Don’t believe everything you hear on the radio

In terms of advertising, TV and radio seem to be getting unequal FCC scrutiny. On TV, automakers warn us that only professional drivers on closed courses should drive upside down; the pharma trade lists every anal-leakage-type side effect; and politicians tell us that they endorse their own campaign commercials. Meanwhile, radio pitchmen seem to be getting away with outrageous unchecked claims. I’ve heard infomercials promise single-pill panaceas for everything from cancer to toenail fungus, because they work, you know, at the sub-cellular level—so, to quote Carl Spackler in Caddyshack, “I’ve got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”