Cell phones. How did we get along without them?

I remember my first — a mobile phone that weighed at least five pounds. It was a company phone, assigned to me when NASA returned the space shuttles to flight status. We had learned our lesson after the Challenger disaster when in the ensuing panic, all phone lines went into overload. No calls in. No calls out.

This black Motorola brick that I carried around in its accompanying black shoulder-strapped case gave me unprecedented communication ability with my corporate counterparts, which was essential in the event of — God forbid — another space shuttle disaster.

What a novelty it was to talk on it while driving! The handset was much like our home phones — or “landlines” as they’re now called. An antenna affixed to my car’s exterior gave me extended range, and I was looking for excuses to use it!

Fast forward twenty years and today’s mobile phones are palm-sized and multi-functional in ways we couldn’t have imagined in 1988. And they are ubiquitous.

Now we learn that cell phone usage could increase our risk of cancer.

Dr. Ronald Heberman, director of the U of Pitt Cancer Institute, recently warned cell phone users to limit their usage. He’s basing his claim on early data that contradicts studies that have not found a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public “lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration”.

Tonight we’ll explore those claims with Shelly Kalnitsky, who’s taking the warning seriously, and has created a device called Waveshield. He says the device reduces the emission of cell phone radiation up to 97%, and has similar devices for portable home phones too.

After the interview, we’ll talk about today’s top stories and I’ll take your calls.

The show begins at 9 p.m. ET and you can listen to it live, or later in the archive. Hit the button below to get there.

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