing none and public me

by spring even if you have a max ten or $20 we can get lower than that through mechanisms that are being worked on through local power so let's stay -- >> thank you mr. brooks. is there any other members of the public that would like to speak? seeing none and public comment is closed and thank you mr. brook for mentioning all of the advocates involved over the years. if you look at what happened over the years the advocacy was really instrumental and making it clear there is interest in this, and i think in all of us share the concern that making sure that the people who participate in the program are people that want to be in it, and you know along the lines of what commissioner avalos was saying that we also need to take advantage of some of the publicity that has gotten to begin the process of letting people who are interested and let us know they're interested. i certainly is one that is interested of being a customer of this program. i heard that indirectly that supervisor elsbernd told the chamber of commerce he might be interested in being a customer as well, so i think there are a number of people that want to add themselves to that list, but we do

by spring even if you have a max ten or $20 we can get lower than that through mechanisms that are being worked on through local power so let's stay -- >> thank you mr. brooksis there any other members of the public that would like to speak? seeing none and public comment is closed and thank you mr. brook for mentioning all of the advocates involved over the years. if you look at what happened over the years the advocacy was really instrumental and making it clear there is interest in this, and i think in all of us s

max. i'm from hamilton county, cincinnati. thank you. host: lauren ashburn. guest: you raise an important point. the insert piece of this -- mitt romney, even conservatives say this, like david brooksew york times" columnist, what people are looking for our definitive answers to how he will fix the economy. use of paul ryan over the weekend talking about -- you saw paul ryan over the weekend talking about how he does not have time to explain the numbers in his budget. people want that explanation and are creeping back from the governor. guest: given the constraints of the debate format, they will not give chapter and verse from the town and its parent -- from the candidates. this is more important for mitt romney. he benefits as a challenger from standing on the same stage as the incumbent president of the united states, but there is a greater burden to convince the wavering voters, the 12 or 14 people that i've not made up their minds in this election. host: post-debate spin, howard kurtz, how important is that, and how social media plays a more important role? guest: the post-debate spin, i think it is critical, as people watched the debate, but they can make up their own mind, b

max. i'm from hamilton county, cincinnati. thank you. host: lauren ashburn. guest: you raise an important point. the insert piece of this -- mitt romney, even conservatives say this, like david brooks, the "new york times" columnist, what people are looking for our definitive answers to how he will fix the economy. use of paul ryan over the weekend talking about -- you saw paul ryan over the weekend talking about how he does not have time to explain the numbers in his budget. people want that explanation and are creeping back from the governor. guest: given the constraints of the debate format, they will not give chapter and verse from the town and its parent -- from the candidates. this is more important for mitt romney. he benefits as a challenger from standing on the same stage as the incumbent president of the united states, but there is a greater burden to convince the wavering voters, the 12 or 14 people that i've not made up their minds in this election. host: post-debate spin, howard kurtz, how important is that, and how social media plays a more important role? guest: the post-debate spin, i think it is critical, as people watched the debate, but they can make up their own